Lenín Moreno
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Lenín Boltaire Moreno Garcés (; born 19 March 1953) is an Ecuadorian politician who served as the 46th
president of Ecuador The president of Ecuador (), officially called the constitutional president of the Republic of Ecuador (), serves as the head of state and head of government of Ecuador. It is the highest political office in the country as the head of the exec ...
from 2017 to 2021. He was also
vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
from 2007 to 2013, serving under President
Rafael Correa Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado (; born 6 April 1963) is an Ecuadorian politician and economist who served as the 45th president of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017. The leader of the PAIS Alliance political movement from its foundation until 2017, Corr ...
. He was nominated as the candidate for Correa's PAIS Alliance, a
social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
political party, in the 2017 presidential election and won a narrow victory in Ecuador's second round of voting on 2 April 2017. However, after his election Moreno drastically shifted his political stance, distancing himself from Correa's
leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...
legacy in both domestic and foreign policy. By the end of Moreno's presidency he had left office with a staggeringly low approval rating of 9%, the lowest in modern Ecuadorian history. He was expelled from PAIS Alliance in March 2021 after the party's crushing defeat in the 2021 elections. Moreno was shot in a 1998 robbery attempt and thereafter has used a wheelchair. For his advocacy for people with disabilities, he was nominated for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize. According to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', while he was in office from 2017 to 2021, Moreno was the world's only serving head of state to use a wheelchair.


Early life and education

Lenín Moreno was born into a middle-class family in Nuevo Rocafuerte, a small town in the Ecuadorian Amazon, near the
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
vian border. His father, Servio Tulio Moreno, was a teacher who promoted
bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...
education and integrated schools for indigenous children and
mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...
children and who later became a senator. His parents named him after men they admired; his father liked
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
and his mother
Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...
, although an error in the
civil registration Civil registration is the system by which a government records the vital events (Birth certificate, births, Marriage certificate, marriages, and Death certificate, deaths) of its citizens and Residency (domicile), residents. The resulting repos ...
turned his middle name into ''Boltaire'' (in Spanish the letters v and b correspond to the same
phoneme A phoneme () is any set of similar Phone (phonetics), speech sounds that are perceptually regarded by the speakers of a language as a single basic sound—a smallest possible Phonetics, phonetic unit—that helps distinguish one word fr ...
). He moved to Quito with his family when he was three years old. Moreno studied in
Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...
at the Instituto Nacional Mejía (Mejia National Institute), the Colegio Nacional Sebastián Benalcázar (Sebastian Benalcazar National School), and the
Universidad Central del Ecuador The Central University of Ecuador () is a national university located in Quito, Ecuador. It is the oldest and largest university in the country, and one of the oldest universities in the Americas. The enrollment at the university is over 10,000 ...
(Central University of Ecuador), where he earned a degree in Public Administration and was honored as the best graduate. He studied psychology.


Career

Moreno began his career in 1976 as the director of the Continental Professional Training Center. He went on to become Director of OMC Publigerencia Andina, sales manager of Satho and marketing manager of Zitro, all located in Ecuador. Then he moved to the public sector, taking an administrative post with the Minister of Government. He worked extensively in the public tourism industry. He founded the Chamber of Tourism of Pichincha, a province in Ecuador, and was executive director of the National Federation of Tourism Chambers and executive director of the Chamber of Tourism of Pichincha, between 1997 and 1999.


Eventa Foundation and Lenin Moreno's theory of humor

Lenin Moreno, before becoming president, established a foundation called the "Eventa Foundation" to promote his "theory of humor," which, according to Lenin Moreno himself, focused on the importance of humor, laughter, and kindness to foster a positive change in people's attitudes and behavior. He even wrote seven books on the subject: ("Philosophy for life and work"), ("Theory and Practice of Comedy"), ("Being Happy is Easy and Fun"), ("World's Best Jokes"), ("Humor of the Famous"), , ("Laugh, don’t be sick") and ("Non-Ecological Tales"). However, once in office, he attempted to implement this theory, which in practice translated to Lenin Moreno using state media, conferences, and even presidential address to the nation to tell inappropriate jokes—many of them highly offensive towards certain sectors of society containing elements of
sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...
and
misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against Woman, women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than Man, men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been wide ...
, defense of
child labor Child labour is the exploitation of children through any form of work that interferes with their ability to attend regular school, or is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such exploitation is prohibited by legislation w ...
, and even
pedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelled paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of pube ...
. As a result, Lenin Moreno had to publicly apologize on multiple occasions for his jokes, leading to the creation of the tradition in Ecuador known as the "Burrada de la Semana" where Ecuadorians, through social media, mocked the foolish statements made by Lenin Moreno each week. This tradition persisted until the end of Lenin Moreno's presidency. Moreno was appointed Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility by
United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...
Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...
in December 2013.


