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President Noboa ratified the SECA trade agreement with South Korea via Decreto Ejecutivo 359 on April 15, two days after the Asamblea approved it 83 votes. The deal eliminates tariffs on 98.9% of Ecuadorian exports to a 51-million-consumer market. Shrimp goes to 0% immediately. Bananas phase out over five years. Here's what's in it.
Guayaquil's water utility Interagua will suspend service across large parts of the city and the Daule corridor this weekend for maintenance. Cuts run from Saturday April 18 at 10 PM through Sunday April 19, with some sectors out until 3 PM. Here's the sector-by-sector breakdown.
The Banco Central del Ecuador raised its 2026 GDP growth projection to 2.5%, up 0.7 points from its September forecast. Inflation is expected at 1.8%, private credit to grow 10%, and the external account to post a $6.4 billion surplus. 2025 closed at 3.7% growth — so momentum is slowing.
The National Assembly approved a law making financial education mandatory across all levels of Ecuador's education system, from early childhood to university. The curriculum will cover electronic fraud prevention, safe digital platform use, and AI literacy. Revolución Ciudadana voted against despite one legislator calling it 'objective and technical.'
Peak demand on the Ecuadorian electrical grid hit 5,333 MW on April 10 — roughly 20% above normal, and enough to trigger rolling blackouts across Guayaquil, Daule, and Samborondón. The Ministry of Environment and Energy suspended all scheduled grid maintenance on April 14 to free up capacity. Here's what's happening and what to expect.
Environment and Energy Minister Inés Manzano announced leadership changes at both CNEL (the national distribution utility) and CENACE (the grid operator) this week after widespread blackouts and what she called 'slow and inefficient' responses. Juan Carlos Blum — a mechanical engineer with a background in multilateral energy work — is the new CNEL general manager.
At a high-level meeting in Quito, Ecuador formally asked Paraguay to classify Los Choneros, Los Lobos, Los Tiguerones, Chone Killers, and Latin Kings as terrorist organizations. Paraguay's response was non-conclusive. A Paraguayan presidential visit is scheduled for July, with a follow-up coordination meeting in Asunción on September 2.
Economy Minister Sariha Moya presented Ecuador's fiscal efficiency formula at the IMF Spring Meetings in Washington on April 14. Her headline numbers: international reserves up from $3 billion to $11 billion, poverty down from 28% to 21% in 2025, and local-government payment delays cut by 85%. She credited the fuel subsidy phase-out that ran from June 2024 through September 2025.
Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld released Ecuador's 2025 foreign affairs report, highlighting 107 bilateral instruments signed, $343.9 million in non-reimbursable international cooperation, 529,685 online visa appointments, and a 97.98% budget execution rate. The headline policy win: more than 7,400 tariff lines going to 0% under the US trade deal.
Ecuador's Ministry of Environment and Energy publicly labeled a circulating WhatsApp schedule of purported Guayas power cuts as "Falso." The fake document listed outages across Guayaquil, Samborondón, Machala, Daule, and Quito. The real, limited maintenance cuts are confined to two upcoming Sundays at the Dos Cerritos substation.
Ecuador's Armed Forces have inspected 663 of the country's 1,130 licensed private security firms so far, part of an escalating weapons-control campaign triggered by evidence that private security arsenals have been feeding organized crime. A January 2026 raid on a Los Lagartos-linked firm recovered 200+ weapons with altered serial numbers.
Ecuador's April 9 imposition of a 100% tariff on Colombian products — targeting $2 billion in annual bilateral trade — has triggered the deepest institutional crisis the Comunidad Andina has faced in its 57-year existence. Former Colombian president Álvaro Uribe publicly warned Ipiales is "in ruin."
