Tension mounted as vote counting in Ecuador's presidential election dragged into a third day on Tuesday, with supporters and opponents of outgoing President Rafael Correa trading heated accusations. With the last ballots trickling in from Sunday's election, ruling party candidate Lenin Moreno had a little over 39% of the votes and an almost 11-point lead over conservative Guillermo Lasso, a former banker who finished second.
Former Vice President Lenin Moreno, a leftist advocate for the disabled who was paralyzed in a 1998 robbery attempt, was leading in Ecuador’s presidential election Sunday, but was at risk of falling just short of avoiding a runoff on April 2. Moreno, 63, is the close ally of outgoing President Rafael Correa, under whom he served as vice president from 2007 to 2013.
The Organization of American States Electoral Observation Mission (OAS/EOM) to the general elections and referendum that will be held in Ecuador on February 19 began its deployment this week.
Ecuador signed an agreement with Italy to define the tax obligations of the citizens of the two countries, in order to avoid double taxation on income taxes and equity and prevent tax evasion, the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry said.
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has called for the resignation of all his ministers, an ordinary practice as the Executive is set to evaluate the state of things, the National Secretariat of Communication (Secom) said Wednesday.
Anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said on Monday that its founder Julian Assange's internet was shut down by the government of Ecuador, deflecting blame from the U.S. or British governments which have sparred with Assange for releasing sensitive material.
UK Minister for the Americas Hugo Swire MP, met with the new Ecuadorean Foreign Minister, Guillaume Long, in London on Monday to discuss assistance in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake that struck the Andean country in April.
The massive bribery scandal that has enraged Brazilians and pushed President Dilma Rousseff to the verge of impeachment is just one flashpoint among many right now across Latin America, according to a piece from The Washington Post.
President Rafael Correa announced Wednesday night that he is raising sales taxes and will charge a one-time levy on millionaires to rebuild cities devastated by Ecuador's worst earthquake in decades. In a televised address, Correa said damages from the 7.8-magnitude quake will likely run into the billions of dollars, adding to already heavy economic hardships triggered by the collapse in world oil prices.
Aid began to flow in Sunday to areas devastated by Ecuador's strongest earthquake in decades and the death toll continued to rise as people left homeless hunkered down for another night outside in the dark.