GUILLERMO LASSO MENDOZA, President of Ecuador, said that his Government was recently elected promising change, opportunity and the restoration of democracy.  This vision is markedly different from that of the last 14 years, when his predecessor and other Latin American leaders complained of asymmetries and so-called empires and launched personal diatribes against others.  “I want you to get to know me not through incendiary speeches, but through concrete results,” he said.

The United Nations was born after a protracted period of conflict, when humanity realized that global problems require global responses, he said.  The COVID-19 pandemic has made that idea all the more relevant and the world is compelled to put it into action.  He reported that four months after the inauguration of its new Government, Ecuador has become a vaccination success story thanks to diplomacy.  Sixty-two per cent of the vaccines that have come into the country were delivered by China, while the United States, its main trading partner, donated 2 million doses.  Talks are under way with the Russian Federation to build Latin America’s first production facility for the Sputnik vaccine.  Nine million citizens were fully immunized during the Government’s first 100 days and now more than half the population is vaccinated, he reported.

Stressing once again that actions speak louder than words, he said that his Government, in its first days in power, presented a draft organic law on free expression and communication to guarantee the fulfilment of that human right.  It signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations to create mechanisms to fight corruption.  Underscoring his country’s rich biodiversity, he said it is natural for Ecuador to implement policies to reduce carbon emissions and stop runaway environmental degradation.  He reiterated Ecuador’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, adding that he has great expectations for the Glasgow Climate Change Conference.

He went on to discuss “the tragedy of forced migration”, saying that it is a sad reality that today’s migrants are not looking for greener pastures but mere survival.  Ecuador has welcomed 433,000 citizens of Venezuela, but it is also witnessing a growing number of its own people seeking to enter the United States despite unimaginable risks.  Migration is a clear signal that the peoples of the world want more integration, not less, with access to the global job market and education.  The solution lies in bringing markets to citizens, not forcing citizens to migrate, he said, emphasizing that it is better to connect through free trade than through forced migration.  Sooner or later, citizens will strive for economic freedom and States must facilitate that natural impulse, he said.