Ecuador’s conservative president Guillermo Lasso had his work cut out for him when he came into office in 2021. Elected partly because of a split in the Ecuadorean left, he had a weak mandate from the start. Last year, Lasso’s government survived a major challenge from protests across the country. Now, another blow: voters defeated a referendum of constitutional amendments proposed by Lasso. Also, opposition candidates won municipal elections in key cities. Will Lasso finish his term? What does the crisis mean for Ecuador’s economy? What do Ecuadorians want from their government? In this episode, Brian Winter and political analyst Sebastián Hurtado assess the outlook in Ecuador and how it relates to events elsewhere in the region.
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Guests:
Sebastián Hurtado is the co-founder and CEO of Prófitas, a political risk consultancy based in Quito.
Brian Winter is the editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly.
Supplemental Reading:
Ecuador Protests Weaken a Struggling Guillermo Lasso by Sebastián Hurtado
AQ Podcast: What to Know About Ecuador’s Election
Yaku Pérez: The New Face of Ecuador’s Left? by Brendan O’Boyle
