Ecuador introduces three-day work week as it launches investigation into energy shortages!

QUITO, Ecuador (PNN) - April 17, 2024 - Ecuador has ordered public and private sector workers to take Thursday and Friday off to save energy in response to unprecedented power outages.

Sudden blackouts began hitting the South American nation on Monday, prompting a furious reaction from President Daniel Noboa, who fired Andrea Arrobo, his energy minister.

Experts point to a drought, triggered by the El Niño weather phenomenon, with Ecuador and other Andean nations heavily reliant on hydroelectric dams harnessing mountain water runoff.

Noboa has blamed the crisis on a combination of “environmental circumstances” and “unheard of acts of corruption and negligence”.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the president, whose approval rating is about 80% thanks to his recent crackdown on street gangs terrorizing Ecuador, cited 22 “saboteurs” including Arrobo, who he accused of hiding from him the looming energy crisis.

Arrobo was replaced on an interim basis by Roberto Luque, the transport minister.

Colombia, which last week began rationing water in the capital Bogota, has also suspended energy supplies to Ecuador.

Meanwhile, the reservoir feeding Ecuador’s Mazar hydroelectric dam was reported to be dry, while the nearby Paute Dam registered storage levels of just four percent.

Noboa declared the suspension of the five-day work week and ordered the attorney general’s office to investigate the energy crisis.

Ecuador, like much of Latin America, has long been plagued by rampant corruption. However, Noboa’s speed in apportioning blame for the energy crisis has raised eyebrows, with critics already concerned about his apparent authoritarian streak.

They cite this month’s order for armed police to storm the Mexican embassy in Quito to arrest Jorge Glas, a former vice president of Ecuador, wanted in connection with a corruption investigation - a flagrant breach of diplomatic protocol.

They are also concerned by this Sunday’s referendum, called by Noboa, to address the country’s violent crime wave, calling for longer prison sentences and a permanent role for the armed forces in law enforcement.

Writing in Ecuadorian news portal Primicias, analyst Matias Abad warned that Noboa appeared to be using “polarization” and an “iron fist” approach to organized crime as a deliberate political strategy.