In Cuenca, Quito and Guayaquil, students, teachers and workers joined the rejection of this measure
«No to the budget cut!» «Against the Government and its measures!» were the slogans that accompanied the knocking of saucepans and applause from students in various cities of the country that reject the budget cut to the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).
On the morning of this Friday, May 8, 2020, outside the Azuay Governorate, in Cuenca, the little traffic that is allowed by the restriction measures due to the health emergency was paralyzed by students from the University of Cuenca, that with flags, banners and saucepans they met on Bolívar Street, next to Calderón Park, to reject the cut of 10% of the budget for higher education.
In Guayaquil, the picture was the same, students from the University of Guayaquil gathered outside the Litoral Government, to express their discomfort against the optimization of resources in this sector.
Not even the masks worn by each of the attendees could stop the slogans and screams of the young people who, despite being in the city with more cases of coronavirus, raised their voices against a measure that jeopardizes the academic offer of the country’s public universities.
«We demand that the government back down in the budget cut to universities and public education and that it take other measures. That it respects the Constitution where it is guaranteed that education and health are prioritized, «said a young man.
But students are not the only ones affected by this decision. In Quito, outside the National Assembly, workers’ organizations echoed this struggle and also clamored for their rights in the face of the wave of untimely dismissals.
With red flags and posters expressing the rejection of the dismissal of hundreds of workers, representatives of various unions of the Unitary Front of Workers claimed their rights. Wearing gloves, masks, and keeping their distance as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19, the workers raised their voices.
On the other hand, in various sectors of the capital, students and workers came out with banners and masks, and two meters away they expressed their rejection against the budget cut that, today, puts at risk the future of students and teachers of the public universities.
In this context, on the night of Thursday, May 7, the economy minister, Richard Martínez, clarified that this reduction is an effect and consequence of reality. In addition, he urged universities to sustain the academic offer
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