Ten years after the earthquake in Ecuador: corruption, delays and those affected still waiting for help

Guayaquil.- Ten years after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that shook the coast of Ecuador and left 663 dead and 6,274 injured, reconstruction is a pending debt in some of the affected areas, where family members of victims, those affected, and organizations are still waiting for the promised aid. The epicenter was Pedernales, in the north of the province of Manabí, although it strongly hit at least ten nearby cities and also the province of Esmeraldas, bordering Colombia. It left damages of around 3.6 billion dollars, according to official figures. Rafael Correa's government (2007-2017) collected 3.5 billion dollars in taxes and donations, but the reconstruction progressed slowly amid reports of alleged misappropriation of funds, overpricing, and delays in essential works such as hospitals or to provide basic services, which were delivered or started in recent years.

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Corruption Complaints

Corruption cases reached the courts. Last year, former correista Vice President Jorge Glas, who led the committee created with the aim of carrying out the most urgent works, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for embezzlement of public funds, along with other former officials. According to the Prosecutor's Office, they used their positions to generate a loss to the State of more than 225 million dollars. Francisco Bravo, an activist who has been following this case since the beginning, told EFE that the committee prioritized 584 projects, but that many of them were not related to the goal of addressing the consequences of the earthquake. "All these years have been of resistance," Julio Villacreses, a member of the Anti-Corruption Commission in Manabí, told EFE, who believes that the investigations must continue, since the Comptroller's Office "only audited 3%" of the works. "The Justice has ordered that the investigation continue, but the Prosecutor's Office is silent," he said.

Ten years of waiting

There are still families struggling to have the promises made to them fulfilled, such as the 35 members of the Amores Eternos 16A group, who claim that the Government offered houses for the children who were orphaned in Manta.

Although they were about to be benefited, «they changed the minister and there our illusions remained», Betty Cedeño, leader of the organization, who promoted the erection of a memorial that is inaugurated this Thursday, told EFE.

Those changes have also prevented the construction of a Higher Technological Institute in Portoviejo from beginning, which was destroyed, according to members of the Pro Construction Front of the center who reported to EFE, who pointed out that the project has had funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB) since 2017, but is not being executed. The same goes for nine fire stations in Manabí that also had the support of the IDB, recalls Ricardo Ordóñez, fire chief in Bahía de Caráquez.

Families without housing

In Pedernales, some 1,736 families did not receive housing, according to data from the Municipality cited by the media outlet El Diario. Gerardo Giler, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transportation, told EFE that, when Noboa came to power in December 2023, only 118 million dollars remained for reconstruction, which have allowed the execution of six projects "that were necessary." They have prioritized three others in Manabí and one in Esmeraldas. The aforementioned are not on that list, although Giler stated that they may be included in the analysis if they are promoted through the mayors who make up the committee, which has been without a manager for a month. «We know that some basic needs persist, but most of the emergencies were covered», he indicated. After ten years, only between 5 and 7 million dollars remain available which, according to the official, could be used in one or two more projects.