New Era, sorta

It has now been more than a week since the Presidential run-off election in Ecuador. Fundamentally not much has really changed. Ecuador is still living in the crisis of violence with the region’s fourth-highest homicide rate (https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/ecuador-crime-lasso-corruption-politics-protests-violence/) and is also in a precarious economic situation (https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/05/24/the-ecuador-of-guillermo-lasso/ ). Meanwhile Ecuador is also going through a migrant crisis. In addition to continuing to receive refugees from Colombia and migrants from Venezuela, there are thousands of Ecuadorians fleeing the precarious situation and traveling to the US (https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/ecuador-migration-trends-emigration-venezuelans).

At the age of 35, Daniel Noboa will be Ecuador’s youngest president. (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/16/daniel-noboa-wins-ecuador-presidential-election). Several people have asked us what this means for our work and for the country? As to the first part of the question, what does this mean for us personally and the churches? In the larger scheme of things I already mentioned, this doesn’t impact us much directly. But as far as policy and politics, Noboa likely won’t be a radically different type of president than Lasso, who is stepping down before his term ends. Noboa and his supporters wouldn’t agree with that comment, but you don’t have to read much about Noboa or Lasso to realize that they aren’t radically different in their ideas or form of governing.

Noboa does try to differentiate himself from his banana tycoon father. His father, who ran for president five times, had a more populist type of politics. Noboa also worked extremely hard to distance himself from the previous president, Rafael Correa, and the leftist economic politics and proposals of Correa’s hand-picked presidential candidate, Luisa Gonzales. Many said that Noboa ran a campaign against Correa and his history. (Correa is currently living in Belgium since he was tried and convicted in absentia on charges of corruption). Noboa’s win means that “Correismo” or “Correa type of neo-socialist” politics lost the last two presidential election and also before that, a national referendum.

Noboa has also received pushback from different groups, notably CONAIE (the national council of Indigenous Nations) who said they will not tolerate “Neo-liberal politics” that hurt the working class and indigenous groups and nations. (https://www.primicias.ec/noticias/politica/demandas-conaie-daniel-noboa-paro-protestas/)

Nevertheless, Noboa finds himself in an incredibly difficult situation, as an inexperienced leader. His past experience includes serving part of a term in the general assembly, and previously working in his father’s banana business. In addition, he only has 17 months in his term, so will likely have to start campaigning again in about 12 months. He also does not have majority support in congress. Instead the party that has the most members in congress is Correa’s, Revolución Ciudadana party (Citizens Revolution), although they don’t have an actual majority. He will have to fight extreme increases in organized crime that has already infiltrated the judiciary, the police and branches of the military. Some even allege that organized crime from Europe has infiltrated the current Lasso government https://investigacioneslaposta.com/

Given this situation we have spent a lot of time praying with church leaders in Ecuador and have asked for prayers for the churches here. In particular, we would like to see how the churches can respond to situations of violence in an imaginative Christ like manner. We have begun organizing an event in November, inviting leaders of Mennonite churches and other church leaders from Ecuador, to pray and share together. Given their many years of experience responding to situations of violence in Colombia, we are also inviting church leaders from Colombia to help encourage church leaders here, We hope this event will be an opportunity to talk and pray about building peace. Mauricio Chenlo, one of the folks from MMN who we have also invited to share, has said that we would like this event to be a movement for going from hopelessness to a movement of prophetic imagination. We ask that you all pray for the different churches in Ecuador and also pray for this upcoming event.