Ecuador: Lenín Moreno declares curfew in Quito

The president of Ecuador, Lenín Moreno, imposed a curfew in the metropolitan district of Quito to contain the rebound in violence recorded this Saturday during protests against his plans for authority.

"I have organized the curfew and militarization of the (metropolitan district) of Quito," said the president in a message posted on his official Twitter account.

The curfew will begin at 3 pm, in order to "facilitate the execution of the police force against the intolerable excesses of violence".

This decision comes after the Ecuadorian government and the Ecuadorian Confederation of Nationalities (CONAIE), promoter of the events, agreed to open a dialogue to revise this draft regulation, which has triggered one of the most serious disturbances of recent history on Ecuadorian territory.

Conaie and the Ecuadorian President pledged to revise Decree 883, which removed the subsidy on gasoline, in order to follow the agreement concluded with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) providing for an injection of 4, $ 2 billion for the country.

However, this approach has not prevented the serious unrest recorded in the capital, converted into "war zone", according to Reuters witnesses.

In addition, the transport services are paralyzed, the main access routes to the capital's airport are blocked and a group of protesters tried to enter the headquarters of the country's Comptroller's Office, according to Ecuavisa. According to this media, indigenous leaders have said that "it has nothing to do with this assault."

The aggression, according to the Minister of Government, Maria Paula Romo, has ended with about thirty detainees, "who were stationed against the terrace of the building".

The disturbances reached the Mirador Copper Mine, the largest Chinese-owned open pit in Ecuador, which announced Saturday the temporary limitation of its operations, as a precaution to protect its workers from the disruptions caused by Government Plans.