Ecuador

On February 5, Revolución Ciudadana (RC5), the political party led by former Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa, a leftist who was in office from 2007 to 2017, won significant victories in municipal and regional elections. RC5 candidates triumphed throughout the country but, most significantly, were elected mayors of Ecuador’s largest cities: Guayaquil, Quito (the capital) and Cuenca. Notably, in Guayaquil, RC5 ended three decades of rightwing rule. It also won the prefectures of the most populous provinces: Guayas and Pichincha. Indeed, it won the most mayor and prefect elections of any political party on February 5. CORREA’S ACHIEVEMENTS: NEITHER FORGIVEN NOR FORGOTTEN Correa, a leftwing economist by trade, left Ecuador for Belgium after his time as president c...

By: Fernando Casado Thousands of people demonstrate against the Government of Guillermo Lasso, in Quito (Ecuador). | Photo: EFE/José Jácome Last Monday the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) backed by more than 53 social organizations, started a national indefinite strike to force the government to respond to a plea based on ten demands. The strike occurred a year after Guillermo Lasso took office as the President of Ecuador, who was accused of not fulfilling his electoral campaign promises. In the recent history of Ecuador, the indigenous people only go to strike when their situation is desperate. Therefore, lord have mercy when it happens, it wouldn’t be the first time the indigenous discontent would topple a government. At the root of the strike...

BY JOE EMERSBERGER Photograph Source: Asamblea Nacional del Ecuador – CC BY-SA 2.0 David Villamar is an economist and political analyst based in Quito. The last time we talked was shortly after Ecuador’s April 2021 Presidential election. From 2007-17 Ecuador was governed by the leftist government of Rafael Correa. In 2017 Lenin Moreno won the presidency by campaigning as a Correa loyalist but, once in office, immediately turned into the exact opposite. For the past five years Correaists have been brutally persecuted. Correa himself has been given political asylum in Belgium. Despite repression and dirty tricks by the electoral authorities, Andres Arauz, the Correaiist candidate in 2021, came fairly close to winning the presidency. Correists also ended...

The revolt took over the Guayas 1 prison, where 119 inmates had previously suffered a cruel death in September. In Ecuador, At least 68 inmates died Saturday in a new bloodbath at a prison in Guayaquil. RELATED: Ecuador Warns That COVID Cases To Increase Due To Unvaccinated The revolt took over the Guayas 1 prison, where 119 inmates had previously suffered a cruel death with beheadings and burnings in September. Guayas governor Pablo Arosemena indicated that the new clashes broke out on Friday night when one of the groups invaded a cellblock to kill members of the opposing group.  The inmates fought with weapons and explosives for several hours, despite the existence of a state of emergency decreed by President Guillermo Lasso last month.  Helena Guali...

The declaration of a state of emergency by Guillermo Lasso is more likely about quelling opposition than guaranteeing security for Ecuadorians by Vijay Prashad, Taroa Zuniga Silva Ecuadorians participated in a national strike on October 26 against measures imposed by President Guillermo Lasso. Photo: Nuestroamericano On October 18, 2021, Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency for 60 days. This declaration led to the constitutional rights of Ecuadorian nationals being suspended and heavily armed troops flooding the streets in Ecuador. The immediate reason for the declaration was the murder of an 11-year-old boy named Sebastián Obando, who was killed in a crossfire between “an armed robber and a police officer” on October 17 at a c...

BY ROGER HARRIS The US role in the defeat of leftist Andrés Arauz in Ecuador’s presidential contest on April 11 was not overt because it did not need to be, according to a high-ranking Latin American diplomat. We met with the diplomat and others on an official election observation delegation with CODEPINK. Names of some sources remain anonymous due to a hostile political environment towards progressives. This setback for the Citizens Revolution movement, founded by Rafael Correa, will have profound implications for Ecuador and beyond, fortifying the US-allied reactionary bloc in Latin America. Former President Correa left office with a 60% approval rating. He had been twice elected president on the first round; unprecedented for Ecuador, which had a turnover of seven pre...

Walter Smolarek Download PDF flyer The left in Ecuador secured a crucial victory yesterday in the face of attempts by the right-wing government of President Lenín Moreno to deny progressive candidate Andrés Arauz the right to stand in next February’s presidential election. The National Electoral Council ruled that the  Union for Hope alliance would be permitted to nominate a substitute Vice Presidential candidate to take the place of disqualified former President Rafael Correa. From 2007-2017, Correa led a process of major social and political change in favor of the working class referred to as the Citizen’s Revolution.  Barring any unexpected developments, journalist Carlos Rabascall will be officially registered as the Union for Hope’s candidate for the Vice Presidenc...

Previously, independent outlets denounced the acquisition of medical supplies with a surcharge. Ecuador's former President Abdala Bucaram was detained in an operation carried out to investigate allegations of corruption in the purchase of medical supplies during the health emergency declared by the President Lenin Moreno administration. RELATED: Ecuador Faces Wave of Corruption Amid Pandemic Early Wednesday morning, authorities raided Bucaram's home as part of investigations into alleged embezzlement in purchases of medical supplies at a public hospital. In his home, they found KN-95 masks, rapid tests to detect COVID-19, and a pistol for which the conservative politician had no possession permit. Abdala Bucaram is part of a Lebanese-descent dynasty that has control...