Remembering Ecuador's Lost Paradise

I grew up here. It seems like the "solutions" to Ecuador's very real security crisis are hurting more than helping

This is an installment of the “Ship’s Log” series, more personal entries on the beats we cover for paid subscribers. Sebastian Barriga is a journalist who grew up in Ecuador, and is now based in Colombia

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Ecuador has never been a perfect country. Its last 30 years of history have been marked by political instability, between 1997 and 2007 the country saw seven presidents and then for a Rafel Correa ruled almost without opposition decade, implementing arguably authoritarian measures before fleeing the country on corruption charges. 

The poverty level, which in 2023 in rural areas reached 46.4% (extreme poverty at  22.6%) has always been high and structural racism, as demonstrated during protests in 2022 when the residents of Cumbaya, one of the wealthiest areas of the country, marched armed into the streets and pointed guns at the indigenous people who led the protests. 

But in spite of everything, those of us who grew up in Ecuador (I lived there between 2000 and 2018) did so in a safe country with a growing economy that had aspirations to be one of the most prosperous in the region.

Sadly, that dream of a better Ecuadorian future lies, for the moment at least, shattered. 2023 will be remembered as the most violent year in the country’s history, Ecuador is facing a security crisis for which there seems to be no solution.