Ecuador Politics Explained, Who Holds Power in 2026

ECUADOR · POLITICS

Ecuador politics in October 2026 revolves around President Daniel Noboa, and it matters to Americans because his government is a close US security partner. Power sits with Noboa, his ADN party and a slimmer cabinet, while an opposition fights courts, prosecutors and the electoral calendar.

Ecuador Politics in Brief

Ecuador politics runs on a strong presidency. The president leads the government, appoints ministers and provincial governors, and commands the armed forces.

Daniel Noboa won a runoff on 13 April 2025 with 55.68% of the vote, Primicias reported from the electoral council’s final count. He leads Acción Democrática Nacional (ADN, National Democratic Action), a pro-business party built around his name.

Four bodies check his power in Ecuador politics: the National Assembly, the Constitutional Court, the attorney general’s office and the electoral council. Voters can check him too.

On 16 November 2025 voters answered No to all four questions of a referendum and public consultation, among them foreign bases and a constituent assembly. Primicias reported that the electoral council’s count showed No ahead on all four, and Noboa conceded.

That vote still shapes Ecuador politics, since Noboa can win elections yet not every question put to voters. This guide explains who holds which lever in October 2026.

President Daniel Noboa and His Cabinet

The Carondelet Palace in Quito is the seat of the presidency. Vice President María José Pinto, who took office with Noboa, led Ecuador’s delegation at a food forum in Rome in October 2026, Expreso reported.

On 20 October 2026 Pinto also received a new law against gang recruitment of minors from the Assembly, La Hora reported. That makes her the public face of the child-protection agenda.

On 4 June 2026 Noboa cut his cabinet from 14 to 10 ministries, La Hora reported, and El Comercio listed the team on 8 June. Several ministers have changed since then, including the foreign and economy portfolios.

• Interior Minister John Reimberg runs the police and prisons. On 23 October 2026 he suggested that prison riots were linked to the arrest of an opposition leader, El Universo reported.
• Defence Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo oversees the armed forces and the cooperation with the United States. He attended a security summit in Washington in September 2026 and spoke on defence in October, La República and Primicias reported.
• Foreign Minister Roberto Kury replaced Gabriela Sommerfeld, who resigned on 7 June 2026. Kury discussed ties with Peru and Colombia in October 2026, El Universo and El Telégrafo reported.
• Bernardo Cordovez heads the merged Economic and Productive Development ministry since 28 September 2026. He replaced Sariha Moya under Executive Decree 509, Primicias reported.
• Government Minister Nataly Morillo acts as the president’s political fixer and voice. In October 2026 she led the public response to El Niño rains, El Universo reported.

The National Assembly and the Party Map

The National Assembly in Quito is a single chamber with 151 members. It passes laws, can censure officials and appoints several top officers.

In February 2025 the correísta Revolución Ciudadana (RC, Citizen Revolution) and its ally RETO won 67 seats and ADN 66, GK reported. Neither reached the 77 seats needed for a majority.

ADN then built a working majority with smaller parties and defectors. In October 2026 the governing bloc, led by Esteban Torres, passed a law on child recruitment with 88 votes, Expreso reported.

Mishel Mancheno of ADN is the Assembly president, sworn in on 8 June 2026 after Niels Olsen resigned. She returned from maternity leave on 12 August, Primicias reported.

Olsen left to seek an ADN nomination for the Guayaquil mayoralty, Primicias reported. Mancheno names security, institutional modernisation and economic growth as her three priorities.

RC, the left-wing movement of ex-president Rafael Correa, is the second-largest bloc and the main opposition. The Partido Social Cristiano (PSC, Social Christian Party), a long-established conservative party from the coast, won only 4 seats in 2025.

Pachakutik, the political arm of the Indigenous movement, won 9 seats in 2025. Its position toward the government has been disputed since then, GK reported.

Alfredo Serrano of the PSC called the Assembly the back yard of the presidency, Expreso reported on 9 October 2026. Torres said on 30 September that his bloc had approved every law it set out to pass.

Courts, Prosecutors and Electoral Referees

The Constitutional Court has nine judges and is led by Jhoel Escudero, who took over in March 2025 for three years. El Comercio named him as president when it reported a court ruling of 10 September 2026.

The court is the main brake on the executive. Primicias reported in May 2026 that in August 2025 Noboa backed a plan to let lawmakers remove its judges and called marches against them.

