Ecuador swears in conservative president amid economic crisis

Guillermo Lasso says he will promote new private sector investment and vaccinate 9 million people against COVID-19 in his first 100 days.

Conservative Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso took office on Monday promising to revive an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic and create jobs for a population weary from years of painful austerity measures. The 65-year-old former banker in April beat out socialist economist Andres Arauz, who had promised to restore the generous social spending programmes of former President Rafael Correa, who was in power for a decade until 2017. “Ecuador must also mean a promise of balance in common life, balance between the causes of its people, balance between economic growth and social justice,” Lasso said in a speech after his swearing-in.