Ecuador falls into chaos after the president cuts fuel subsidies

PRESIDENT LENÍN MORENO is facing his biggest crisis since he was elected two and a half years ago to clean up the mess left by his populist predecessor, Rafael Correa. The country is in turmoil. The president’s decision to rid the country of cherished but wasteful fuel subsidies has provoked nationwide riots and looting. Shops, agricultural estates and government offices in Quito, the capital, have been ransacked. A curfew has been imposed in areas close to government buildings and airports. Mr Moreno felt obliged to move his government to the port city of Guayaquil—and to declare a state of emergency. The situation is scarily volatile.

Meanwhile, prices at the pump have surged. Furious taxi drivers and bus drivers went on strike, blocking hundreds of crossroads. When their ring-leaders were arrested, even angrier protests erupted, egged on by trade unions, left-wing activists and students. Cuenca, the country’s third city, is being supplied by airlifts. Petroamazonas, a state oil company, has been forced to stop production at three oilfields, reducing national output from 550,000 to 385,000 barrels a day.