Vice-presidency (2007–2013)

Moreno boosted disabled services budget, aiding Ecuadorians with housing and income. Moreno implementing a 4% employment quota. He founded the Manuela Espejo Solidarity Mission, aiding and expanding beyond Ecuador. The mission involved Ecuadorean and Cuban doctors visiting homes, offering free medical checkups. Completing his term in 2013, Moreno was the first VP to do so since 1992. Moreno left the vice presidency on 24 May 2013 and was succeeded by
Jorge Glas Jorge David Glas Espinel (; born 13 September 1969) is an Ecuadorian politician and electrical engineer. He served as Vice President of Ecuador from 24 May 2013 to 13 December 2017. Then Ecuadorian president Lenín Moreno suspended Glas of his ...
.


Nobel nomination

Moreno was nominated for the 2012
Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...
by Celso Maldonado, Vice President of the People with Disabilities Commission of the Ecuadorian
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
.


Presidency (2017–2021)

On 1 October 2016, Moreno was nominated as a candidate for the 2017 presidential election at the conference of Alianza País. The statement of his candidacy was made by President
Rafael Correa Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado (; born 6 April 1963) is an Ecuadorian politician and economist who served as the 45th president of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017. The leader of the PAIS Alliance political movement from its foundation until 2017, Corr ...
. On 19 February 2017 election, Moreno won the elections with 39.3% of the vote. However he was short by less than one percentage point of outright victory, as Ecuador requires in its
two-round system The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...
. On 2 April 2017 runoff, he defeated
Guillermo Lasso Guillermo Alberto Santiago Lasso Mendoza (; born 16 November 1955) is an Ecuadorian businessman, banker and politician who served as the 47th president of Ecuador from 2021 to 2023. He was the country's first conservative president in nearly tw ...
, with 51.16% of the vote.


Presidency

Within months of winning the election, Moreno started moving away from his election platform, thus igniting a feud with ex-president Rafael Correa. Later in 2018, through a referendum, Moreno reversed several key pieces of legislation passed by the Correa administration that targeted wealthy individuals and banks. He also reversed a previous referendum allowing indefinite re-election, and established the (CPCCS-T), which has supra-constitutional powers, to "evaluate control authorities and judges", with the aim of removing what remains of Correa's influence. Since the creation of CPCCS-T, Moreno has used it to oust and replace government officials, provincial judges, the judicial council, and the National Electoral Council (CNE). Moreno's government adopted a conservative policy: reduction of
public spending Government spending or expenditure includes all government consumption, investment, and transfer payments. In national income accounting, the acquisition by governments of goods and services for current use, to directly satisfy the individual o ...
,
trade liberalization Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist political parties generall ...
, and flexibility of the labour code. The Productive Development Act enshrines an austerity policy, and reduces the development and redistribution policies of the previous mandate. In the area of taxes, the authorities aim to "encourage the return of investors" by granting tax amnesty and proposing measures to reduce tax rates for large companies. In addition, the government waives the right to tax increases in raw material prices and foreign exchange repatriations. Moreno's government supported plans for oil drilling in Ecuador's Amazon region. The Ecuadorian state limits annual public expenditure increases to 3%, confines budget deficits to debt interest repayment, and promotes privatizations with extended subsidies. Additionally, the government adopts international arbitration for foreign investments. Moreno announced in February 2019 that he had obtained a loan of more than $10 billion from the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...
(IMF) and the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
, with which the previous government had broken off, "at rates below 5% on average and for terms of up to 30 years". In June 2019, Moreno's government faced protests from environmentalist, indigenous and self-described patriotic groups after he permitted the
US military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. U.S. federal law names six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the Coast Guard. Since 1949, all of the armed forces, except th ...
to use the airbase on
Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands () are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of sli ...
. He faced more protests in September 2019, as
pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their ...
demonstrators protested the fact that Ecuador had failed to pass proposed legislation, which would have relaxed the nation's strict
abortion law Abortion laws vary widely among countries and territories, and have changed over time. Such laws range from abortion being freely available on request, to regulation or restrictions of various kinds, to outright prohibition in all circumstances ...
s to allow for abortion in the case of rape. On 2 October 2019, Moreno declared the abolition of fuel subsidies, which in turn triggered the 2019 Ecuadorian protests. The government was forced to move from
Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...
to
Guayaquil Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...
after effectively losing control of the capital to demonstrators. Seven people were killed and 2,100 were arrested before Moreno signed directive 883, restoring the subsidies, which ended the protests on 13 October.


