Brazil and Ecuador: A Necessary Partnership, Navigating the Future of Violence
In a decisive political move, the President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has formed an agreement of support and cooperation with Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa to combat the surging crime rates in Ecuador.
Scientists and politicians have attributed Ecuador's escalation in crime over the past few years to various factors. Sluggish economic growth and the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are primary contributors that don’t seem to be slowing down. Furthermore, Ecuador, in the past, has primarily avoided drug-related violence prominent in neighboring nations due to legislation and an agreement with FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), the leading drug trafficking group in the Andes. However, the 2016 FARC peace accord changed this. The agreement effectively dismantled FARC’s operation in Columbia. With the end of this guerrilla group, which acted as a de facto monopoly on cocaine trafficking, came an open gap in the lucrative drug trade. Many new Ecuadorian trafficking routes and groups formed.
Furthermore, some FARC factions moved to Ecuador to avoid the new Columbian regulations. This development has since led to an extension and proliferation of cocaine trafficking through gang operations in Ecuador. These factors interact with a history of violence within the country attributed to factors like colonial legacies, structural systems of inequality, and social and ethnic tensions between diverse ethnic groups and rural and urban populations. Recent events–such as crime-related explosions across multiple cities and nearly 200 hostage prison staff takeovers–have showcased the present issue of violence at hand. Ecuadorian citizens have further emphasized that policy regarding violence is at the forefront of concerns.
President Noboa has been vocal about this escalation upon taking power in November, advocating for and implementing increased military involvement. The nation witnessed its highest death toll yet in 2023, and the past year has seen a rise in egregiously violent actions. Ecuadorian Presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, whose main campaign principles revolved around combating drug activities and internal corruption, was killed just two weeks before elections were set to take place in August of last year. This evident erosion of democracy illustrated a stark reminder of the current positions of power taking hold of Ecuador.
Ecuador’s alarming situation inundated with crime has not escaped the notice of other Latin American countries where crime is a continued problem. In response, Brazilian President Luiz Lula da Silva has taken a collaborative and united approach.
During a phone call with the Ecuadorian President in late January of the new year, Lula da Silva pledged Brazil’s support for Ecuador's efforts to combat violence, mainly through intelligence and security methods. Brazil currently heads the General Secretariat of the Police Community of the Americas, also known as Ameripol. The hemispheric cooperation organization is responsible for facilitating and strengthening technical training, including analyzing information exchange and guiding operational work against threats to public safety. Lula da Silva emphasized this point on the call, noting how Brazil has unique capabilities to assist Ecuador in its security intelligence efforts.
The offer of community support did not go underappreciated by President Noboa, whose increasing concerns over rising crime have been made clear in recent months. Noboa is Ecuador’s youngest President-elect. Along with the pressure of representing such a young demographic, his presidency faces additional complexity due to his abbreviated 18-month term. With less time in office before citizens go to the polls again in May 2025, President Noboa faces an expedited necessity for change.
This partnership offers a step in the right direction for Ecuadorian citizens who have celebrated the principles of economic support and crime deterrence emphasized by Noboa. The move also allows new insight into the state of Latin American affairs. With Lula da Silva’s powerful message of camaraderie, Latin American nations may be looking for their signifiers of support from Brazil and other organizational powers. The Brazilian president has been long considered a widely respected leader with the power and moral potential to unite Latin America against regional and global difficulties. This extension of Brazil’s regional power through President Lula da Silva’s initiatives further supports this indication that Latin America may be moving toward increased interconnectivity against violence.
The results of this cooperation agreement are still to be determined. Future statistics will show the impact truly instilled upon crime, though optimism for deterrence with policy has followed the initial conversations. It remains clear that President Noboa and President Lula da Silva offer acknowledgment of the crime and its direct impacts on citizens and relations abroad. The resultant initiatives to change are the first steps in countering the current detrimental crime.