Ex-Ecuadorian leader Gustavo Noboa dies after brain surgery
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED: 17:07 EST, 16 February 2021 | UPDATED: 17:14 EST, 16 February 2021
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - Former President Gustavo Noboa, who restored some stability to Ecuador during a profound economic crisis that produced political turmoil at the beginning of the century, died Tuesday in the U.S. following surgery for a brain tumor. He was 83.
President Lenín Moreno confirmed Noboa's death in a tweet.
"Ecuador is in mourning," Moreno wrote. "Starting tomorrow, I will decree a national mourning in memory of Gustavo Noboa, former President of the Republic. Beloved friend, respected democrat, youth moral builder, patriot. My condolences to his family and friends."
Noboa became president in January 2000 after a popular revolt ended the term of President Jamil Mahuad. At the time, Ecuador´s deep economic crisis led the government to adopt the U.S. dollar as its national currency. The nation was on the brink of hyperinflation and half of the 42 banks had failed or closed.
Noboa ratified the currency change, tackled the serious consequences of the El Niño climate phenomenon, especially on the Ecuadorian coast, and successfully renegotiated the country´s debt. His political rivals then accused him of embezzlement, which prompted him to take asylum in Costa Rica from 2003 to 2005.
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He was succeeded by Lucio Gutiérrez as president.
FILE - In this Nov. 14, 2002 file photo, former Ecuadorean President Gustavo Noboa speaks during a news conference in Havana, Cuba. Noboa has died on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, at a hospital in the United States. (AP Photo/Cristobal Herrera)
More:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-9267687/Ex-Ecuadorian-leader-Gustavo-Noboa-dies-brain-surgery.html
Succeeded by Luciano Gutiérrez:
The interior of Luciano Gutiérrez' mouth. Is that some gum in there?
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