Actions taken during the COVID-19 pandemic

Once the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...
(WHO) declared the global pandemic of
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
on 11 March 2020, the Ecuadorian government declared a health emergency throughout the country to prevent the spread of infections. In this way, they implemented various preventive measures, including home isolation for travelers arriving from countries with a higher number of reported cases, increased control measures, restrictions on mass events, strengthening of biosafety measures for healthcare personnel, the use of technological platforms for telemedicine,
online education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...
, and telecommuting, and the prohibition of the export of masks, soaps, and disinfectant gels. Subsequently, on March 16, a
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...
was decreed with the purpose of containing the transmission of the coronavirus (COVID-19), a situation that persisted until September.


Health crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic

The health system crisis in Ecuador during the coronavirus pandemic worsened due to a lack of investment in hospital infrastructure and a reduction in public health spending in previous years. In 2019, 10,000 public sector professionals were laid off, with the majority being healthcare workers, as part of austerity measures imposed by Lenin Moreno and recommended by the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...
. The lack of adequate equipment, including the inoperability of key medical equipment, hindered the response capacity to the pandemic. These deficiencies in the health system left the population vulnerable, leading to a critical situation where the deceased accumulated in the streets, highlighting the magnitude of the crisis in Ecuador. The health system crisis in Ecuador during the coronavirus pandemic manifested in an alarming overflow. The province of Guayas, with Guayaquil as the most affected city, recorded 1,937 cases, representing 70% of the national total of 2,748 cases. The BBC reported that Guayaquil had more COVID-19 deaths than entire countries. Additionally, the number of deaths in the country reached 927.000. The health system proved insufficient to cope with the growing demand, leading to a situation where the bodies of the deceased were left in the streets due to the system's lack of response and capacity. At that time, in
Guayaquil Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...
, videos and testimonies of corpses abandoned in the streets reflected the critical situation the city was facing. Many funeral homes ceased operations out of fear of contracting the virus, causing delays in the removal of bodies. It was estimated that some of these deaths were not related to the coronavirus, but due to the lack of medical analysis, the causes of death could not be confirmed. The scarcity of resources in low-income neighborhoods led to wakes being held at home, and many families had to wait for more than three days for the bodies to be removed.


= Nepotism and irregular management of COVID-19 vaccines

= Health Minister Juan Carlos Zevallos stirred controversy by prioritizing the vaccination of his relatives against COVID-19 instead of focusing on priority groups. This occurred while Ecuador was facing a severe national emergency with thousands of deaths due to the pandemic, and corpses were piling up in the streets of Guayaquil. It was discovered that doses intended for COVID-19 patients were diverted to vaccinate Zevallos' family members at private centers. Despite the complaints and calls for his resignation, Zevallos received strong support from President Lenín Moreno. However, due to pressure from the National Assembly, he ultimately resigned from his position. The Attorney General's Office requested precautionary measures to prevent Zevallos from leaving the country. Despite these measures, it was revealed that Zevallos had allegedly escaped to Miami.


