Abad says she will work to restore relations with Mexico when she assumes presidency; Carapaz is ‘king of the mountains’; Economy is in recession

Vice President Verónica Abad said Friday she will open a dialog with the Mexican government if she assumes the presidency while President Daniel Noboa campaigns for reelection. She called Noboa’s decision to raid the Mexican embassy in April to capture former vice president Jorge Glas “stupid and irrational” and said efforts should begin immediately to “mend the relationship.”

In an interview with a Tel Aviv radio station, Abad said is prepared to assume presidential duties in January, during Ecuador’s presidential election campaign. “Today, I remain in exile here [in Israel] but I expect to return to Ecuador to fulfill my constitutional duty as president at the beginning of the year,” she said. Since her falling out with Noboa after last year’s cross death election, Abad was assigned to Israel, where she is also serving as ambassador.

Vice President Verónica Abad

In the interview, Abad said she has no sympathy for Glas, calling him a “common criminal,” but said the raid to extract him from the Mexican embassy was unjustified. “This was a violation of international law and diplomatic standards and sometimes you have to put aside national interests to maintain relations within the international community,” she said.

Abad called speculation that she would pardon former president Rafael Correa “absurd” while she fills in for Noboa. “This is a fable told by Noboa and his people to discredit me,” she claimed. “My entire political career has been based on opposing the forces of socialism and communism, so why would consider pardoning a socialist criminal so he can come back to Ecuador?” She added she believes Correa was “correctly convicted” of corruption in his 2019 trial.

She called reports that she has had conversations with the Correista Citizens Revolution party a “complete fabrication.”

Abad claims efforts to force her from office and disqualify her from assuming presidential duties will fail. “There is a conspiracy against me but the National Assembly has already confirmed my position in the government,” she said. “When the time comes, I will be prepared to exercise my duties.”

Noboa predicted last week that Abad would resign her position before the 2025 campaign under pressure from corruption investigations by the Attorney General’s office and the National Electoral Council.

Ecuador’s Carapaz wins Tour de France honor
Ecuador cyclist Richard Carapaz has been officially crowned ‘king of the mountains’ in the Tour de France. Carapaz claimed the red polka-dot ‘Grande Boucle’ jersey following the penultimate stage of the tour, between Nice and Col de la Couillole.

Carapaz’s honor in the tour’s mountain classification was the first won by a Latin American competitor since Colombian Nairo Quintana took the honor in 2013.

A native of Carchi Province, Carapaz was expected to perform best in the mountain stages of the tour due to his high-altitude mountain training around his home in Ecuador and in the Spanish Pyrenees. He finished 15th overall in the tour, as a result of difficulties during early stages of the race.

Economy is in recession, Central Bank says
In a Saturday bulletin, Ecuador’s Central Banks reported that the country’s economy is in recession. According to the bank, the economy entered the recession after the fourth quarter of 2023. It added that the economy has been at the “borderline of recession” since the third quarter of 2022, following a brief post-Covid pandemic resurgence.

The bank said its numbers from the second quarter of 2024, not yet compiled, will “most likely” show a continuation of recession with a recovery unlikely through the end of 2024.