Noboa hopes Colombia will help Ecuador through the energy crisis

Monday, October 28th 2024 - 21:21 UTC

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“If I were a normal citizen, I would be upset with the president if there were blackouts,” Noboa admitted

Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa asked neighboring Colombia for help getting through the electricity crisis with power cuts dating back to Sept. 23 affecting households up to 14 hours a day, it was reported Sunday. The head of state admitted his popularity was waning ahead of the Feb. 9, 2025, elections.

During a TV interview, Noboa asked his Colombian colleague Gustavo Petro Ecuador would need that kind of assistance, thus advancing the agenda for Tuesday's meeting between both leaders at the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Cali.

”I saw there in the press that (Petro) was talking about helping Ecuador, the first one should be him. We would be very grateful and it is not free, it is that he sells (energy),“ Noboa said. On Oct. 25, Petro posted on X that it was ”time that all the brotherly peoples of Latin America show solidarity“ with Ecuador due to the electricity crisis caused by the drought. Colombia halted energy sales to Ecuador on Oct. 1 due to a drought of its own.

Regarding his public image in the middle of the energy crisis, Noboa admitted that there were surveys proving it had been affected ”but people are looking for a reason to trust again in this Government and we will give it to them.“ Although reckoning a drop in popularity, Noboa did not give the precise figure those surveys had verified.

”If I were a normal citizen, I would be upset with the president if there were blackouts, whether it is his fault or not, and that is what has been seen,“ Noboa conceded.

”The vast majority of people know that it is not our fault how we got to this point, but they want to see action and, this, it is going to be resolved soon. In the end, what matters is that at the beginning of December, people will have their lives back to normal,” he added.

Noboa, a 36-year-old businessman and politician who took office on November 23 last year for an 18-month government, was leading in voting intentions for the 2025 presidential elections as of mid-September, according to various polls. He will face at least 15 other contenders as per National Electoral Council (CNE) data.