Government denies blackouts, says it is adding more megawatts; Noboa’s popularity continues to slide; Court approves curfew with some qualifications

Although she denies recent electric blackouts are the beginning of a new power crisis, Energy Minister Inés Manzano admits that the country’s electrical generation system is “experiencing a major deficit of capacity.”

On Sunday, the Chamber of Electrical Engineers called on the government to take “emergency measures” to address the deficit and claimed that recent blackouts in Quito and Guayaquil were the result of a system “operating beyond its limit.”

The United Nations is complaining of the overuse of emergency declarations in Ecuador to combat crime.

In a Monday news conference, Manzano said 1,659 megawatts will be added to the system in 2026, with more than 300 megawatts of that already incorporated. “In recent weeks, more than 687 megawatts have been out of service due to maintenance at hydro and thermal facilities and this power is coming back online,” she said. “In addition, new capacity will be added throughout the year.”

She added that the deficit, currently at about 1,000 megawatts, is due in part to low water flow and technical problems at the Coca Codo Sinclair facility in Napo Province. “Once rains return and repairs are made, this facility will add several hundred megawatts to the grid.”

Manzano said the border dispute with Colombia has added to the deficit. Colombia suspended sale of electricity to Ecuador last month.

Noboa’s popularity continues to slide
President Daniel Noboa’s popularity continues to decline, according to the latest CB Global Data poll of Latin American presidents released Monday. After leading the poll of the region’s 18 presidents in May 2025, Noboa now ranks third from the bottom with a 33.5% approval rating.

Leading the poll are Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum at 72.3%, followed by Nayib Bukele of El Salvador at 71.8%, and Luis Abinader of the Dominican Republic. Behind Noboa in the poll are Venezuela’s Delcy Rodriguez at 26.4% and Peru’s Jose Balcazar at 25.2%.

Constitutional court okays nighttime curfews
The Constitutional Court has approved the use of nighttime curfews in four provinces ordered March 17 by the government. The curfews are in effect from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. in Guayas, Los Ríos, El Oro and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas Provinces.

Although the court said the restriction was justified based on high rates of crime, it ordered the national Ombudsman’s Office to coordinate law enforcement operations with police to assure that civil rights are respected.

On Monday, the Interior Ministry claimed the first week of the curfew was a “great success.” It reported police made 654 arrests for curfew violations and seized 143 weapons and 150 unregistered motorcycles.

UN complains about emergencies
Several offices of the United Nations issued a joint statement Friday complaining of Ecuador’s “overuse” of emergency declarations to combat violence.

“The use of force must be proportionate and that lethal force must be limited exclusively to self-defense in the face of an imminent and lethal threat to life, when all other means, including non-lethal force, have been exhausted,” the UN rapporteurs said in a statement. “Emergency declarations were never intended to become a way of daily life.”

In its statement, the UN agencies asked the government to justify emergency declarations with “facts and data” that support the actions. “The statistics that have so far been provided by the government indicate that these actions have been ineffective in reducing crime,” the rapporteurs wrote.