Ecuador crisis weakens president, strengthens indigenous
GONZALO SOLANO and MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN
Associated Press
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Thousands of indigenous demonstrators, student volunteers and local residents launched a mass cleanup Monday of a Quito park where anti-austerity protesters fought police for days, leaving piles of burning tires, trees and construction material.
President LenÃn Moreno signed a new decree returning gas prices to traditionally low, subsidized levels a day after striking a deal to cancel a disputed austerity package and end nearly two weeks of protests that paralyzed the Ecuadorian economy and left seven dead.
While Ecuadorians welcomed the calm and praised both sides for striking a deal, analysts said Moreno appeared to have been significantly weakened halfway through his four-year term by days of protests