Lenin Moreno (19 March 1953-) was President of Ecuador from 24 May 2017 to 24 May 2021, succeeding Rafael Correa and preceding Guillermo Lasso.
Biography[]
Lenin Moreno was born in Nuevo Rocafuerte, Ecuador in 1953, and he was raised in Quito. Moreno served as director of a professional training center before working in sales, and he founded the Chamber of Tourism of Pichincha. He was paralyzed after a 1998 robbery attempt and was confined to a wheelchair as a result. He served as Rafael Correa's Vice President from 2007 to 2013, and he was nominated for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize for his advocacy for disabled people. In 2017, he was elected to succeed Correa as President, but he drastically shifted the PAIS Alliance away from Correa's leftist legacy in both domestic and foreign policy. Moreno reversed legislation that targeted the wealthy and the banks, fired government officials and judges at will, supported plans for oil drilling in the Amazon, reduced public spending, liberalized trade, reduced tax rates for large companies, allowed the United States to use an airbase on the Galapagos Islands, and abolished fuel subsidies. In 2021, a prison uprising left 116 dead, worsening the penitentiary crisis in the country. Moreno was also accused of receiving kickbacks, and he shipped weapons to Bolivia in support of Jeanine Anez' 2019 coup. His approval rating fell from 91% in March 2012 to 9% by the time he left office. After his party was crushed at the 2021 elections, Moreno was expelled from the PAIS Alliance.