Quito - Ecuador's President Jamil Mahuad, presiding over the country's worst economic crisis in decades, deployed 30,000 police and troops for a third day running yesterday amid a nationwide anti-government protest by indigenous groups.
Indian groups had owed to paralyse the country by blocking roads. But the protests, which started on Saturday, were orderly with few incidents reported, police said.
However, some indigenous leaders said that the protests had begun slowly because their people had to travel long distances on foot from remote villages. They dais they still intended to have all roads to the capital blocked by midweek.