BELEAGUERED Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso cut gas prices on Sunday evening, soon after the tabling of a motion calling for his impeachment. 

Mass protests have rocked the country for the past two weeks. 

The reduction sees the price fall by 10 cents per gallon, short of the demands made by Ecuador’s Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie).

It has presented a 10-point list to Mr Lasso’s administration including the reduction of the price of extra petrol from $2.55 (£2.08) to $2.10 (£1.71) a gallon and diesel from $1.90 (£1.55) to $1.50 (£1.22). 

It has also called for a moratorium on bank debts, subsidies for fertiliser and no mining in indigenous territories.

The right-wing former banker addressed the nation on Sunday announcing the latest measures. 

He said that the price of fuel has become the cornerstone that maintains the conflict.”

“Ecuadorians who seek dialogue will find a government with an outstretched hand, those who seek chaos, violence and terrorism will face the full force of the law,” he said in a broadcast on state television. 

The price drop was announced shortly after the government lifted a state of emergency that had been imposed on six Ecuadorian states including a curfew in the capital Quito. 

Ecuador’s parliament has been debating an opposition motion calling for the impeachment of Mr Lasso. 

The Union for Hope (UNES) party has accused the president of creating the serious political crisis that has gripped the country since the beginning of the month. 

The vote will take place tomorrow and requires the support of at least 92 of the 137 lawmakers in the Ecuadorian Congress to be approved.

Mr Lasso’s government has been accused of a heavy-handed response to the protests, mobilising the security forces against the indigenous population. 

At least six people have been killed and more than 300 injured at the hands of the police and armed forces since the protests began, according to the Alliance of Human Rights Organisations.

On Friday Mr Lasso accused Conaie leader Leonidas Iza of attempting to overthrow the government.

But Mr Iza hit back, accusing the president of trying to make the protests a political issue due to his failure to deal with the crisis. 

He ruled out dialogue with the government, citing the previous failed attempts to resolve the issue through negotiations.

“We have told the president that we won’t go to another dialogue to be mocked and mistreated,” Mr Iza said. 

“[The government] has painted the Indigenous movement as the enemy within,” he said. “Instead of dialogue we have demanded that [Lasso] responds publicly to the list of demands.”