Quito is seeking help from the US government to fight drug-trafficking gangs and secure a bilateral trade agreement.
Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso said Tuesday he will seek re-election in 2025 in order to continue implementing economic and social policies that he believes benefit his country and its citizens.
The conservative former banker, who took office in May 2021, recently clinched a financing deal from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which he expects will boost public investment and allow jobs to be created again.
Mr Lasso expressed himself during an event at a think tank in the US capital, after his meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House. Quito is seeking help from the US government to fight drug-trafficking gangs and secure a bilateral trade agreement.
“Ecuador’s Constitution allows for re-election (of the president) only once,” and the country’s next presidential election will be held in 2025, Mr Lasso, 67, summarized during the event, organized by the think tank Inter-American Dialogue.
“In Washington one feels a little more daring and I can tell you that I will not hesitate in the face of this responsibility,” he said.
Ecuador’s economy is in “good health” despite being hit by the new coronavirus pandemic, Mr Lasso assured. Currently, he added, his government’s emphasis is on fighting drug trafficking, which is escalating violence on the streets and in prisons.
Ecuador has been able to seize more than 300 tons of cocaine since it took power, Mr. Lasso pointed out.
Mr. Biden pledged to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Quito in the fight against drug trafficking and gang violence, to support efforts to strengthen the judicial system, the prison system and security in Ecuador’s territorial waters, according to a statement from Mr. Lasso’s government.
In addition, Ecuador will receive from the US $13.5 million for small loans to women entrepreneurs and another $20 million to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect biodiversity and combat illegal fishing, according to a statement from the US presidency.
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