History of Ecuador (1990–present)

On January 15, 2007, the social democrat Rafael Correa succeeded Palacio as President of Ecuador, with the promise of summoning a constituent assembly and bringing focus on poverty.[8] The 2007-8 Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly drafted the 2008 Constitution of Ecuador, approved via the Ecuadorian constitutional referendum, 2008. The new socialist constitution implemented leftist reforms.[9]

In November 2009, Ecuador faced an energy crisis that led to power rationing across the country.[10]

Between 2006 and 2016, poverty decreased from 36.7% to 22.5% and annual per capita GDP growth was 1.5 percent (as compared to 0.6 percent over the prior two decades). At the same time, inequalities, as measured by the Gini index, decreased from 0.55 to 0.47.[11]

Former President Rafael Correa (left) attends President-elect Lenín Moreno's (middle) 'changing of the guard' ceremony. The two PAIS leaders were considered close allies before Moreno's "De-correaization" efforts started after he assumed the presidency.

Beginning in 2007, President Rafael Correa established The Citizens' Revolution, a movement following left-wing policies, which some sources describe as populist.[12][13][14][15][16] Correa was able to utilize the 2000s commodities boom to fund his policies,[15] utilizing China's need for raw materials.[17] Through China, Correa accepted loans that had few requirements, as opposed to firm limits set by other lenders.[17] With this funding, Ecuador was able to invest in social welfare programs, reduce poverty and increase the average standard of living in Ecuador, while at the same time growing Ecuador's economy.[18][19][20] Such policies resulted in a popular base of support for Correa, who was re-elected to the presidency three times between 2007 and 2013.[15] Media coverage in the United States viewed Correa's strong popular support and efforts to re-found the Ecuadorian State as an entrenchment of power.[15][21]

As the Ecuadorian economy began to decline in 2014, Correa decided not to run for a fourth term[22] and by 2015, protests occurred against Correa following the introduction of austerity measures and an increase of inheritance taxes.[12][23] Instead, Lenín Moreno, who was at the time a staunch Correa loyalist and had served as his vice-president for over six years, was expected to continue with Correa's legacy and the implementation of 21st century socialism in the country, running on a broadly left-wing platform with significant similarities to Correa's.[21][24][25][26]

Rafael Correa's three consecutive terms (from 2007 to 2017) were followed by his former Vice President Lenín Moreno's four years as president (2017–21). In the weeks after his election, Moreno distanced himself from Correa's policies[27] and shifted the left-wing PAIS Alliance's away from the left-wing politics and towards the neoliberal governance.[21] Despite these policy shifts, Moreno continued to identify himself as social democrat.[28] Moreno then led the 2018 Ecuadorian referendum, which reinstated presidential term limits that were removed by Correa, barring Correa from running for a fourth presidential term in the future.[21] At his election, Moreno enjoyed an approval rating of 79 percent. Moreno's distancing from his predecessor's policies and his electoral campaign's platform, however, alienated both former President Correa[29] and a large percentage of his own party's supporters.[30][31] In July 2018, a warrant for Correa's arrest was issued after facing 29 charges for alleged corruption acts performed while he was in office.[16][32][33]

Due to increased borrowing by Correa's administration, which he had used to fund social welfare projects, as well as the 2010s oil glut, public debt tripled in a five-year period, with Ecuador eventually coming to use of the Central Bank of Ecuador's reserves for funds.[34][35] In total, Ecuador was left $64 billion in debt and was losing $10 billion annually.[35] On 21 August 2018, Moreno announced economic austerity measures to reduce public spending and deficit.[36][37] Moreno stated that the measures aimed to save $1 billion and included a reduction of fuel subsidies, eliminating subsidies for gasoline and diesel, and the removal or merging of several public entities, a move denounced by the groups representing the nation's indigenous groups and trade unions.[36][37][21]

In August 2018, Ecuador withdrew from Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (Alba), a regional bloc of leftwing governments led by Venezuela.[38]

In October 2018, the government of President Lenin Moreno cut diplomatic relations with the Nicolás Maduro regime of Venezuela, a close ally of Rafael Correa.[39]

