Ecuadorans living dark hours

Ecuador lives today dark hours in the midst of blackouts, economic problems and security crisis, according to citizens who took to the streets to demand the departure of President Daniel Noboa.

The power cuts, which from this November 1st and until November 4th will be reduced from 14 to eight hours per day, are sinking the president’s image, according to a recent survey by Perfiles de Opinión.

The study indicates that Noboa has a 55.83 percent disapproval, the worst number registered since he assumed power in November 2023.

The president, who looks forth to his reelection in 2025 and was leading the voting intention in two polls released in August, admitted last Sunday that his popularity has decreased as a consequence of the blackouts.

The president of the Ecuadorian Business Committee, Maria Paz Jervis, told Teleamazonas channel on Thursday, that the current phase of power outages caused a 20 percent drop in sales nationwide.

“This is a lot of money”, the business representative said for whom this is equivalent to a loss of four billion dollars.

Faced with the extensive power cuts, small businessmen turned to the use of diesel generators, which implies an additional expense to purchase fuel, while large industries remain paralyzed for hours and many persons fear losing their jobs.

In view of this situation, students, workers, retirees, unemployed and citizens in general marched this Thursday from the Central University to the Historic Center of Quito, where the Executive is located, to demand the departure of the president.