Ecuador

Economics

Politics

The International Monetary Fund reached a staff-level agreement with Ecuador to provide approximately $4 billion in funding under a four-year Extended Fund Facility, with the deal still subject to executive board approval, Reuters reported on April 25.

Ecuador: Government Reaches Staff-Level Agreement With IMF

Military & Security

Ecuadorians voted in a referendum to approve measures intended to help the government under President Daniel Noboa combat organized crime, but they rejected economic measures, Reuters reported on April 21.

Ecuador: Voters Approve Security Measures in Constitutional Referendum

Energy

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa ordered all public and private workers to stay home from work on April 18-19 after low water levels at the country's hydroelectric plants triggered energy shortages, Agence France-Presse reported on April 17.

Ecuador: Government Tells Workers To Stay Home for Two Days Due to Power Shortages

Mexico

On April 11, Mexico submitted formal proceedings against Ecuador in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), arguing that the latter "violated Mexico's rights under customary and conventional international law" by raiding the Mexican embassy in Ecuador on April 5, and therefore should be suspended from the United Nations, according to an April 11 press release from the International Court of Justice. 

Ecuador, Mexico: Mexico Files Complaint With ICJ to Remove Ecuador From UN

Ecuador's Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a press statement declaring Mexico's ambassador in Quito "persona non grata" and demanded that the diplomat leave the country, Primicias reported April 4.

Ecuador, Mexico: Ecuador Declares Mexican Ambassador 'Persona Non Grata'

During a press conference, the International Monetary Fund's communications director stated that Ecuador had formally requested to begin negotiations with the fund for a new loan, Primicias reported on March 7.

Ecuador: Government Formally Requests IMF Support

The government of Ecuador proposed raising security spending by $214 million in 2024, bringing the total to $3.52 billion from $3.3 billion in 2023, Reuters reported on Feb. 21.

Ecuador: Government Requests Security Spending Bump in 2024 Budget

United States

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa signed two decrees ratifying the status of forces and operations against illicit transnational maritime activities agreements between Ecuador and the United States, AP reported on Feb. 15.

Ecuador: President Noboa Ratifies U.S.-Ecuador Military Cooperation Agreements

Assessments

Iran

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A banner depicts IRGC missile models aimed at Israel on April 16 in the Iranian capital of Tehran. The ongoing confrontation may be entering a de-escalation phase after the April 19 Israeli counterstrike to Iran's April 13 salvo against Israel.

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Israel-Iran Conflict, Ecuador's Constitutional Referendum

Police guard stand outside the Mexican embassy in Quito, Ecuador, on April 8, 2024. 

President Noboa likely hoped the raid would show his commitment to combatting corruption, but it has only left his government with more enemies at home and abroad.

Ecuador's Raid on the Mexican Embassy Risks Backfiring on Its President

Ecuador's flag waves behind rows of coins.

While another IMF program may help Ecuador avoid a greater crisis in the years ahead, the government will continue to struggle to implement crucial structural reforms amid significant political constraints.

Can Ecuador Escape Its Cycle of Economic Instability?

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Argentina

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Peru

Policemen guard the car of Mayor Luis Chonillo after an attack on the official May 15, 2023, in Duran, Ecuador. Governments can take steps to stave off a surge in violence, but for many in the region, such measures will be politically and economically out of reach.

Governments can take steps to stave off a surge in violence, but for many in the region, such measures will be politically and economically out of reach.

Forecasting Latin America's Next Crime Hotspot After Ecuador

Police present detainees in the case of TC Television in which armed men broke into the station's live broadcast on Jan. 10, 2024, in Guayaquil, Ecuador. 

While the government may be able to temporarily secure crime hot spots, major constraints on curbing gang activity portend a protracted security crisis with potential political implications.

Ecuador Declares 'Internal Armed Conflict' as Gang Violence Escalates

Palestinian Territories

New Zealand

Poland

Israeli army Merkava battle tanks deploy Oct. 13, 2023, with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel. An invasion will greatly exacerbate the hardships caused by Israel's total siege of the strip, creating a humanitarian crisis that could cause Egypt to use force to ensure that Palestinian refugees do not enter Sinai.

