However, after the joy of victory, there are difficult challenges that the young president will have to face in a country still known as "Paradise of Violence".
A breath of fresh air in Ecuador
That was the press's comment on the announcement that the National Electoral Council of Ecuador had confirmed that candidate Daniel Noboa had won the second round of the presidential election in this South American country. Mr. Noboa won more than 52% of the votes, defeating his opponent Luisa Gonzalez who won nearly 48% of the votes. With this result, Mr. Daniel Noboa became the youngest elected president in modern Ecuadorian history.
In 2019, Ecuador was forced to relocate its government headquarters due to violence. Source: Travelwire News
There is not much information about the new President, but there is one piece of information that almost everyone in and outside Ecuador knows: Daniel Noboa is the beloved son and heir of billionaire Álvaro Noboa - the richest billionaire in Ecuador, specializing in banana exports.
True to his father's great expectations, Daniel Noboa demonstrated his ability and dedication to his studies from a young age. At the age of 18, Daniel Noboa was already an entrepreneur, founding his own company. Later, Daniel Noboa realized his determination to become a real entrepreneur by studying business administration at New York University and public administration at the Kennedy School of Harvard University.
After graduating, Daniel Noboa became the Director of Logistics and Commerce of Noboa Group from 2010 to 2018. Also harboring many ambitions like his billionaire father, Daniel Noboa is also determined to enter politics by participating in the candidate representing the National Democratic Action coalition, including centrist and right-wing parties in Ecuador, to participate in the Ecuadorian National Assembly from 2021 to 2023.
And now, at the age of 35, Daniel Noboa has proven that “the son is better than the father” by convincingly winning the recent Ecuadorian presidential election, at the age of 35, doing something that his billionaire father was determined to do but could not (Mr. Ávaro Noboac ran for president 5 times but never won).
“Safety is the first thing the new president needs to address”
That is what 62-year-old fruit and vegetable vendor Rosa Amaguana shared when asked about her expectations for the new President. That wish may be too simple for people in many countries, but in reality, it is a very real desire and longing for all Ecuadorians.
People take cover during the assassination of presidential candidate Villavicencio on August 10, 2023. Photo: Bloomberg
Up to now, a lingering question has been asked many times by the people of Ecuador: why a country that was once a peaceful country just 3 or 4 years ago has suddenly become a "paradise of violence" with the appearance and increasingly fierce rampage of all kinds of crimes, from professional killers, kidnappers, extortionists to petty thieves...
According to many, Ecuador’s deep-water ports, dollarized economy, and corruption have made it a major transit point for drugs to reach consumers in the United States and Europe. And drugs are one of the most important sources of violence in Ecuador. The struggle between criminal groups for control and distribution of drugs, primarily cocaine, is the root cause of this worrying situation.
A victim is shot dead in the street. Murders in Ecuador hit a record 4,800 in 2022. Photo: Getty Images
According to statistics from the Ecuadorian National Police, in the first 6 months of this year alone, Ecuador recorded 3,568 violent deaths, much more than the 2,042 reported in the same period in 2022. In 2022, there were 4,600 murders, the highest in the country's history and double the total in 2021. In 2022, National Police data shows that there were 31,485 robberies, about 11,000 more than in 2020. Guayaquil - Ecuador's second largest city - is considered the epicenter of "violence paradise".
About a third of all violent deaths in the first six months of 2023 occurred in the city. Guayaquil is also considered to be surpassing Juarez, Mexico, and Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in terms of homicide rates. The situation is so serious that in July 2023, Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency and nighttime curfew in three coastal provinces amid the outbreak of violence.
When it comes to violence in Ecuador, prison violence is a must. Statistics show that since 2021, bloody clashes have claimed the lives of more than 430 people in Ecuadorian prisons. For example, at the end of July, in the Guayas 1 prison system alone - which holds more than 5,600 prisoners - 31 people died due to conflicts between criminal gangs or the riot that occurred at Litoral prison in Guayaquil city on April 14, 2023, killing at least 12 people.
The Ecuadorian government blamed the violence on inmates from different gangs using knives, guns and explosives to attack each other and fight for power. In 2021, when a bloody riot at Litoral Prison, near the western city of Guayaquil, left 90 people dead, the Ecuadorian president declared a state of emergency and authorized the mobilization of thousands of military and police troops to patrol 65 prisons across the country.
Ecuadorian soldiers stand guard outside El Inca prison in Quito after a riot, January 13, 2023. File photo: AFP/TTXVN
Gender-based violence is also horrendous in the country. According to the EU’s gender equality agencies, 65% of women aged 15 to 49 in Ecuador have experienced some form of gender-based violence in their lifetime. Every 72 hours, an Ecuadorian woman commits suicide, with a total of 443 cases recorded between August 2014 and November 2020. Yet so far, no tangible solution has been found.
In August 2023, in order to hold the presidential election, Ecuador had to mobilize an unprecedented number of police and soldiers to participate in ensuring security. However, shocking events still occurred, the most shocking of which was the August 9 incident when presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated as he left a campaign rally in the capital Quito. After the incident, Ecuador had to declare a state of emergency.
Not easy for a fresh Ecuador
“From tomorrow, we start working for a new Ecuador, we start rebuilding an economy severely damaged by violence, corruption and hatred” - the new president Noboa shared with his supporters on victory day.
New President Daniel Noboa.
But things have not been easy for Mr. Noboa. Despite numerous tough measures, violence in Ecuador has not only not abated but has become increasingly violent. “ We have never experienced what is happening now. The number of people dying from gang violence is as high as if there were another pandemic,” said Jorge Wated, a businessman who led the Ecuadorian government’s task force to collect bodies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tired of escalating gang violence, thousands of Ecuadorians are looking to migrate to escape the risk of becoming victims of murder.
In addition, dealing with and finding solutions to a stagnant economy is an equally daunting challenge for the new president. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ecuador’s economy has become increasingly unstable. The Central Bank of Ecuador recently reduced its growth expectations for 2023 from 3.1% to 2.6%, an annual economic figure that analysts expect to fall even lower. In 2022, according to the Ecuadorian government, protests halted production at more than 1,000 wells, cutting Ecuador’s oil production by more than half from about 520,000 barrels per day. Crude oil, after all, is Ecuador’s largest export.
Difficulties pile up on difficulties, while the new president's term will only last until May 2025 - the remaining time of the term of his predecessor, President Guillermo Lasso.
“ It would be difficult for even the best-prepared president to reverse Ecuador’s security crisis in 18 months. Noboa certainly can’t,” said Will Freeman, a Latin American researcher. Ecuadorians, however, remain hopeful. “ I hope the country changes. The next president must be able to handle the little things,” said one Ecuadorian.
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