In the framework of the 2025 General Elections of Ecuador, we interview Diego Pérez Enríquez, teacher at the IAEN School of Security and Defense in Quito to discuss the political and social climate of the country leading up to this country. teleSUR
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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.