By Daniel Nardini
The presidential election in Ecuador has become a significant event not only for Ecuador but also for the United States. I will explain more shortly. Daniel Noboa, who was elected to the office of president in 2023, was reelected this year on a platform of keeping the economy prospering, keeping the U.S. dollar, and above all else fighting crime. Daniel Noboa is a very curious phenomenon in of himself. Noboa was actually born in Miami, Florida, and was educated at George Washington University. He became the youngest president in the history of Ecuador at age 35 in 2023, and interestingly has remained popular in the country because of three important things that have helped him win a landslide victory in the presidential election just recently.
One thing that is critical for Ecuador is keeping the U.S. dollar as the country’s official currency. This decision to switch to the U.S. dollar was done way back in the year 2000. This was done because the country’s original currency, the Sucre, became highly unstable due to the inflation crisis of 1998 to 1999 that made the currency for all-due purposes worthless. The Sucre could no longer be traded for other currencies, could not be used by businesses in Ecuador itself or for international exchange, and worse the country could not pay for capital or debt obligations in any trade Ecuador had with its neighbors. The introduction of the U.S. dollar as the official currency has remained popular ever since, and Noboa wishes to continue this policy. The Noboa campaign claimed that presidential opponent, a lawyer named Luisa Gonzalez, would bring back the Sucre if elected. Whether true or not, this did not sit well for many Ecuadorans.
Second, crime. Ecuador has been in the grip of a crime wave by powerful criminal gangs. During his first administration, Noboa used his power to break-up the gangs and even extra-legal means to go after them—including the infamous raid on the Mexican embassy to grab former Vice-president Jorge Glas, who had taken refuge in the Mexican embassy and was granted political asylum by the Mexican government. The Ecuadoran government had charged Glas with corruption, and Ecuadoran forces violated the sanctity of the Mexican embassy to get Glas. However, this move proved popular with the Ecuadoran people as has Noboa’s fight against crime and the criminal gangs.
Finally, Noboa has worked hard to get the Ecuadoran economy going. Promoting business has been Noboa’s hallmark because he himself is a businessman. More than that Noboa’s social approach has been to be a conservative businessman but to be a social liberal. He promotes gay and lesbian policies, and has denounced racial discrimination. He has worked to promote minority businesses as well as corporate business in general. Noboa has also worked to promote women’s businesses, and strengthen the hand of the military to help make the country stable against crime and the criminal gangs again to promote economic prosperity.
And where does the United States fit into all of this? Noboa wants a closer relationship with the United States, and believes he can strike trade deals with current U.S. President Donald Trump. Noboa has also suggested military cooperation with Trump where U.S. troops can be stationed in Ecuador to fight the criminal gangs. But what about the case of civil and human rights? In its report on Ecuador, Amnesty International condemned the Noboa presidency for using extra-judicial measures of imprisoning people, the use of torture, and even killings of people detained by the Ecuadoran security forces. What Noboa’s second term will mean for the country remains to be seen.
The Presidential Election in Ecuador
By Daniel Nardini
One thing that is critical for Ecuador is keeping the U.S. dollar as the country’s official currency. This decision to switch to the U.S. dollar was done way back in the year 2000. This was done because the country’s original currency, the Sucre, became highly unstable due to the inflation crisis of 1998 to 1999 that made the currency for all-due purposes worthless. The Sucre could no longer be traded for other currencies, could not be used by businesses in Ecuador itself or for international exchange, and worse the country could not pay for capital or debt obligations in any trade Ecuador had with its neighbors. The introduction of the U.S. dollar as the official currency has remained popular ever since, and Noboa wishes to continue this policy. The Noboa campaign claimed that presidential opponent, a lawyer named Luisa Gonzalez, would bring back the Sucre if elected. Whether true or not, this did not sit well for many Ecuadorans.
Second, crime. Ecuador has been in the grip of a crime wave by powerful criminal gangs. During his first administration, Noboa used his power to break-up the gangs and even extra-legal means to go after them—including the infamous raid on the Mexican embassy to grab former Vice-president Jorge Glas, who had taken refuge in the Mexican embassy and was granted political asylum by the Mexican government. The Ecuadoran government had charged Glas with corruption, and Ecuadoran forces violated the sanctity of the Mexican embassy to get Glas. However, this move proved popular with the Ecuadoran people as has Noboa’s fight against crime and the criminal gangs.
Finally, Noboa has worked hard to get the Ecuadoran economy going. Promoting business has been Noboa’s hallmark because he himself is a businessman. More than that Noboa’s social approach has been to be a conservative businessman but to be a social liberal. He promotes gay and lesbian policies, and has denounced racial discrimination. He has worked to promote minority businesses as well as corporate business in general. Noboa has also worked to promote women’s businesses, and strengthen the hand of the military to help make the country stable against crime and the criminal gangs again to promote economic prosperity.
And where does the United States fit into all of this? Noboa wants a closer relationship with the United States, and believes he can strike trade deals with current U.S. President Donald Trump. Noboa has also suggested military cooperation with Trump where U.S. troops can be stationed in Ecuador to fight the criminal gangs. But what about the case of civil and human rights? In its report on Ecuador, Amnesty International condemned the Noboa presidency for using extra-judicial measures of imprisoning people, the use of torture, and even killings of people detained by the Ecuadoran security forces. What Noboa’s second term will mean for the country remains to be seen.