Cartels Take Over As Ecuador's New Power Brokers

[Judi Lynn]

By Matthew Smith - Aug 29, 2023, 11:00 AM CDT

has been swept into a drug-related violence crisis, exacerbated by its strategic location between the world's largest cocaine producers, Colombia and Peru.

The recent assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio and other politicians has intensified the country's already fraught political climate, leading to a state of emergency declaration by President Guillermo Lasso.

The upcoming presidential run-off in October 2023 between Luisa González and Daniel Noboa comes at a critical time for Ecuador, a country struggling to address its economic, political, and security issues amid skyrocketing cocaine trafficking.


Ecuador, once an island of peace in the strife-torn Northern Andean region of South America, is caught in the midst of drug-fueled violence, which is exacerbating a long-running political crisis. In an unprecedented event, presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was shot down by a Colombian gunman when leaving an August 2023 campaign rally. That occurred after government officials and local politicians were attacked and even murdered over the last year by gangs battling to control Ecuador’s booming cocaine trade. A confluence of events, including being sandwiched between the world’s largest cocaine producers, Colombia and Peru, along with a deep political and economic crisis, saw Ecuador emerge as a crucial international transshipment point for the narcotic. There are indications of further instability and violence for the once peaceful Andean nation.

Ecuador’s presidential election went ahead on Sunday, August 27, 2023, under tight security after rightwing President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency in the wake of Villavicencio’s assassination. Rightwing pro-business Lasso, during his term, has struggled to enact any meaningful and urgently needed economic reforms, with the leftist-dominated National Assembly blocking any attempts to reduce spending and debt at every turn. The legislative body was dissolved by Lasso in May 2023 so as to avoid impeachment on accusations of embezzlement, triggering a general election. Leading leftist candidate and one-time lawmaker Luisa González, a protégé of former President Rafael Correa who was sentenced to eight years imprisonment for corruption in 2020, has emerged as the front runner. After a close vote, there will be an October 2023 run-off between González and center-right businessman Daniel Noboa to decide who will rule Ecuador until May 2025, which is the remaining part of Lasso’s four-year term.

More:
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The right-winger candidate, Daniel Noboa's father, Álvaro Noboa, has been considered Ecuador's wealthiest man for ages. He also is the "banana king" of Ecuador.





Álvaro Noboa



Álvaro Noboa's sonny boy, Daniel, wants to be President, just as daddy did.



Luisa González, the progressive candidate, is currently in the lead.