RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The president-elect of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, who will be sworn in this Monday, anticipated that his administration will double oil production, will put gasoline refineries under concession, will promote mining, and will offer several state-owned areas to the private sector.
The objective, said Lasso in a forum on “Challenges of Freedom” in Latin America, will improve the ailing national economy, generate employment and achieve a state of prosperity for the population.
The forum, organized by the International Foundation for Liberty (FIL), directed by Peruvian writer and politician Mario Vargas Llosa, was attended by several conservative politicians from Latin America – Colombian Iván Duque, the Spanish Popular Party leader Pablo Casado and the Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López.
After the conclave, Lasso anticipated some lines that he will apply in his administration and said that he wants the country’s oil production, which currently stands at 530,000 barrels per day, to reach one million barrels per day.
He also explained his interest in granting the country’s three refineries to the private sector. The country, he said, receives some 300,000 barrels of crude oil per day and delivers only 110,000 barrels of oil derivatives.
He also highlighted the potential of mining in the country, with large exportable reserves, which he said is another investment opportunity for the private sector.
Regarding energy generation, the president-elect said that Ecuador produces about 8,000 megawatts of energy per year but consumes only 4,000, a reserve that could be used for an industrial reconversion from petroleum fuels to electricity.
He recalled that there are only two private telecommunications operators and one state-owned company in his country, the latter with a deficient performance. For that reason, he will study the possibility of granting a concession to the private sector.
In the same direction are “thousands of kilometers of highways” and even a bank (Del Pacífico), held by the State, which, he said, “we want to sell” to international investors.
“Ecuador is a country of opportunities” for foreign investment, he remarked in his speech and said that one of the indicators that facilitate the competition of private initiative is the drop that has suffered the so-called “country risk”, which measures the solvency of the economy, and which has improved from 1,300 points to 710 points in recent weeks.
In addition, he spoke of creating a “tourist-free zone” in the country, and that new industries in the sector will not pay taxes for 30 years to boost their growth.
Lasso asked for help from foreign investors with their initiatives, as he remarked that in the project to improve the economic indicators, “we cannot fail”.
On another issue, he assured, as he had already done in his campaign, that one of his first steps will be to send to the Assembly a new “freedom of expression project”, which seeks to “repeal the gag law” that was approved during the government of former President Rafael Correa (2007-2017).
Saying goodbye to the forum, Lasso said he hopes to visit Pablo Casado in Madrid, who he said could be “a great president” of Spain.
He also congratulated Venezuelan Leopoldo López “for his struggle”. He showed his closeness with Colombian President Duque, expressing that he agrees that the protests taking place in that country are apparently not spontaneous.
Duque had canceled his participation in Lasso’s investiture ceremony precisely because he had to attend to internal matters related to the social situation in his country.