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Moreno says that Vicuña is one of the best Ecuadorians and will govern with AP
Posted On 22 Jan 2018
Ecuadornews:
The President of the Republic, Lenin Moreno, has responded to the journalist Janeth Hinostroza that the Vice President María Alejandra Vicuña is “one of the best Ecuadorians”, and that “PAIS won the elections” and that she will govern with that party. Moreno is interviewed, as well as by Hinostroza (from Teleamazonas), by journalists Stéfani Espín, from the Ecuavisa network, and Eduardo Khalifé, from the official Ecuador TV.
Moreno said that Vicuña “is a woman of integrity, intelligence, with a clean past. She is a convinced socialist, she has lived as a socialist all her life. I absolutely trust her. ” And about other people who were previously linked to the Correistas and who remain in the current government, Moreno said: “We are with extraordinary people in the ministries” and they are doing their job.
Moreno did not rule out a closer commercial approach with the United States and the Pacific Alliance and said his government will seek to “refresh” its international relations. “We must refresh our international relations” and review the possibility of reaching a trade agreement with the US and the options that the country has within the framework of the Pacific Alliance, currently composed of Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru, said the president.
For the president, the issue of improving foreign relations should target those to whom the country buys and sells the most. He added that in a recent conversation with the US ambassador in Ecuador, John Todd, they talked about the possibility of reaching an even better trade agreement than the Andean country has with the European Union.
In addition, he addressed the issue of the economic situation of the country, and the recommendation of liberal-minded economists to exercise changes to the rather left-wing leadership that was printed by his predecessor and ex-religious Rafael Correa. Moreno, who maintains a struggle with his predecessor, said that those changes should be “gradual” and that “they should not be drastic”, although he pointed out that his management will privilege the most dispossessed sectors of society.
However, he promised that “the future will be better” and noted as good news the promotion to foreign investment of the Pacific Refinery, an old project with capacity to process 300,000 barrels of crude oil per day, which has become a symbol of the corruption and inefficiency of the government of Rafael Correa.
He also indicated that 23 highway corridors will be tendered shortly, for a global value of 1,200 million dollars and that next 25th will launch a call for builders to build 395,000 homes in four years, which was his election campaign offer.
The president said that the figures of the national economy are good. “The figures are already encouraging,” Moreno added, insisting that the country projects growth of its economy of around 2 percent this year. (I)
