Presidency
Within months of winning the election, Moreno started moving away from his election platform, thus igniting a feud with ex-president Rafael Correa. Later in 2018, through a referendum, Moreno reversed several key pieces of legislation passed by the Correa administration that targeted wealthy individuals and banks. He also reversed a previous referendum allowing indefinite re-election, and established the Consejo de Participación Ciudadana y Control Social Transitorio (CPCCS-T), which has supra-constitutional powers, to "evaluate control authorities and judges", with the aim of removing what remains of Correa's influence.
Since the creation of CPCCS-T, Moreno has used it to oust and replace government officials, provincial judges, the judicial council, and the National Electoral Council (CNE).
Moreno's government adopted a conservative policy: reduction of public spending, trade liberalization, and flexibility of the labour code. The Productive Development Act enshrines an austerity policy, and reduces the development and redistribution policies of the previous mandate. In the area of taxes, the authorities aim to "encourage the return of investors" by granting tax amnesty and proposing measures to reduce tax rates for large companies. In addition, the government waives the right to tax increases in raw material prices and foreign exchange repatriations.
Moreno's government supported plans for oil drilling in Ecuador's Amazon region.
The Ecuadorian state limits annual public expenditure increases to 3%, confines budget deficits to debt interest repayment, and promotes privatizations with extended subsidies. Additionally, the government adopts international arbitration for foreign investments.
Moreno announced in February 2019 that he had obtained a loan of more than $10 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, with which the previous government had broken off, "at rates below 5% on average and for terms of up to 30 years".
In June 2019, Moreno's government faced protests from environmentalist, indigenous and self-described patriotic groups after he permitted the US military to use the airbase on Galápagos Islands.
He faced more protests in September 2019, as pro-choice demonstrators protested the fact that Ecuador had failed to pass proposed legislation, which would have relaxed the nation's strict abortion laws to allow for abortion in the case of rape.
On 2 October 2019, Moreno declared the abolition of fuel subsidies, which in turn triggered the 2019 Ecuadorian protests. The government was forced to move from Quito to Guayaquil after effectively losing control of the capital to demonstrators. Seven people were killed and 2,100 were arrested before Moreno signed directive 883, restoring the subsidies, which ended the protests on 13 October.
Moreno has been criticized for inappropriate jokes, and gaffes about child labor and sex.
When the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the global pandemic of COVID-19 on 11 March 2020, the Ecuadorian government declared a health emergency throughout the country. Preventive measures included home isolation for travelers arriving from countries with a higher number of reported cases, increased control measures, restrictions on mass events, strengthening of biosafety measures for healthcare personnel, the use of technological platforms for telemedicine, online education, and telecommuting, and a prohibition on the export of masks, soaps, and disinfectant gels. Subsequently, on 16 March, a state of emergency was decreed with the purpose of containing the transmission of the coronavirus (COVID-19), a situation that persisted until September.
The health system crisis in Ecuador during the coronavirus pandemic worsened due to a lack of investment in hospital infrastructure and a reduction in public health spending in previous years. In 2019, 10,000 public sector professionals were laid off, with the majority being healthcare workers, as part of austerity measures imposed by Moreno and recommended by the International Monetary Fund. The lack of adequate equipment, including the inoperability of key medical equipment, hindered the response capacity to the pandemic. These deficiencies in the health system left the population vulnerable, leading to a critical situation where the deceased accumulated in the streets, highlighting the magnitude of the crisis in Ecuador.
Ecuador's health system was extremely overtaxed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The province of Guayas, with Guayaquil as the most affected city, recorded 1,937 cases, representing 70% of the national total of 2,748 cases. The BBC reported that Guayaquil had more COVID-19 deaths than entire countries. Additionally, the number of deaths in the country reached 927.000. The health system proved insufficient to cope with the growing demand, leading to a situation where the bodies of the deceased were left in the streets due to the system's lack of response and capacity.
Video footage of corpses in Guayaquil's streets reflected the critical situation the city was facing. Many funeral homes ceased operations out of fear of contracting the virus, causing delays in the removal of bodies. It was estimated that some of these deaths were not related to the coronavirus, but due to the lack of medical analysis, the causes of death could not be confirmed. The scarcity of resources in low-income neighborhoods led to wakes being held at home, and many families had to wait for more than three days for the bodies to be removed.
Health Minister Juan Carlos Zevallos stirred controversy by prioritizing the vaccination of his relatives against COVID-19 instead of focusing on priority groups. This occurred while Ecuador was facing a severe national emergency with thousands of deaths due to the pandemic, and corpses were piling up in the streets of Guayaquil. It was discovered that doses intended for COVID-19 patients were diverted to vaccinate Zevallos' family members at private centers. Despite the complaints and calls for his resignation, Zevallos received strong support from Moreno. However, due to pressure from the National Assembly, he ultimately resigned from his position.
The Attorney General's Office requested precautionary measures to prevent Zevallos from leaving the country. Despite these measures, it was revealed that Zevallos had allegedly escaped to Miami.
