No one has ever been younger: Ecuador has a new president. Geert Wilders’ success is a new warning signal for Europe

The new Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa is now officially the youngest democratically elected head of state in the history of the South American country. The 35-year-old took his oath of office in the capital Quito on Thursday.

“Many try to place the new government in old political or ideological frameworks, but we focus on change and the future,” said the son of banana magnate Álvaro Noboa, who ran for president five times. Daniel Noboa will only hold office until May 2025 – until the end of the actual planned term of the prematurely resigned President Guillermo Lasso.

Many Ecuadorians see the security situation as the biggest problem in the country. The murder rate of about 25 murders per 100,000 inhabitants last year was the highest in the Andean country’s history and one of the highest in Latin America. Shortly before the first round of elections, presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, who promised to fight corruption, was shot after a campaign event.

Multiple gangs linked to powerful Mexican cartels are fighting for control of drug trafficking routes. Ecuador is a major transit country for cocaine from South America that is smuggled to the United States and Europe. (sda/dpa)