Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno and leaders of the country’s indigenous peoples have struck a deal to cancel the disputed austerity package and end nearly two weeks of protests that have paralyzed the economy and left several people dead. (Dolores Ochoa/Associated Press)QUITO, Ecuador — Ecuador celebrated a deal President Lenín Moreno and indigenous leaders struck late Sunday to cancel a disputed austerity package and end nearly two weeks of protests that have paralyzed the economy and left seven dead. Indigenous leaders, in turn, will call on their followers to end protests and street blockades. Ecuador, a former OPEC member, was left deeply in debt by a decade of high spending by Correa’s government and the international decline in oil prices. In the country’s Amazon oil fields, protests at installations, described by some government officials as attacks, have halted or slowed production.

Source: Washington Post October 14, 2019 00:11 UTC