FCDO advises against travel to Ecuador
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has advised against all but essential travel to Ecuador, due to concerns about nationwide protests which began on 13 June
In a statement, the FCDO said that ‘the situation has turned violent in some areas, continues to develop and remains uncertain’.
It recommended that all non-essential travel to mainland Ecuador should be avoided ‘to within the 20km exclusion zone along the border with Colombia, except for the official border crossing town of Tulcan in Carachi province’.
It recommended additional caution when visiting the capital city of Quito or its surrounding areas, due to a ‘higher concentration of protests’ there.
The FCDO also clarified that this did not apply for flights transiting through Quito or Guayaquil airports, including for onward travel to the Galapagos Islands, but recommended that travellers check the status of international flights.
The FCDO also recently advised against non-essential travel to Sri Lanka, on the basis of concerns about civil unrest due to severe resource shortages.
The protests were incited by rapid spikes in the cost of living
Nationwide protests in the country began on 13 June 2022, led by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) in response to rapidly rising fuel and food prices due to inflation that have significantly increased the cost of living for many Ecuadorians.
This cost-of-living crisis has been compounded by the government’s austerity measures, which includes a reduction in fuel subsidies and increased taxation – which were imposed as part of a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and which incited a previous bout of violent protest when they were imposed in 2019.
Unemployment in the country is also severe, with the government’s own figures suggesting that just 33 per cent of Ecuadoreans ware formally employed, and 22 per cent being classified as ‘underemployed’.
Since then, the protests have escalated in intensity, with reports of demonstrators creating road blocks, torching vehicles or throwing stones, while police respond with teargas. At least six civilians have reportedly died in recent clashes.
In response, the Ecuadorian government imposed a state of emergency across several provinces, as well as a mandatory curfew in Quito – although this was repealed on Saturday 25 June following the start of talks with indigenous leaders, and the launch of an opposition-led push to remove President Guillermo Lasso from office.
In response to the easing of government security measures, the protestors agreed to partially open road blocks to allow food into the capital, where residents have complained of supply shortages.