Presidencia de la Rep煤blica del Ecuador/Flickr
A Conversation with President of Ecuador Guillermo Lasso
Event Sponsor
Event Co-Sponsors
Atlantic Council & Inter-American Dialogue
Overview
Ecuador, one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, is a trailblazer in marine conservation and environmental protection. During his time in office, President Guillermo Lasso has made a series of historic decisions to defend his country鈥檚 natural spaces and address the global climate crisis.
Best known is Lasso鈥檚 expansion of the marine protected area at the Gal谩pagos Islands. That project won Ecuador global attention, not only because it significantly improved environmental safeguards around the storied Gal谩pagos Islands, but because of how Ecuador will pay for the added costs of conservation: through the biggest 鈥渄ebt-for-nature鈥 swap in history, a $656 million 鈥渂lue bond鈥 backed by the U.S. Development Finance Corporation, the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy, Mission Blue, and the Inter-American Development Bank. Under Lasso, Ecuador also teamed up with Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama to strengthen the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor, an innovative multinational marine protected area, where the marine ecosystem is threatened by industrial scale illegal fishing.
On Monday, September 25, 2023, 澳门六合彩鈥檚 Latin America Program, the Inter-American Dialogue, and the Atlantic Council鈥檚 Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center hosted a conversation with President Guillermo Lasso of Ecuador to discuss his environmental legacy and other priorities of his administration.
Selected Quotes
Guillermo Lasso
Yo recib铆 un pa铆s con 7.7 puntos de d茅ficit fiscal y voy a entregar a final de a帽o un d茅ficit fiscal de alrededor de 2.5 del PIB. Hemos aumentado las reservas internacionales, en el periodo de 30 meses de gobierno tendremos un crecimiento econ贸mico de entre el 9 y 10 por ciento, hemos creado empleo formal y estable, y la inflaci贸n ha estado bajo control. La econom铆a ha mejorado en el Ecuador鈥.
En nuestra agenda de medio ambiente tambi茅n hemos multiplicado por 300 por ciento la reserva de recursos h铆dricos del Ecuador y hemos aumentado en un 40 por ciento la reserva de bosques en el pa铆s. Todos estos recursos le dan valor a una nueva moneda que es la biodiversidad鈥.
El 93 por ciento de la energ铆a que se produce en el Ecuador es energ铆a limpia, viene de hidroel茅ctrica y hoy tenemos ya los primeros proyectos e贸licos y tambi茅n un primer proyecto fotovoltaico en la costa en Ecuador. Cada vez hay mayor inter茅s de los inversionistas privados en invertir en este tipo de proyecto m谩s que en proyectos que utilizan energ铆as f贸siles鈥.听 听
Quiz谩s yo no lo vea, pero esos ni帽os, que son m谩s de 20 mil, que los hemos salvado de la desnutrici贸n cr贸nica, de ah铆 saldr谩n mejores polic铆as, mejores maestros, mejores pol铆ticos, mejores jueces y ojal谩 que de ah铆 salga un mejor presidente de la Rep煤blica de los que hemos tenido hasta ahora鈥.听
听
Hosted By
Latin America Program
澳门六合彩鈥檚 prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on 澳门六合彩鈥檚 strength as the nation鈥檚 key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more
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