Assassination Days Before Presidential Vote Shakes Ecuador – and Region

For years, Ecuador has been labeled a bastion of peace in a region racked by violence and political unrest. But the recent assassination of anti-corruption presidential hopeful Fernando Villavicencio shattered that perception, highlighting how the small South American nation is facing down a rapidly expanding war on organized crime amid political divisions and limited economic resources.… Read More Assassination Days Before Presidential Vote Shakes Ecuador – and Region

Ecuador President Dissolves Congress as Impeachment Investigation Expands

Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the Andean nation’s congressional assembly and called for new elections, citing “grave political crisis and internal commotion.” Lasso, a 67-year-old former banker who took office in May 2021, used a constitutional provision known as “muerte cruzada,” to end a congressional impeachment inquiry into corruption and embezzlement allegations. … Read More Ecuador President Dissolves Congress as Impeachment Investigation Expands

Correa, China y la Asamblea, Afectados por el Informe de la Deuda

El informe borrador –el cual aún no es concluyente– de la Contraloría sobre la deuda pública, presentado el 14 de marzo pasado, es un triunfo estratégico para el presidente Lenín Moreno. No solo permite responsabilizar al expresidente Rafael Correa del despilfarro fiscal, sino que Moreno también puede hacer corresponsable a la Asamblea Nacional de futuros… Read More Correa, China y la Asamblea, Afectados por el Informe de la Deuda

Ecuador Habló: La Minería es Peor que Correa

El referéndum del 4 de febrero fue significativo. En su nivel más obvio, le dio al presidente Lenín Moreno una sólida victoria política y al expresidente Rafael Correa una derrota asombrosa. Pero más allá de las reacciones en Quito, los votantes en las zonas mineras de la Sierra y el Oriente enviaron un mensaje inequívoco:… Read More Ecuador Habló: La Minería es Peor que Correa

Lenín Moreno Wins Ecuador Election with Correa Support

Lenín Boltaire Moreno Garcés, a popular former vice-president, won Ecuador’s presidential elections with 51 percent of the vote, defeating Guillermo Lasso, an executive of the nation’s second-largest bank. Outgoing President Rafael Correa, in power since 2007, supported Moreno in an election campaign marred by irregularities.… Read More Lenín Moreno Wins Ecuador Election with Correa Support

Bailout Risk Grows for Ecuador After Worst Earthquake in Decades

By Nathan Gill April 19, 2016 (Bloomberg) — Before a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Ecuador on Saturday, the South American nation’s finances were already in tatters as the government struggled to meet payments to municipal authorities, oil companies and even cancer hospitals. Cut off from global bond markets, President Rafael Correa must now find enough money to… Read More Bailout Risk Grows for Ecuador After Worst Earthquake in Decades

Ecuador Quake Death Toll Rises as World Leaders Offer Support

By Benjamin Bain and Nathan Gill April 16, 2016 (Bloomberg) — World leaders from the Vatican to Washington offered support to Ecuador as casualties mounted following one of the strongest earthquakes to strike the South American country in decades. By Sunday evening, the number of dead had climbed to at least 246, from 77 earlier… Read More Ecuador Quake Death Toll Rises as World Leaders Offer Support

77-Year-Old Wall Street Favorite to Face Fujimori in Peru Runoff

By Nathan Gill and John Quigley April 12, 2016 (Bloomberg) — The victory by Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, a former finance minister, for second place in Sunday’s Peruvian president elections sets up a showdown between two business-friendly candidates, part of a regional backlash against left-wing politicians. Kuczynski, a 77-year-old Oxford-trained political economist who’s spent more than 50… Read More 77-Year-Old Wall Street Favorite to Face Fujimori in Peru Runoff

Everything Is Going Wrong in Ecuador

By Nathan Gill August 24, 2015 (Bloomberg) — As emerging markets come unhinged around the world, few nations face tougher challenges than Ecuador, a dollarized oil producer in El Nino’s path, where street protests are flaring up alongside one of the planet’s most dangerous volcanoes. “Sometimes it makes you want to laugh,” said Jose Hidalgo, director… Read More Everything Is Going Wrong in Ecuador

Pope Apologizes for Church Abuse in Conquest of the Americas

By Nathan Gill July 9, 2015 (Bloomberg) — Pope Francis asked for forgiveness for crimes committed by the Catholic Church during the colonization of the Americas at a summit in Bolivia, home to one of the region’s largest indigenous populations. “I say with sorrow that the church has committed many serious sins against the indigenous… Read More Pope Apologizes for Church Abuse in Conquest of the Americas

Pope Seeks Unity in Latin America Plagued by Political Strife

By Nathan Gill (Bloomberg) — Pope Francis, the first Latin American to lead the Catholic Church, called for unity and greater respect for diversity Tuesday during a mass in Quito, where thousands camped overnight in the rain to hear the pontiff speak. “There was no shortage of conviction or strength in that cry for freedom… Read More Pope Seeks Unity in Latin America Plagued by Political Strife

Venezuela Bonds Trapped by Oil’s New Normal as Relief Rally Ends

By Nathan Gill (Bloomberg) — This year’s climb in crude prices, however slight, brought relief to Venezuelan and Ecuadorean bondholders after last year’s crash decimated the oil producers’ revenue and prompted concern they were running short of cash. Now, the pessimism is back. While New York oil futures have surged 36 percent from a six-year… Read More Venezuela Bonds Trapped by Oil’s New Normal as Relief Rally Ends