 For more videos and people's struggles, please subscribe to our YouTube channel. Ecuador is witnessing a massive five-day national strike against the new liberal economic policies of President Lenin Moreno and the government's agreement with the International Monetary Fund. The strike, which started on July 15th, saw thousands of peasants, agricultural workers, indigenous people, afro-descendants, healthcare and transport workers, small-scale business owners and self-employed workers mobilized throughout the country to protest the policies of hunger and misery implemented by Moreno's administration. A large number of social movements, trade unions, as well as peasant and rural organizations are participating in the strike, such as the National Peasant Movement and the National Citizens Assembly. In March, a set of austerity measures were announced after the Ecuador government signed a 4.2 billion US dollar deal with the IMF. These measures include privatization of public companies, mass dismissals of public sector employees, a rise in the prices of public services and the discontinuation of thousands of healthcare and educational services. These measures have plunged around 500,000 people into poverty and have increased inequality. Peasant organizations participating in the strike have denounced the current government's land policy that favors agribusiness and sidelines small farmers and peasant producers, as well as indigenous and afro-descendant communities. The protesters are also against advancement of the extractive mining and oil industries, as well as the potential handing over of the Galapagos Islands for military interests of the United States. Several demonstrations were carried out in the capital Quito, as well as in the provinces of Bolivar, Kotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Guayas and Los Rios. At least eight important roads and highways were blocked across the country. On the first day of the strike, Richard Intriago, President of the National Peasant Movement, received open threats from the Interior Minister Maria Paolo Romo. In addition, Omar Delgado, leader of the National Association of Transport Workers, was arbitrarily detained in a protest in the Lano Chico district of Quito. The strike will continue till Friday, July 19th, and the road blockades and street mobilizations are expected to continue throughout. Social organizations have also called upon citizens to participate in the strike from their homes in Casarola Zos. Lenin Moreno had campaigned for President, promising to continue the process of change initiated by former President Rafael Correa. Correa's presidency was noted for his focus on social policies and his work to encourage Latin American integration without U.S. interference. Moreno, on the other hand, has succumbed to U.S. pressure, which is evident with his application of neoliberal economic policies, the withdrawal from the Latin American integration projects, support to the U.S.-led coup in Venezuela, and the handing over of whistleblower Julian Assange to the government of the UK to facilitate his extradition to the U.S. The protesting Ecuadorian peasants and workers in their fight against neoliberalism have received messages of solidarity from across Latin America.