Guayaquil, Ecuador.- Ecuadorian President and reelection candidate Daniel Noboa issued three decrees this Saturday announcing the distribution of bonuses, loans, and compensation, just hours before the start of the runoff campaign for the April 13 elections this Sunday.
In the first decree issued, Noboa approves the creation of the "Entrepreneurship Incentive Program," which aims to "provide access to financing and financial relief to people living in poverty, extreme poverty, and vulnerability."
The project will cover three components:
The first will be a credit for "promote and strengthen entrepreneurship" and consists of an advance payment of between 12 and 24 months of the monthly value of the human development bonus (55 dollars / 50.6 euros) that is currently delivered.
The second is an incentive for the economic reactivation of micro-entrepreneurs and other actors of the popular and solidarity economy affected by the rains, who will be given 1,000 dollars (920 euros) with the aim of "promote the continuity of their productive activities."
And the third component is related to the "immediate reactivation" of users who have been excluded from receiving social protection bonuses.
In a second decree, the president formalized the "Ecuadorians in Action" mechanism, through which he will provide $800 (€736) in two payments to people between 30 and 64 years of age who reside in the provinces of Guayas, Los Ríos, Manabí, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Santa Elena, Loja, and Azuay, declared in a state of emergency due to the rains, which since the beginning of the year have affected 115,090 people.
These individuals must register on a website and participate in activities related to "contributing to overcoming the regional emergency" the country is experiencing due to the rains. They must not be beneficiaries of any bonus, have a clean criminal record, or be contributing to social security, among other requirements.
In addition to these bonds and loans, Noboa approved compensation from the state-owned company Petroecuador to those affected by the large oil spill that occurred on March 13 following a rupture in the Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline System (Sote) in the coastal province of Esmeraldas.
The amount given to each family will be equivalent to a unified basic salary, which currently amounts to $470 (€432).
This financial aid is in addition to other measures President Noboa announced in recent weeks, also related to the effects of the rains. These measures include debt forgiveness of up to $10,000 (€9,200) at the state-owned bank BanEcuador and compensation for the equivalent of 180 kilowatts of electricity bills for those living in the eight provinces declared in a state of emergency due to the rains.
The electoral campaign will run from March 23 to April 10, culminating in the vote on Sunday, April 13. In this second round, Noboa will face off against the Correísmo presidential candidate, Luisa González, as was the case in the 2023 special elections.
Thus, more than 13.7 million Ecuadorians are summoned that day to decide whether to re-elect Noboa for a full term (2025-2029) or lead Correísmo to regain power with González, who would become the first woman to win a presidential election in Ecuador's history.
