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News > Ecuador

Ecuador: Protests Against Budget Cuts Despite COVID Pandemic

  • Students with protest signs outside the Central University of Ecuador, Quito. May 5.

    Students with protest signs outside the Central University of Ecuador, Quito. May 5. | Photo: teleSUR

Published 5 May 2020
Opinion

The budget cut is over $98 million (USD), pushing public universities into austerity. 

Students and school employees are demonstrating in Ecuador amid large-scale budget cuts by the regime of President Lenin Moreno.

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After the government's announcement, students gathered at Quito’s Central University with protest signs despite quarantine and social distance measures to prevent the virus. “We are students of the republic. Education defends itself. No to cutting” signs read.  

 

Ecuador's government announced the economic measure as a strategy to reduce the pandemic's financial impact. According to the Federation of University Students of Ecuador, they stressed that education and scientific institutions are relevant to facing the COVI-19 outbreak. 

In response to the measure, several educational centers agreed that the cut ordered by the Executive affects mostly research and knowledge. FEUE qualifies the measure as unconstitutional.

For its part, the National Polytechnic School (EPN) expressed its "unease and immense concern" at the decline in its budget. The institution also referred to measure impacts on the payrolls of teachers and professors.

EPN described the decision as "unilateral and not consulted", and assured representatives did not receive official communication. EPN stressed being unaware of the "technical and legal basis of such a measure". The budget cut is over 98 million dollars, submitting public universities into austerity. 

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Ecuador Protests Students Budget cut

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by teleSUR/gq-la
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