But more cost cutting is likely as the country still struggles to borrow on bond markets cheaply — thanks to low reserves and more than a dozen recent defaults.
The security situation has made the country’s economic woes all the worse, scaring away visitors and investors alike.
“There are no tourists, there are no customers,” said 58-year-old Maria Delfina Toaquiza Ughsa, an Indigenous artist who has a stall on a hill overlooking Quito’s old town.
Political analyst Laso said Noboa’s penchant for using the military to tackle the drug problem has also hurt the country’s image.
“He goes out with a bulletproof vest and helmet, he declares a state of emergency, he closes land borders during the election for a potential threat that may occur, he says that we are at war, this negates any possibility of investment,” he told AFP.
If that were not enough, the new president will also have to find a way to navigate US President Donald Trump’s love of deportations and tariffs.
Noboa has agreed to help with US deportations, even though Ecuadorans send about $6 billion back home every year, and any drop in remittances or emigration would be keenly felt.
“Migration was like a pressure valve for the economy, that is now blocked thanks to the policies of Trump,” said Acosta Burneo.
© 2025 AFP
