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Protesters gathered in Guayaquil city for a sit-in demonstration against budget cuts.
Ecuador's Human Rights organizations Thursday denounced that police force abuse against pacific protesters in Guayaquil. Claimers denounced the negligence of health authorities in corpses counting and handling.
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Protesters gathered at Centenary Park for a sit-in demonstration against both President Lenin Moreno's budget cuts and lack of economic aid for those in need.
"We are mourning and resisting," was their protest's maxim. Citizens remarked they were maintaining social distance and respecting other COVID-19 preventive measures.
Ecuadorians were protesting peacefully, shouting out consigns, and demanding Finance Minister Richard Martinez to quit office. Police officers, however, lashed out at protesters using tear gas and cudgels to disperse them.
"Students, senior citizens, minors, journalists, and human rights activists were brutally attacked by the National Police during a protest called by the Coordinator of Social Organizations of Guayas," Human Rights Organizations Alliance stated.
Mientras en #Ambato se permite los saqueos, en #Guayaquil la @PoliciaEcuador procedió a reprimir las protestas sociales Cobertura de @Expresoec #URGENTE @CIDH @DEFENSORIAEC pic.twitter.com/aTT6G0KkmO
— Ecuador Vídeo (@EcuadorVideo) May 14, 2020
So far, the police have not reported how many people were detained and where they are. The Parliamentary Group for the Promotion, Protection, and Defense of Human Rights qualifies police response against protesters as violent and abusive.
"The Ecuadorian State cannot take advantage of a pandemic to take regressive measures in rights and must set aside unconstitutional and retrograde actions," Regional Foundation for Human Rights Consulting (INHRED) tweeted.
So far, Ecuador officially registers 30,502 COVID-19 cases, 2,338 deaths, and 3,433 recoveries.
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