U.S. announces it will work with Guillermo Lasso to “further strengthen” relationship with Ecuador

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The United States has congratulated Ecuador’s President-elect Guillermo Lasso on his victory in the presidential elections and said it looks forward to working with him to “expand and further strengthen” the “already vibrant relationship” between the countries.

This was expressed by the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in a statement in which he also recognized the Ecuadorian people for exercising their right to vote in “these uniquely challenging times.”

“Our partnership with Ecuador is based on our core values, including our mutual respect for our democratic institutions, the ability to openly express different points of view, the fundamental role of civil society, and the value of a free and unfettered press,” Blinken said.

He also advocated “working together” to “reach the maximum potential and overcome the greatest obstacles” in both countries, which have “experienced polarization in recent years.”

Blinken has insisted that he looks forward to working with Lasso and Vice President-elect Alfredo Borrero after their inauguration, as the American and Ecuadorian people are “daily witnesses to the benefits” of the “close ties” between the territories.

On the other hand, the President of the United States, Joe Biden, has congratulated Lasso and the Ecuadorians for “demonstrating the power of peaceful and inclusive political participation and defending the ideals of democracy”, as the White House has stated in a publication in the social network Twitter.

For his part, the president-elect of Ecuador has thanked the messages of the U.S. Administration through the same platform, in which he has indicated that both territories “need to work together on health, development and economic reactivation.”

“I reiterate my commitment to strengthen relations between Ecuador and the United States, cooperation is fundamental for the development and progress of citizens,” Lasso has added.

Earlier, Lasso had already advanced that “Ecuador and the United States will once again be great allies under a vision of progress and well-being”, after his electoral victory.

The president’s message came in response to statements made by the acting undersecretary of the US State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, Julie Chung, on her Twitter account.

“The United States looks forward to working closely with President-elect Guillermo Lasso and the new democratically elected Ecuadorian government. Together, let’s cooperate to fight the pandemic and bring prosperity to our peoples,” the diplomat wrote, in Spanish.

Earlier, the U.S. Embassy in Ecuador had published a statement in which Ambassador Fitzpatrick said he had spoken by telephone with President-elect Guillermo Lasso “to congratulate him on his victory in yesterday’s civic day. We look forward to working with his government on our common goals and for the benefit of the United States and Ecuador beginning on May 24.”

Lasso will assume power in this country of 17.4 million inhabitants to replace the unpopular Moreno, who leaves an economy, already dollarized since 1999, in the red: in 2020, GDP fell by 7.8% and total public debt reached 63% of Gross Domestic Product.

Source: Infobae