A clearer spot in the region
After two weeks in office, Guillermo Lasso registered the highest rate of approval since 1979. At 71.2% he was above Rafael Correa, who had 68% in his best days. In addition, two legislators from the Social Christian Party joined the official forces, which currently represent the second largest group in Congress (26 legislators), as Pachakutik lost two (25). Izquierda Democratica now has 16 members after the party expelled one member for voting for the Social Christian candidate, and another decided to join UNES, which, after losing one of its own, remains at 49. The biggest loser is the Social Christian party, which lost four legislators and now sums 14.
Thus, the alliance Pachakutik-Izquierda Democratica totals 41 legislators, and Creo and the independents who joined them are 26 – two more than at the beginning, summing 67 legislators who might continue voting together. The government must keep working to gain three additional members among the seven who have not joined any coalition in order to assure the 70 votes that are necessary for almost all decisions. The weakest flank is the Economic Commission, where Creo lost the presidency and has no majority as the commission is dominated by UNES, Social Christians and the expelled legislator from Pachakutik who presides over it.
President Lasso has established three main axes of public policy for his governmental program: sustainable and environmentally responsible economic growth and recovery, fiscal stability, and honest and transparent management of public resources. Minister of Finance Simon Cueva has been clear in stating that the government will seek to recover domestic and foreign trust in order to reduce country risk and help in the orderly management of public debt as well as attracting international direct investment.
The president was prompt in issuing an important official decree that aims at improving competitiveness and reducing production costs from imports and for exports. Developing the necessary regulations to implement this decree is in the capable hands of Minister of Production and former president of the Association of Private Banks, Julio Jose Prado.
The government is also developing an aggressive diplomatic and logistical approach to guarantee a supply of vaccines from several sources including China and Russia to achieve its goal of nine million Ecuadorians vaccinated in the first 100 days of the administration, and the population from 12 years up vaccinated by the end of the year.
In the meanwhile, conversations with the IMF to review and adapt the existing agreement to current needs and objectives continue under favorable winds. In this fashion, Ecuador is rapidly becoming a clearer spot in the Andean Region and deserves the support of multilateral entities, democratic governments and international markets.
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