Security measures

Since Lenín Moreno assumed the presidency, Ecuador has experienced a significant increase in insecurity, as the homicide rate has risen from 5.6 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2017 to 20 per 100,000 in 2022. According to security expert Fernando Carrión, this situation results from decisions made by Moreno's government: "The Ministry of Justice, which managed prisons, was eliminated, as well as the coordinating Ministry of Security, the Ministry of the Interior responsible for security, and the National Council for the Control of Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances. All of this was consolidated into a single ministry called the Ministry of Governance, and budgetary resources were substantially reduced." Due to these measures, Ecuador went from being the second safest country in the region to one of the most violent and dangerous in Latin America. In 2023, Paco Moncayo, the then Minister of Security under President
Guillermo Lasso Guillermo Alberto Santiago Lasso Mendoza (; born 16 November 1955) is an Ecuadorian businessman, banker and politician who served as the 47th president of Ecuador from 2021 to 2023. He was the country's first conservative president in nearly tw ...
, stated, "Moreno dismantled the country's security system." Due to Lenin Moreno's budget cuts, the elimination of ministries and security coordination, as well as the dismissal of public workers, including those responsible for the control of the penitentiary system, one of the bloodiest prison uprisings in Ecuador's history occurred in 2021, known as the Ecuador Prison Massacre of 23 February 2021.


Penitentiary crisis

The inmate uprising in Ecuador, which left at least 116 dead, worsened the penitentiary crisis in the country. Three massacres were recorded in prisons during that period, resulting in a total of nearly 240 fatalities. Ecuador had 65 prisons with an official capacity of 30,000 people, but the prison population exceeded these figures, reaching around 39,000 individuals, of which nearly a sixth of the inmates in Ecuador’s prisons have not been sentenced. There was a shortage of internal guards, with only 1,500 across the entire country and an additional need for 3,000 according to experts. The major penitentiaries were located in
Latacunga Latacunga (; Quechua: Latakunga) is a plateau city of Ecuador, capital of the Cotopaxi Province, south of Quito, near the confluence of the Alaquez and Cutuchi rivers to form the Patate, the headstream of the Pastaza. At the time of census ...
, Cuenca, and
Guayaquil Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...
, with the latter hosting a large prison complex housing one-third of the country's inmates. The penitentiary crisis was compounded by violence generated by gangs linked to international drug trafficking, primarily from Mexico and Colombia, competing for power both inside and outside the prisons. These gangs operated from within the prisons as "central criminal commands." Approximately one-third of the inmates had ties to drug trafficking. Simultaneous uprisings occurred in four prisons in February, resulting in 79 dead inmates. Authorities attempted to regain control of the prisons with the assistance of the military.


Allegations of corruption

Ina Papers Case. This involves a corruption scandal in which bribery or "kickbacks" and money laundering amounting to 76 million dollars were allegedly managed, involving Lenín Moreno and his family in relation to an offshore company named Ina Investment Corporation. According to the investigation, this company was founded by Moreno's brother, Edwin Moreno, in Belize, a tax haven known for its tax benefits for foreign companies. According to information published on inapapers.org, the name "Ina" would be an acronym formed by the last three letters of the names of Lenín Moreno's daughters: Karina, Cristina, and Irina. Additionally, the investigation has linked Xavier Macías Carmigniani and María Auxiliadora Patiño, close friends of Moreno and his wife Rocío González, to the offshore company. It has been discovered that Ina Investment Corporation carried out various transactions, such as the purchase of furniture in Switzerland and the acquisition of an apartment in Spain. The invoices were issued in the name of Edwin Moreno and María Auxiliadora Patiño. Two addresses associated with the transactions have also been identified: one corresponds to Xavier Macías Carmigniani's house in
Guayaquil Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...
, and the other is related to the oil company Sertecpet, owned by Eduardo López, a friend of the Moreno Garcés brothers. The Ina Papers case has generated significant political repercussions and social unrest in
Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
, leading to requests for investigations and appearances before the National Assembly and the Office of the Attorney General of the Ecuadorian State. As a result of the investigation, charges of bribery have been filed against Lenín Moreno, his wife Rocío González, his daughter Irina, his brothers Edwin and Guillermo, as well as 36 other individuals. In February 2023, the Attorney General of the State, Diana Salazar, reported that the Ina Papers case had expanded and that relevant information had been obtained from Panama through international legal assistance. Subsequently, in March 2023, the charges were formally presented in a hearing, where the Prosecution requested preventive detention for the suspects, citing the risk of flight. However, the judge decided to apply less restrictive precautionary measures, such as periodic appearances before the National Court of Justice and a travel ban. In April 2023, prosecutors requested preventive detention for Lenín Moreno, Rocío González, Irina Moreno, and seven other individuals involved in the case. It was reported that ten of the implicated individuals, including Moreno, did not comply with the periodic appearances before the court, leading to a request for Interpol notification for their location and arrest. The Ina Papers case continues to unfold, and it is expected that further investigations and legal proceedings will shed more light on the alleged corruption and bribery activities involving Lenín Moreno and his family. These accusations have had a significant impact on Ecuador's political and social sphere, raising questions about transparency and ethics in the exercise of power.


