Ecuador – Evelyn

What’s going on in Ecuador?

Violence and Poverty in Ecuador 10/15/23

For my first piece of research on the current state of Ecuador I read a news article from the BBC that detailed Ecuador’s current presidential election. Going into this project, my main impressions of Ecuador were based on the Galapagos Islands which are off its coast. The Galápagos Islands are famous for being the place in which Charles Darwin developed the theory of evolution based on the unique flora and fauna the island has to offer. Ecuador, however, it seems is a far cry from the picturesque Galápagos Islands. Currently, it is considered the most violent country in the region. Already presidential candidate, Fernando Villavicenio, has been assassinated and voters are left with two remaining choices, each running on the campaign promise to end the violence. Ecuador definitely has an inequality problem, like many first world countries there is a clear divide between extreme wealth and extreme poverty. According to the BBC article this is one of the reasons for the rampant violence. A large part of the population is disenfranchised and left to fend for themselves in impoverished conditions. This population is more likely to get involved in gangs and drug trafficking in order to support themselves. Daniel Nooba, a centralist and one of the presidential candidates, has promised to create jobs in order to deal with this issue. Luisa Gonzalez, the leftest candidate, also promises job opportunities and social integration. As far as the issue of nationalism, it was not mentioned in my news article directly, however it can safely be assumed there are extreme sentiments considering the recent assassination. Something I did find surprising is that whoever does win the election will only be in office for 17 months since former president Guillermo Lasso dissolved the parliament during an impeachment trial.

Source: BBC News