In March 2019, Ecuador withdrew from Union of South American Nations. Ecuador was an original member of the block, founded by left-wing governments in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2008. Ecuador also asked UNASUR to return the headquarters building of the organization, based in its capital city, Quito.[40]

In June 2019, Ecuador agreed to allow US military planes to operate from an airport on the Galapagos Islands.[41]

On 1 October 2019, Lenín Moreno announced a package of economic measures as part of a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to obtain US$4,209 millions in credit. These measures became known as "el paquetazo" and they included the end of fuel subsidies, removal of some import tariffs and cuts in public worker benefits and wages.[42][43][44] This caused mass protests which began on 3 October 2019. On 8 October, President Moreno relocated his government to the coastal city of Guayaquil after anti-government protesters had overrun Quito, including the Carondelet Palace. On the same day, Moreno accused his predecessor Rafael Correa of orchestrating a coup against the government with the aid of Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro, a charge which Correa denied.[45] Later that day, the authorities shut down oil production at the Sacha oil field, which produces 10% of the nation's oil, after it was occupied by protesters. Two more oil fields were captured by protesters shortly thereafter. Demonstrators also captured repeater antennas, forcing State TV and radio offline in parts of the country. Indigenous protesters blocked most of Ecuador's main roads, completely cutting the transport routes to the city of Cuenca.[46] On 9 October, protesters managed to briefly burst into and occupy the National Assembly, before being driven out by police using tear gas. Violent clashes erupted between demonstrators and police forces as the protests spread further.[47][48] During the late-night hours of 13 October, the Ecuadorian government and CONAIE reached an agreement during a televised negotiation.[49] Both parties agreed to collaborate on new economic measures to combat overspending and debt. The government agreed to end the austerity measures at the center of the controversy and the protesters in turn agreed to end the two-week-long series of demonstrations. President Moreno agreed to withdraw Decree 883, an IMF-backed plan that caused a significant rise in fuel costs.[50]

The relations with the United States improved significantly during the presidency of Lenin Moreno. In February 2020, his visit to Washington was the first meeting between an Ecuadorian and U.S. president in 17 years.[51]

The 11 April 2021 election run-off vote ended in a win for conservative former banker, Guillermo Lasso, taking 52.4% of the vote compared to 47.6% of left-wing economist Andrés Arauz, supported by exiled former president, Rafael Correa. Previously, President-elect Lasso finished second in the 2013 and 2017 presidential elections.[52] On 24 May 2021, Guillermo Lasso was sworn in as the new President of Ecuador, becoming the country's first right-wing leader in 14 years.[53]

In October 2021, President Lasso declared a 60-day state of emergency with the intention to combat crime and drug-related violence.[54] In October 2022, bloody riot among inmates at a prison in central Ecuador caused 16 deaths, among them was the drug lord Leonardo Norero, alias “El Patron.” In Ecuador's state prisons there been numerous bloody clashes between rival groups of prisoners.[55]

A series of protests against the economic policies of Ecuadorian president Guillermo Lasso, triggered by increasing fuel and food prices, took place in June 2022. Initiated by and primarily attended by Indigenous activists, in particular CONAIE, the protests were later joined by students and workers who were also affected by the price increases. Lasso condemned the protests and labelled them as an attempted "coup d'état" against his government.[56]

As a result of the protests, Lasso declared a state of emergency.[57] When the protests blocked roads and ports in Quito and Guayaquil, there were food and fuel shortages across the country as a result.[58][59][60] Lasso was criticized for allowing violent and deadly responses towards protestors. The President narrowly escaped impeachment in a vote in Congress. At the end of June, protesters agreed to end their protests and blockades in return for an agreement by the government to discuss and try to address their demands.[61]

Lasso proposed a series of constitutional changes to enhance his government's ability to respond to rising, largely drug-related crime. In a referendum in February 2023, voters overwhelmingly rejected his proposed changes. This result weakened Lasso's political standing.[62] Meanwhile, Lasso's government faced accusations of corruption. Citing those accusations and claiming that the government had failed to meet its demands from June 2022, CONAIE called on Lasso to resign and declared itself in a state of "permanent mobilization", threatening additional protests.[63][64]