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Yet while things looked unstable for Mr. Correa inside of his own nation he received support from both neighboring South American nations and the U.S., all of whom did not want to see another unstable nation rock the boat in Latin America. As a result of the unrest there were reports of schools and businesses closing, banks being robbed and people looting as well as fears that Mr. Correa could be killed, according to the president of Venezuela.

The trouble started around a week ago when members of the army, upset by the new law which would see them hurt financially, set up make shift road blocks with burning tires. Soon news reports were showing images of police officers joining the protest and without much warning the Ecuadorian National Assembly building was occupied. Soon after Mr. Correa proceeded to the army barracks and gave a speech to the protesting soldiers in an attempt to send a strong message. “If you want to kill the president, here he is. If you want to betray the mission of the police force, go ahead. But this president will not take a step back,” he said. However it was not long after that the protesters fired tear gas at the President and he was trapped in a hospital until Special Forces managed to sneak him out.

As a consequence Mr. Correa considered dissolving the Ecuadorian congress and rule by absolute power until the next elections. However, due to fears that this would only result in a full blown conflict this was decided against and furthermore he decided to weaken the new law as means to calm the protestors. Now the President is struggling to restore order while vowing to punish those in the police and army responsible for the trouble. “These crazy people were politically manipulated. They wanted to kill me,” Mr. Correa told the Ecuadorian people on national television. It seems the worst of the trouble and violence is over but the situation is still unsure in the South American nation. Unless the President addresses this issue properly it could always flare up again.