Five days out from the second round of elections in Ecuador, Peoples Dispatch brings you a report on some of the key elements to look out for this week

Ecuador’s presidential candidate Yaku Pérez supported coups in Bolivia, Brazil, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. His US-backed party Pachakutik and supposedly “left-wing” environmentalist campaign is being promoted by right-wing corporate lobbyists.

The neoliberal government of President Lenín Moreno announced a budget cut of around 100 million USD in the public higher education sector in response to the economic crisis aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic in the country

To justify the budget cuts and reductions in public servant’s salaries, Moreno argued that drop in oil prices and the Covid-19 outbreak have placed the country in a critical situation

Following 12 days of massive protests, the government of Lenín Moreno repealed Decree 883 which formalized neoliberal reforms. At the same time, it launched a crackdown on political opponents

Repression against protesters in Ecuador continues and will likely intensify with the decree of the curfew and militarization in Quito

The heavy-handed response of the Ecuadorian police and military to the massive mobilizations in the country has already cost eight lives with hundreds suffering grave injuries