The Judiciary Council, which runs the courts and judges’ careers, has been led by Mercedes Caicedo since late April 2026. Six legal challenges against the abolition of the anti-corruption judicial units reached the Constitutional Court by 7 October, Expreso reported.

The attorney general’s office is led by an acting chief, Carlos Alarcón Argudo.

A permanent attorney general is chosen in a public contest run by the Council for Citizen Participation and Social Control (CPCCS), an oversight body. On 6 October 2026 Ecuador Chequea reported that five of 26 applicants remain, led by Alarcón.

The National Electoral Council (CNE) has five members and has been led by José Cabrera since 11 June 2026. A new majority removed Diana Atamaint, president since November 2018, who stays on as a councillor, Primicias reported.

The Electoral Disputes Tribunal (TCE) settles election complaints. In July 2026 one of its judges suspended the Amigo movement for nine months, because of a prosecutors’ money-laundering inquiry.

The ruling is provisional and can be reviewed.

Army, Police and the US Partnership

Army General Henry Santiago Delgado Salvador heads the Joint Command of the armed forces, according to La Jornada on 13 September 2026. The police report to the Interior Ministry.

La Jornada reported that Noboa dismissed Air Force commander Mauricio Salazar Machuca in September 2026. His confidential letter of 8 September, later made public, asked the Joint Command for guidance on US flights at Taura air base.

Brigadier General Mauro Bedoya Avilés took over the air force. The episode revived the debate over Article 5 of the constitution, which bans foreign military bases.

Washington is the closest security partner. El Comercio reported on 24 September 2026 that police and US troops dismantled a drug network linked to Mexico’s Jalisco cartel.

Expreso reported on 14 October 2026 that US Black Hawk helicopters operate in Ecuador against drug trafficking, as Defence Minister Loffredo confirmed. On 2 October the two governments launched a programme called Police Integrity 360 to strengthen internal controls, El Telégrafo reported.

Voters rejected foreign bases in 2025, so the legal basis of the US presence stays a political question. Ecuador works through cooperation agreements rather than bases.

The Opposition, Mayors and the 29 November Vote

Ecuador votes on Sunday, 29 November 2026, for local and oversight offices, the electoral council says. The list covers 23 provincial prefects and vice-prefects, 222 mayors, 909 urban and 457 rural councillors, 4,131 rural parish board members and 7 CPCCS councillors.

More than 13.8 million people are registered to vote, Primicias reported on 2 August 2026. The vote was brought forward from February 2027 because of the expected El Niño weather.

The opposition enters the race weakened, which changes Ecuador politics for the local vote. RC was disqualified earlier in 2026 in a money-laundering investigation and cannot run in November, according to El Tiempo.

Luisa González, RC’s presidential candidate in 2023 and 2025, was detained on 22 October 2026 in the Laberinto case. On 23 October prosecutors announced that a judge ordered pre-trial detention, El Tiempo reported.

Investigators are examining the origin of about US$500,000 spent on campaign advertising. She calls herself a victim of political persecution and has not been convicted.

A social-media poll by Atlas Intel, run from 26 September to 2 October 2026 with a 2-point margin of error, shows ADN leading in Guayaquil. Cynthia Viteri of ADN, a former Guayaquil mayor, had 38.7%, ahead of Fiorella Ycaza of the Socialist Party with 15.3%, El Universo reported.

In Quito, Mayor Pabel Muñoz, a correísta seeking re-election, led with 21.1% against ADN’s Harold Burbano with 16.6%. Guayaquil’s mayor, Aquiles Álvarez, remains in prison after a three-year sentence in the Grillete case, Primicias reported on 18 August 2026.

That poll is one survey, not a forecast. Voters decide on 29 November.

Rising Figures to Watch

Mishel Mancheno holds the Assembly gavel and decides which laws reach a vote before the November recess. Her success tests how well ADN holds together in Ecuador politics without its former speaker.

Niels Olsen, the former speaker, moved into local politics and was proposed as an ADN candidate for mayor of Samborondón, Primicias reported. His shift shows how ADN uses its national figures to win local power.

John Reimberg is the face of the security campaign, and Cynthia Viteri and Harold Burbano carry ADN’s bids for Guayaquil and Quito. Bernardo Cordovez, the newest economic minister, will manage the budget through the El Niño season.