The Weekly Rundown: A Gaza Ground Invasion, a Parliamentary Election in Poland

Ecuadorean presidential candidate Daniel Noboa (center) gives a thumbs up as he rides on top of a truck during a campaign caravan in Quito, Ecuador, on Oct. 11, 2023. 

The Oct. 15 presidential run-off could end years of political deadlock, but the country's security and economic challenges will almost certainly persist regardless of the outcome.

The Challenges That Await Ecuador's Next President

Colombia

El Salvador

Honduras

Soldiers conduct a patrol on July 22, 2023, in the Salvadorean municipality of Colon, where the MS-13 gang reportedly remains active. 

The success of El Salvador's counter-crime state of emergency in reducing the country's homicide rate will be hard to replicate, despite the efforts of nearby countries.

The Appeal (and Perils) of Crime Crackdowns in Latin America, Part 1

South Africa

Zimbabwe

Brazil

Russia

India

Supporters of Guatemalan presidential candidate Bernardo Arevalo attend a campaign rally in the Central Square in Guatemala City, Guatemala, on Aug. 16, 2023. 

The Weekly Rundown: Lunar Landings, the BRICS Summit and a Host of Elections

Snapshots

Policemen stand guard while supporters of slain Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio pay their respects at the Quito Exhibition Center in Quito, Ecuador, on Aug. 11, 2023. 

The Aug. 20 vote may see the emergence of a wildcard presidential candidate, while a simultaneous referendum could threaten the country's oil output.

Ecuador Braces for a High-Stakes Election

Police officers stand guard at the National Service of Legal Medicine and Forensic Science on Aug. 10, 2023, in Quito, Ecuador, following the assassination of a candidate running in the country's upcoming presidential election.

Fernando Villavicencio’s murder signals increasingly brazen political violence that could bolster support for tough-on-crime politicians in the Aug. 20 election.

A Presidential Candidate's Assassination Deepens Ecuador's Security Crisis

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What Q3 security risks should companies expect and prepare for?

Essential Geopolitics: An Overview of RANE's Q3 Forecast

Ecuador straddles the equator on the Pacific Coast of South America. Colombia sits on its northern border, and Peru wraps around its eastern and southern boundaries. Geographical barriers divide the country into three parts. The east is part of the Amazon rainforest, the Andes Mountains run down the center, and the west is in the coastal zone.     The country's major territorial conflict with Peru was settled in 1998. The dispute dated back to the time when Ecuador was part of Gran Colombia, which included Colombia, Venezuela and Panama, in the early 19th century. With the dissolution of Gran Colombia, Ecuador inherited a territorial dispute that took over 150 years to be settled.     Although there is no territorial conflict with Colombia, Ecuador's border with its northern neighbor poses a major security challenge for the government in the capital, Quito, because it is a major route for Colombian drug trafficking and armed groups. Criminals and rebels tend to cross into Ecuador to escape Colombia's security forces. Ecuador and Colombia almost went to war at the beginning of the 21st century when Colombia bombed Ecuadorian territory in an operation against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.     The country's core regions are the Quito metropolitan area and Guayaquil, home to Ecuador's major port. Those two areas hold more than half of the country's population. Over 70 percent of Ecuador's population is mestizo, and less than 10 percent is indigenous. However, indigenous groups have clashed frequently with the central government because they oppose oil and mining activities, especially in Ecuador's Amazon region. Oil and mining products are two of the country's key export products, representing almost 40 percent of total exports.

SITUATION REPORTS

Ecuador: Government Reaches Staff-Level Agreement With IMF

Ecuador: Voters Approve Security Measures in Constitutional Referendum

Ecuador: Government Tells Workers To Stay Home for Two Days Due to Power Shortages

Ecuador, Mexico: Mexico Files Complaint With ICJ to Remove Ecuador From UN

Ecuador, Mexico: Ecuador Declares Mexican Ambassador 'Persona Non Grata'

Ecuador: Government Formally Requests IMF Support

Ecuador: Government Requests Security Spending Bump in 2024 Budget

Ecuador: President Noboa Ratifies U.S.-Ecuador Military Cooperation Agreements

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