UPDATE 1-Ecuador oil minister resigns weeks after scrapped fuel price hike

Ecuadorean Oil Minister Carlos Perez on Tuesday announced his resignation in what he called a personal decision to spend more time with his family, weeks after the country was rocked by violent protests over a planned fuel price hike.

President Lenin Moreno in October rolled back a plan to eliminate costly fuel subsidies as part of an International Monetary Fund financing package after indigenous groups clashed with troops and demanded Moreno's resignation. "Today I am leaving after having spent two and a half years in this post," Perez, who also oversees the energy and mining sectors, told a news conference.

It was not immediately evident who would replace him. Moreno has maintained discussions with indigenous leaders who led the protests to determine how to close a fiscal gap without the drastic fuel price increases that sparked the October unrest.

He has not yet announced concrete plans for how to shore up government finances.

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