On the other side, Pabel Muñoz is the strongest elected figure left in the correísmo, the movement around Rafael Correa. Luisa González has become the symbol of its legal troubles.

Carlos Alarcón may become the country’s next attorney general if the contest ends in his favour. He rejected claims of political persecution, El Telégrafo reported on 3 August 2026.

What It Means for US Readers

Ecuador is a security partner of the United States and a supplier of oil, shrimp, bananas and flowers. Ecuador politics now offers a president with a working majority and a firm hand on crime, which fits Washington’s anti-cartel agenda.

The risks are institutional. Fights with the courts, the disqualification of the main opposition party and the detention of its leader before a vote draw criticism from rights groups.

Ecuador uses the US dollar, so Ecuador politics does not move an exchange rate. It moves country risk, bond spreads and the cost of doing business, especially in Guayaquil and on the coast.

Travellers should check State Department advisories and expect protests around the 29 November vote. The Latin America Power Map of The Rio Times Latin America Power Index shows where Ecuador ranks among 14 countries.

Related Rio Times reading: the Ecuador economy guide, the Ecuador geopolitics guide and the Luisa González case explained. More coverage sits on the Ecuador page.

What Is Not Known

No one yet knows who will win the mayoralties of Quito and Guayaquil. The ballot is not final until the electoral authorities settle pending challenges.

It is not known when the attorney-general contest will end or who will win it. The Assembly’s exact bloc sizes after two years of defections are not published in one official table.

The legal basis for US forces working in Ecuador has not been published in full. Whether González will face trial, and when, depends on the court calendar.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the president of Ecuador in 2026?

Daniel Noboa of the ADN party is president, re-elected on 13 April 2025 with 55.68% of the vote. Vice President María José Pinto serves with him, and Ecuador politics in October 2026 centres on his government.

Who runs the National Assembly in Ecuador?

Ecuador politics in the Assembly is led by Mishel Mancheno of ADN, who has presided over the 151-seat chamber since 8 June 2026. Esteban Torres leads the governing bloc, and Revolución Ciudadana is the second-largest group.

When is the next election in Ecuador?

Ecuador votes on Sunday, 29 November 2026, for 23 prefects, 222 mayors, councillors and seven members of the CPCCS oversight council. The vote was moved forward from February 2027 because of El Niño.

Why is Luisa González in detention?

In Ecuador politics this is the biggest legal case of the season. Prosecutors accuse her of money laundering in the financing of her 2023 campaign, in the Laberinto case. A judge ordered pre-trial detention on 23 October 2026, and she says the case is political persecution.

Does Ecuador have US military bases?

No. Article 5 of the constitution bans foreign bases, and voters rejected a proposal to lift the ban on 16 November 2025. US forces still cooperate with Ecuador under agreements.

Who leads the Constitutional Court and the electoral council?

In Ecuador politics the referees are two bodies. Jhoel Escudero presides over the nine-judge Constitutional Court. José Cabrera has led the National Electoral Council since 11 June 2026.

Sources: Consejo Nacional Electoral, convocatoria seccionales y CPCCS (29 November 2026), 31 July 2026; Asamblea Nacional, Mishel Mancheno asume la presidencia, 8 June 2026; Primicias, Atamaint removed, José Cabrera named CNE president, 11 June 2026; Primicias, elections moved forward, offices and voters, 2 August 2026; Primicias, Noboa 2025 runoff result, 20 April 2025; Primicias, Bernardo Cordovez replaces Sariha Moya, 28 September 2026; Primicias, Mancheno’s three priorities after Olsen, 12 August 2026; Primicias, judiciary, prosecutor and Constitutional Court tensions, 21 May 2026; Primicias, Amigo movement suspension, 20 July 2026; Primicias, Guayaquil mayoral candidates, 18 August 2026; Expreso, laws Mancheno wants to pass and bloc leaders, 9 October 2026; El Comercio, Noboa cabinet cut to 10 ministries, 8 June 2026; El Comercio, Constitutional Court ruling signed by President Jhoel Escudero, 10 September 2026; El Universo, Atlas Intel poll for the seccionales, 4 October 2026; El Tiempo, pre-trial detention for Luisa González, 23 October 2026; Ecuador Chequea, five finalists in the attorney-general contest, 6 October 2026; La Jornada, air force commander dismissed, 13 September 2026; GK, Assembly 2025-2029 seat counts, 13 May 2025.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief

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