After Winning Over Bondholders, Ecuador’s President Looks to Voters for Second Term

When he became the youngest president to be elected in Ecuador’s history, Daniel Noboa promised to attack twin crime and fiscal crises with a sense of urgency. His biggest victory, though, may have been with Wall Street.

Just 14 months after winning — and already facing reelection — Noboa has engineered a turnaround for the South American nation in debt markets. By pushing through a fiscal reform, he’s lifted the serial defaulter’s bonds out of distressed territory for the first time since 2022, drummed up demand for a debt-for-nature transaction and handed investors 100% returns along the way.