US ally Ecuador faces worsening crisis: government could collapse

Anti-government protests and riots in Ecuador over calls to reduce gas and agricultural prices could potentially lead to another pro-Western government falling.

Armando Regil Velasco reports on Latin American affairs. He can be followed @armando_regil

Experts say that reports that the government might have to close down the country’s oil wells due to the unrest won't have much impact outside of Ecuador.

"Ecuador produces less than half a million barrels of oil per day, so it can hardly influence the world price of oil. But oil and derivatives constitute more than half of Ecuadorian exports. Fuel prices are global but here they are subsidized and that is what they are negotiating now: the size of the subsidy. In Latin America, only Venezuela subsidizes them more than Ecuador," explained Ecuadorian analyst Gabriela Calderón, a research associate at the Cato Institute.