Vice President sues Daniel Noboa for political gender violence

Quito. The president of Ecuador has an unresolved conflict within his own government that is worsening with a political dispute. Since he began his administration on November 23, Daniel Noboa has placed his partner, Verónica Abad, in virtual exile, sending her to Israel as a special ambassador for peace and now to Turkey after the risk of attacks in Tel Aviv.

The sources consulted indicate that the two Ecuadorian leaders have not spoken to each other since last September, following accusations of money mismanagement in last year’s election campaign, supposedly by the then candidate for Vice-Presidency. And this is exacerbated by spokesmen who do not cease in their much more incisive “barbs”.

The latest: Abad accused Noboa of political gender violence before the Electoral Contentious Tribunal (TCE). The lawsuit includes Foreign Minister Gabriela Gabriela Sommerfeld, Vice Minister of Politics Esteban Torres, and presidential advisor Diana Jácome (who was a candidate for Vice President with one of Noboa’s rivals, Jan Topic).

The complaint was filed on August 8 and was made public on Monday. Abad argues that since her appointment as “ambassador of peace,” harassment has been initiated with statements to force her to resign from her position, especially before Noboa runs for reelection and she, by constitutional mandate, has to replace him. This, according to Vice Minister Torres, “would be disastrous for the country.”

What consequences would this lawsuit bring? Abad hopes that the defendants will be removed from office, their rights to participate suspended for four years and a financial fine of 32,000 dollars. Therefore, Noboa would not be able to be re-elected in 2025. However, there are no conditions or guarantees in the TCE, since the internal conflicts of that body warn of a blockage or the filing of the complaint.

Ecuadorian government authorities fear that if the Vice President takes office she would repeal measures such as the increase in VAT to 15%, in force since April 1, the agreements with the IMF, as well as changes in the cabinet itself.

The paradox is that, being the second highest authority in the country, he must ask permission from the chancellor even to visit his son, who was imprisoned a few months ago for alleged acts of corruption. Sommerfeld, in an interview last May, said that Abad was acting against Ecuador instead of fulfilling the functions ordered by Noboa.

In addition, Abad explains that there is a whole strategy to damage her image and that of her family, with questions about her motherhood. She also points to Diana Jácome, presidential advisor, as she has said on several occasions that Abad is “an enemy (of Noboa) backed by political groups that want to attack the Government.” Jácome insinuates that the Vice President is related to the Citizen Revolution movement of former President Rafael Correa, which falls apart if her statements in the last electoral campaign and when Abad was a candidate for mayor of Cuenca, in February 2023, are reviewed.