Ecuador’s vice president files complaint against Daniel Noboa for political violence

Ecuador’s Vice President Verónica Abad has filed a complaint against President Daniel Noboa before the Electoral Contentious Court, accusing him of gender-based political violence. The complaint comes after months of growing tension between the two leaders. The relationship between Noboa and Abad deteriorated significantly after the 2023 presidential election went to the runoff. Once they were elected, they did not speak again, the vice president said in an interview with EL PAÍS.

One of Noboa’s first decrees after assuming the presidency was to appoint Abad as ambassador of peace in Israel, in an unprecedented diplomatic mission for Ecuador. The vice president described this mission as “useless” because, she argued, Ecuador does not have a significant role in the conflict between Israel and Palestine. According to Abad, this move marked the beginning of a series of measures and declarations that violate her rights and seek to pressure her into leaving office.

The complaint also names Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld; Deputy Minister of Government Esteban Torres; and Presidential Adviser Diana Jácome. According to Abad, all of them have actively participated in the smear campaign against her. Sommerfeld, for example, did not authorize Abad’s vacation requests and criticized her performance in the diplomatic post. In an interview in May, the minister claimed that Abad was acting against Ecuador instead of fulfilling her duties.

At that time, the deputy minister and government spokesman, Esteban Torres, gave a press conference to warn of new legal proceedings in the case into Abad’s son for alleged influence peddling in the vice presidency. The Public Prosecutor’s Office also tried to criminally implicate Abad, but this effort was frustrated after Ecuador’s Congress refused to lift her immunity from prosecution. Torres said that “it would be disastrous for the country if Verónica Abad assumed power.”

In her complaint, Abad said that the government is using a coordinated strategy to damage her image and that of her family. Diana Jácome, the presidential adviser, has referred to Abad as “an enemy backed by political groups that want to attack the government” and has insinuated that Abad is a bad mother by hinting that she would prefer to maintain in power rather than take care about her son. “If your son is in prison… do you go back or do you prefer to stay because you want power?” said Jácome, in an interview in June, at the height of the case, which led to the vice president’s son to be imprisoned in Guayaquil’s maximum security prison, La Roca.

In the midst of this conflict, Noboa stated that Abad “will leave on her own,” adding: “in the end, what goes around, comes around.” The theories about the strained relations between Noboa and Abad have varied over time. At one point, spokespeople said it was because they knew about the corruption case, allegedly orchestrated by the vice president’s son. And other times, they accused Abad of being aligned with Correismo, the party of former president Rafael Correa, that she has always opposed.

Abad’s complaint was filed on August 8, but was only made public on Monday, amid the crisis in the Electoral Contentious Court. In that body, three judges unexpectedly called a hearing to remove the president of the institution, Fernando Muñoz, the judge who had filed a previous complaint against Abad. The complaint seeks the dismissal of the president, the chancellor, the vice minister and the adviser, the suspension of their participation rights for four years and a fine of $32,000.

The government has tried five times to remove Abad from office to prevent her from assuming power in January, when Noboa must leave the presidency to campaign for the presidency. Current regulations prevent a public official from being a presidential candidate in order to ensure they cannot influence the election. The failed attempts include sending Abad to Israel, the arrest of her son, Congress’ refusal to authorize her investiture, and the complaint filed by a public official.

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