(MENAFN- The Rio Times) Ecuador's president Daniel Noboa just made a move that says a lot about where his troubled government is heading: he replaced his key political operator after losing a national vote – and picked someone from inside his own camp who knows the system from the inside.

The new minister of Government, Nataly Morillo, is not a TV star or a social-media experiment. She is a communicator-turned-politician who has spent years working in state institutions, from the interior and transport ministries to the national electoral authority and the state telecoms company.

In 2023 she entered Congress and later joined Noboa 's ruling bloc, quickly rising to a leadership role in a powerful oversight commission. This matters because the Ministry of Government is the nerve center for politics in Ecuador.

It is the place where deals with Congress are cut, where talks with mayors, unions and business leaders are handled, and where the political side of the security strategy is coordinated. If that ministry fails, the whole government starts to wobble.

Noboa already felt that wobble. In mid-November, voters rejected most of his referendum proposals, including changes to political rules and the constitution.



For a young president elected on promises of order and efficiency, it was a public slap in the face. He reacted with a broad cabinet reshuffle, arguing he needed a tougher, more competent team to face crime and economic strain.

But his first choice for this ministry, a popular radio host with no real government experience, collapsed within days under criticism. The episode made the government look amateurish at exactly the wrong time.

Morillo's appointment is meant to correct that mistake. She is loyal, understands the machinery of the state and can speak to both political elites and ordinary voters.

For expats and foreign readers, her rise is a sign that Ecuador is at a crossroads: either the government becomes more disciplined, more focused on security and stability, and starts delivering results – or the constant turnover at the top will deepen the country's sense of drift and open even more space for radical, noisy alternatives.

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