It all seemed to happen in the blink of an eye: over 400 inmates murdered in prison riots in less than two years, and a wave of crime in the streets.  In the first six months of 2022 Ecuador, a small Andean nation with some 18 million inhabitants, recorded 2,000 violent deaths.   

Guillermo Lasso, a former banker and philanthropist, took office in May 2022, and wasn’t given the proverbial one hundred days of grace before a combination of forces drove Ecuador to a social upheaval that threatened the very stability of his government.

During the recent Summit of the Americas, the Ecuadorian president sat down with American Now anchor Elaine Reyes for an interview touching on the most pressing issues facing his administration.