Mueller investigation

US Special Counsel
Robert Mueller Robert Swan Mueller III (; born August 7, 1944) is an American lawyer who served as the sixth director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2001 to 2013. A graduate of Princeton University and New York University, Mueller served a ...
's team had been investigating a meeting between former
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
campaign chairman
Paul Manafort Paul John Manafort Jr. (; born April 1, 1949) is an American former lobbyist, political consultant, and attorney. A long-time Republican Party campaign consultant, he chaired the Trump presidential campaign from June to August 2016. Manafo ...
and President Moreno in Quito in 2017. Moreno talked with Manafort about removing
WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is a non-profit media organisation and publisher of leaked documents. It is funded by donations and media partnerships. It has published classified documents and other media provided by anonymous sources. It was founded in 2006 by ...
founder
Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He came to international attention in 2010 after WikiLeaks published a series of News leak, leaks from Chels ...
from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and his extradition to the United States.


Foreign policies

Following a June 2018 visit by U.S. Vice President
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
, who agreed with President Moreno to improve the US-Ecuador relations which were strained under the presidency of
Rafael Correa Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado (; born 6 April 1963) is an Ecuadorian politician and economist who served as the 45th president of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017. The leader of the PAIS Alliance political movement from its foundation until 2017, Corr ...
, Ecuador launched a security effort with the United States, including buying weapons, radar sets, six helicopters and other equipment, as well as cooperation with the U.S. that would include training and intelligence sharing. Pence and Moreno also spoke about
Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He came to international attention in 2010 after WikiLeaks published a series of News leak, leaks from Chels ...
. In August 2018, Ecuador withdrew from
ALBA ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English-language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingd ...
, a regional bloc led by Venezuela and Cuba, in a bid to further distance itself from that country's socialist state and to be more "independent" of organizations that are trying to impose "specific views" on Latin America's social and political issues. In January 2019, Moreno supported Venezuelan opposition leader
Juan Guaidó Juan Gerardo Antonio Guaidó Márquez (born 28 July 1983) is a Venezuelan politician and opposition figure. He belonged to the social-democratic party Popular Will, and was a federal deputy to the National Assembly representing the state of V ...
's claim to the Presidency of Venezuela, thus moving Ecuador away from its previous support of
Nicolás Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and former union leader serving as the 53rd president of Venezuela since 2013. Previously, he was the 24th Vice President of Venezuela, vice president from 2012 to 20 ...
. In early-2019 the IMF approved a $4.2bn loan for Ecuador. In April 2019 the World Bank approved the Social Safety Net Project for Ecuador. After imposing new restrictions on
Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He came to international attention in 2010 after WikiLeaks published a series of News leak, leaks from Chels ...
, who had been given
political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...
in Ecuador's London embassy since 2012, on 11 April 2019, Ecuador revoked his asylum, with Moreno saying Ecuador had "reached its limit on the behaviour of Mr Assange", allowing the Metropolitan Police to arrest him in the embassy. By mid-2019, he moved Ecuador's diplomatic position closer to the United States as he allowed the United States to use a military airstrip on the
Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands () are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of sli ...
to monitor drug trafficking and
illegal fishing Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is an issue around the world. Fishing industry observers believe IUU occurs in most fisheries, and accounts for up to 30% of total catches in some important fisheries. Illegal fishing takes pl ...
.


