Ecuador: Municipalities Suspend March After Agreement With Government

April 9, 2024 Hour: 7:58 pm

On Tuesday, the National Council of the Association of Municipalities (AME) of Ecuador announced the suspension of the peaceful march it had announced for tomorrow following an agreement with the national government.

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In a statement, the union said that after a meeting with the team of President Daniel Noboa, they resolved to make the payments for the months of December 2023 and February 2024 until the end of this month.

Last week, the AME rejected the Plan for Local Governance and Security that the government, led by Noboa, intends to promote in the midst of an upsurge in violence.

The day after the Minister of the Interior, Monica Palencia, announced the program, the president of the AME, Patricio Maldonado, criticized the fact that it had been prepared without knowing the reality of each territory.

Tras una reunión entre las autoridades del Gobierno y la Asociación de Municipalidades del Ecuador, ambos acordaron cancelar los pagos de diciembre de 2023 y febrero de 2024 hasta finales de este mes. Además, AME anunció la suspensión de la marcha pacífica convocada para mañana pic.twitter.com/Usc68E5X3K

— Pública FM (@PublicaFM)
April 9, 2024

The tweet reads, “After a meeting between government authorities and the Association of Municipalities of Ecuador, both agreed to cancel payments for December 2023 and February 2024 until the end of this month. In addition, AME announced the suspension of the peaceful march called for tomorrow.”

Maldonado acknowledged that they had received 45 million dollars and that the Ministry of Economy and Finance had promised to transfer a further 30 million dollars on 2 April, but the accumulated debt is almost a billion dollars.

In view of this situation, AME members announced that on 10 April they would stage a peaceful march to demand that the executive branch pay the decentralized autonomous governments.

Ecuador closed the year 2023 with a fiscal deficit of almost six billion dollars, the equivalent of five percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), including outstanding payments to state suppliers, local governments, social security and salaries.