00:00And in this context, let's welcome Diego Pérez,
00:02teacher at the School of Security and Defense
00:05of Quito, Ecuador.
00:06Hi, Diego, and thank you for joining us today.
00:10It's a pleasure talking to you today.
00:12How is Ecuador arriving today to this election
00:15in social and economic matters?
00:20Well, it is a very essential election for Ecuador
00:25because socially, the country has faced a decline,
00:30a steep decline in the quality of life,
00:33whereas in terms of economic progress,
00:38the country has stopped.
00:39But not only that, but it has faced several challenges,
00:43especially regarding the change in security terms
00:49that has affected businesses, as well as the problems regarding
00:54electricity.
00:55It's worth to remember that Ecuador
00:57had a very severe crisis regarding electricity
01:03over the past four months, and that
01:06has affected several businesses.
01:09So it has been a very, those have
01:13been very essential issues in this election.
01:17And this is the country that the new president
01:20will have to face.
01:22In what way the return to neoliberalism in 2017
01:26has impacted and transformed Ecuador's social and economic
01:29landscape the same that we are seeing today?
01:34Well, as it is known, with any neoliberal type
01:40of government, the state has reduced its presence,
01:45especially affecting those in the most marginal sectors
01:51of the citizenship.
01:53So with those conditions in place,
01:57the country has faced more poverty, less opportunities,
02:02more inequality.
02:04And that has meant that the people
02:07is facing more difficult conditions.
02:12And of course, that means in the end
02:15that any candidate who is providing
02:20the notion of a stronger state should, in essence,
02:25should have better options in this election.
02:30However, the narrative regarding violence and crime
02:35has been overwhelming.
02:38And it has been the key element that the government,
02:43that the current government is using
02:46so as to gather people around their postures.
02:50So I think this is an election where
02:54everything is yet to be seen.
02:56Regarding insecurity, Ecuador is suffering today
02:59an alarming rise in insecurity.
03:01In this context, Novoa imposed the militarization
03:04of the country under the narrative
03:06that it is key for the protection of citizens
03:08who are not linked to organized crime.
03:10However, it is happening otherwise.
03:13What repercussions are Novoa's decision
03:15having at a human rights level in the country?
03:19Well, I think this is an issue that
03:24has to be seen from the human rights perspective,
03:26as well as the public policy perspective.
03:29So from the human rights perspective,
03:31I think that the consequences have
03:33been very damaging to Ecuador's reputation,
03:39as well as to Ecuador's respect of human rights, which
03:44has traditionally been one of the things
03:48that Ecuador did somewhat right.
03:52But in this period, we have seen several abuses
03:56by the armed forces, especially in the most marginal areas
04:03of the big cities, where kids have been kidnapped
04:08by the armed forces, where several abuses have
04:11been committed, using the notion that these people were
04:17involved in criminal organizations.
04:23So that's been one of the downsides
04:28of this exceptional state that the president has
04:32kept on decreeing once and again.
04:36Now, on the other hand, we have to consider
04:38that security policy is still public policy.
04:44So it has to have goals.
04:47It has to have people responsible for them.
04:51And in this government, the public policy,
04:54the security public policy, has been, at least to say,
05:00somewhat murky.
05:02It hasn't been a clear public policy regarding security.
05:06It's mostly consistent of notions
05:10that are repeated over and over again
05:11by a securitizational discourse.
05:14But there are no key issues that are
05:20revealed regarding the security conditions of the country.
05:24So this means, in the end, that the country
05:27is going ahead with its work on organized crime.
05:32But it does not have a clear notion
05:36of what the processes should be, of who
05:39is responsible of what, and what are the goals that
05:42are to be achieved.
05:44Let's bring back the topic of the economy issue.
05:47This security crisis the country is facing
05:49has also exacerbated Ecuador's economic goals.
05:52For example, the country fell into recession in 2024,
05:56with its GDP falling by 1.5%.
06:00How does this can be translated in matters of impact
06:03to Ecuadorians' daily life?
06:07Well, I guess we should cross this information.
06:11We should check it against the fact
06:14that there are several, several citizens from Ecuador
06:18that are leaving the country, that
06:21have started huge migration processes.
06:25And these processes are focused on trying
06:30to get a better life.
06:31I mean, Ecuador problems are not only
06:36on the side of the loose, of losing the conditions in what
06:47refers to development, but also the problem here
06:52is that you cannot see what the future would bring.
06:56I mean, there is a very large gap regarding economic progress.
07:03So people tend to migrate.
07:07And this has been happening steadily since 2017.
07:11But especially last year was a very bad year.
07:14Now, it has to be taken into account the presence
07:17of Donald Trump in the US.
07:19And that will certainly change the conditions in Ecuador,
07:26at least during this year, because there
07:30has been a big amount of people who has been returned,
07:35even though we have only less than a month in Donald Trump's
07:39government.
07:39But there is a lot of people who has
07:41been forced to return to Ecuador from the United States.
07:46And the government here is trying
07:48to provide for them some economic bonus, about $1,500
07:57as an economic bonus for them to stay in Ecuador.
08:00Now, the thing, the big question here
08:02is if they are going to stay in a country
08:05where the possibilities of economic progress
08:09are still not sure, not clear.
08:13But also, these opportunities are also
08:20tied to an uncertainty.
08:22And that uncertainty is the chances
08:25of Ecuador of reinserting itself in the international economy
08:29and the chances of Ecuador trying
08:31to have a normal, regular national economy.
08:36Thank you very much, Diego, for your time
08:38here from the South on this key day for Ecuadorians
08:41and for Latin America as well.
08:46Thank you as well.
08:47Have a good day.
08:49We were speaking to Diego Perez, teacher
08:51at the School of Security and Defense of Quito, Ecuador.
08:54And with this interview, let's go for a short break.
08:57But we'll be right back.
08:58Don't go away.
Comments