Shipment of weapons to Bolivia in support of the 2019 coup

During the coup d'état that took place in
Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
in 2019, led by Jeanine Áñez, a shipment of weapons and war ammunition from Ecuador was introduced into Bolivia. This led to an inspection to determine the route of said shipment. According to the commander of the Bolivian Police, Colonel Jhonny Aguilera, statements from authorities in 2019 have been collected, confirming the undertaking of a trip on that date to introduce weaponry. Additionally, it was revealed that the military attaché of Bolivia in Ecuador at that time was responsible for managing the shipment on a
C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...
aircraft. Authorities hope to determine the quantity of weaponry and tear gas that arrived in the country, as well as the intended purpose for their use. It is detailed that Ecuador delivered 5,000 hand grenades GL-302, 500 sound and flash grenades for outdoor use, 2,389 long-range projectiles caliber 37 mm, and 560 short-range projectiles caliber 37mm.


Approval rating

Moreno maintained a majority approval rating throughout his term as vice president. In late March 2012, his management was approved by 91% of Ecuadorians. Moreno enjoyed a popularity rating as high as 77% shortly after his election in 2017. His approval dropped slightly to around 69% by the start of 2018, before dropping to 46% by mid-2018 and further fell to under 27% by mid-2019, in May 2020, it registered 16% approval. After the 2019 Ecuadorian protests and mismanagement of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, Moreno reached an all-time low popularity, reaching only 5% of approval by early 2021. Moreno left office with an acceptance rate of only 9%, according to a survey by the firm Cedatos. As a result of his sharp shift to the right as president, Moreno has a higher approval rating among those who voted for Guillermo Lasso (20%) than those who voted for Moreno himself (5%), although he is now disapproved of by both groups.


Purchase of fake followers on social media

Moreno's low popularity ratings led to him buying followers on social media to appear to have popular support, according to an investigation by
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
. It was reported that the Ecuadorian president would have been a client of the company Devumi, which had provided him with at least 55,000 fake accounts on the social media platform Twitter. This company offered followers and retweets in support of Moreno and his administration.


Post-presidency

Moreno did not run again for re-election in the 2021 Ecuadorian general election. On 4 March 2021 he was expelled from PAIS Alliance. On 22 February 2023, Ecuador's attorney general Diana Salazar asked for charges to be brought against Moreno and 36 others over alleged corruption over the construction of one of the country's largest hydroelectric plants, built between 2009 and 2018. Moreno denied any accusations and said that Salazar's decision was a distraction from national issues.On 6 March 2023, a judge approved bribery charges to be brought against Moreno over the hydroelectric plant construction between 2009 and 2018. Moreno, who resides in Paraguay, denied the charges and called them "inhumane and arbitrary."


Accusations of robbery

Moreno was investigated in 2022 for missing pieces from the Presidential Museum. According to
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
members, when Lenín Moreno left office, only 7,000 pieces out of the original 11,200 remained in the museum located in the government palace. Assemblywoman Pamela Aguirre Zambonino urged the attorney general to investigate the case and not let the accusations be forgotten. The estimated value of the missing museum pieces exceeds 2 million dollars and included objects received as gifts from foreign leaders to Ecuador, as well as other historical items from the country.


Commissioner of the OAS (2022-present)

At the end of his term, Moreno left Ecuador to reside in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
with his daughter Irina, who was already living in the country, serving as the Ecuadorian representative to the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
. In North America, Moreno became a speaker at the Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom at
Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...
(FIU). Later, he was appointed by the President of the
Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; ; ; ) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is ...
, Luis Almagro, to serve as Commissioner of this organization in the city of Asunción,
Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
, where he began to reside upon taking office as OAS Commissioner.


Notes


References


External links


VicePresidencia del Ecuador

Sitio Web Oficial de Lenín Moreno

Biography by CIDOB

video: President Moreno's address
to the 72nd session of the
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...
, 20 September 2017 (English version) ( UN Web TV) , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Moreno, Lenin 1953 births Central University of Ecuador alumni Ecuadorian chief executives Ecuadorian humorists Ecuadorian victims of crime Grand Crosses of the Order of the Sun of Peru Politicians with paraplegia Living people PAIS Alliance politicians People from Aguarico Canton Presidents of Ecuador Vice presidents of Ecuador Leaders of political parties in Ecuador Wheelchair users