Negotiations between Mexico and Ecuador reached 99% progress but were suspended by decision of Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Ecuadorian sources claim that this decision is linked to a positioning strategy amid the presidential campaign in Ecuador. Relations between the two countries deteriorated last year after an incident at the Mexican embassy in Quito, when the Ecuadorian police tried to arrest Rafael Correa's former vice president, Jorge Glas.
Daniel Noboa, president of Ecuador, denied entry to the prison to visit Glas, raising concerns about his health. Since then, the Mexican government has taken the case to international bodies without success. In the context of the electoral campaign, polls show Noboa with possibilities of reaching the runoff and defeating his opponent González, thanks to the unification of the anti-Correista vote that has prevented the left from returning to power in previous elections.
The announcement of the suspension of negotiations comes just before the Ecuadorian presidential elections on February 9. Ecuador declared the imposition of a 27% tariff on products imported from Mexico amid a severe social, economic, and security crisis due to the influence of drug cartels in the South American country. Claudia, Ecuadorian leader, mobilized troops to the border to halt the tariffs for a month.
The Ecuadorian government seeks reelection with Noboa hoping for a confrontation with the Correista candidate, Luisa González. Trade negotiations between the two countries are necessary for Ecuador's integration into the Pacific Alliance, a process that had been attempted during the previous administration without success.
