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From grisly to growth: Ecuador bounces back from the harrowing pandemic images of 2020

 A woman receives a COVID-19 vaccination shot in Guayaquil, Ecuador in June
UNHCR
A woman receives a COVID-19 vaccination shot in Guayaquil, Ecuador in June.

Few Latin American countries were hit as early and hard by COVID-19 as Ecuador. But few countries have rebounded as strongly, thanks to its vaccination plan.

The streets of Ecuador seemed a horror show in the spring of 2020. Coffins and corpses lining the sidewalks, bereaved people wailing, as COVID-19 ravaged the country.

But the national sorrow gave way to a measure of celebration three months ago. Ecuador’s new president, Guillermo Lasso, announced 9 million Ecuadorians were fully vaccinated during the first 100 days of his government, which began last May.

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Right now Ecuador has one of Latin America’s highest vaccination rates — 77% of its 18 million residents. The World Bank callsthe country’s COVID rebound one of the world’s most impressive.

Julio José Prado, Ecuador’s International Trade and Investment Minister, told WLRN from Quito that the vaccination success reflects a public-private partnership, rare in Latin America, that Lasso hopes to showcase in his broader economic agenda.

Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso at his inauguration in May.
Dolores Ochoa/AP
Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso at his inauguration in May.

“The vaccines were delivered, with every ministry involved, to private enterprises, to the people in the offices or in the industries all over Ecuador," Prado said.

"It would have been impossible to do it only using the public infrastructure.”

But Ecuador’s vaccination project has used that public infrastructure creatively — like tapping into federal voter registration data to make vaccine logistics quicker and more comprehensive.

That’s helped lift Ecuador’s economy from the pandemic, too. Last year its gross domestic product shrank 8%; Prado says this year it should grow by 3.5%. Foreign investment is also rolling in again, more than $2 billion so far in 2021.

“Having a national objective in place like [the 9 million vaccinations-in-100-days] is really important," Prado said.

"The vaccination process is the best way to start recovering. We have been able to open up the economy much faster than other countries in Latin America.”

Cemetery workers in Guayaquil, Ecuador, deal with mounting coffins of COVID victims in April 2020.
Andrea Aguilar/AP
Cemetery workers in Guayaquil, Ecuador, deal with mounting coffins of COVID victims in April 2020.

Prado says the recovery has given Ecuador an added psychological boost — after the awful scenes of COVID death the world saw in cities like Guayaquil.

“Those images are traumatic," said Prado. "But now we have been able to show our resilience.”

Ecuador’s new government still has to confront one of the big reasons the country was hit so hard by COVID-19: its per capita healthcare spending is some of the lowest in Latin America.

Prado says Lasso's government has also set a goal now of 10 new free-trade agreements.

Tim Padgett is the Americas Editor for WLRN, covering Latin America, the Caribbean and their key relationship with South Florida. Contact Tim at tpadgett@wlrnnews.org
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