Lenín Moreno facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lenín Moreno
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Moreno in 2018
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| 46th President of Ecuador | |
| In office 24 May 2017 – 24 May 2021 |
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| Vice President | Jorge Glas María Vicuña Otto Sonnenholzner María Alejandra Muñoz |
| Preceded by | Rafael Correa |
| Succeeded by | Guillermo Lasso |
| 47th Vice President of Ecuador | |
| In office 15 January 2007 – 24 May 2013 |
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| President | Rafael Correa |
| Preceded by | Alejandro Serrano |
| Succeeded by | Jorge Glas |
| Acting President of Ecuador | |
| In office 15 January 2013 – 14 February 2013 |
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| Preceded by | Rafael Correa |
| Succeeded by | Rafael Correa |
| President of the PAIS Alliance | |
| In office 1 May 2017 – 3 March 2021 |
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| Preceded by | Rafael Correa |
| Succeeded by | Patricio Barriga |
| United Nations Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility |
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| In office 19 December 2013 – 30 September 2016 |
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| Secretary General | Ban Ki-moon |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | María Soledad Cisternas |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Lenín Boltaire Moreno Garcés
19 March 1953 Nuevo Rocafuerte, Ecuador |
| Political party | Independent (2021–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
PAIS Alliance (2006–2021) |
| Spouse |
Rocío González
(m. 1974) |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Central University of Ecuador |
| Signature |  |
Lenín Boltaire Moreno Garcés (born 19 March 1953) is an Ecuadorian politician. He served as the 46th President of Ecuador from 2017 to 2021. Before becoming president, Moreno was the Vice President of Ecuador from 2007 to 2013. He served under President Rafael Correa.
Moreno was chosen to run for president by the PAIS Alliance party in 2017. This party is known for its social democratic ideas. He won the election in a close vote on 2 April 2017. After he became president, Moreno changed his political direction. He moved away from the policies of his predecessor, Rafael Correa.
In 1998, Moreno was shot during a robbery attempt. Since then, he has used a wheelchair. He is well-known for his work helping people with disabilities. Because of this, he was nominated for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize. From 2017 to 2021, he was the only world leader who used a wheelchair while in office.
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Early Life and Education
Lenín Moreno was born in Nuevo Rocafuerte, a small town in the Ecuadorian Amazon. His family was middle-class. His father, Servio Tulio Moreno, was a teacher. He supported bilingual education for both indigenous and mestizo children. Later, his father became a senator.
Moreno's parents chose his names from people they admired. His father liked Vladimir Lenin, and his mother admired Voltaire. There was a small mistake in his birth record, so his middle name became Boltaire. When he was three years old, his family moved to Quito.
Moreno attended schools in Quito. He studied at the Instituto Nacional Mejía and the Colegio Nacional Sebastián Benalcázar. He then went to the Universidad Central del Ecuador. There, he earned a degree in Public Administration. He was recognized as one of the best students. He also studied psychology.
Career Highlights
Moreno started his career in 1976. He worked as a director at a training center. He then held management roles in several companies in Ecuador. Later, he joined the public sector. He took an administrative job with the Minister of Government.
He worked a lot in the public tourism industry. He helped create the Chamber of Tourism of Pichincha. This is a province in Ecuador. Between 1997 and 1999, he was an executive director for tourism groups.
Humor and Helping Others
Before becoming president, Lenín Moreno started the "Eventa Foundation." This foundation promoted his "theory of humor." He believed that humor, laughter, and kindness could help people change their attitudes. He even wrote several books about this idea. Some of his book titles include "Philosophy for life and work" and "Being Happy is Easy and Fun."
In December 2013, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Moreno. He became a Special Envoy for Disability and Accessibility. This role allowed him to advocate for people with disabilities on a global scale.
Vice-Presidency (2007–2013)
During his time as Vice President, Moreno looked into the situation of disabled people in Ecuador. At first, the government spent very little on services for them. Moreno worked to greatly increase this budget. It grew more than fifty times its original amount.
Today, the government helps over 600,000 disabled Ecuadorians. It provides homes and income for many people. It also gives prostheses to those who need them.
Moreno started the 'Ecuador without Borders' program. This program helped pass laws in 2007 and 2012. These laws, along with the 2008 constitution, gave more rights to disabled people. For example, in 2010, companies with over 25 employees had to hire at least 4% people with disabilities.
He also created the Manuela Espejo Solidarity Mission for the Disabled. This mission offers rehab, technical help, and emotional support. It has helped thousands of disabled Ecuadorians. Doctors from Ecuador and Cuba visited over a million homes. They interviewed nearly 300,000 disabled people to find out their needs. Many received free medical checkups. This mission has also spread to other countries in Latin America.
Moreno finished his term as vice president on 24 May 2013. He was the first vice president since 1992 to complete his full term.
Nobel Peace Prize Nomination
Lenín Moreno was nominated for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize. This nomination came from Celso Maldonado. Maldonado was the Vice President of the People with Disabilities Commission. This commission is part of the Ecuadorian National Assembly. The nomination recognized Moreno's important work for people with disabilities.
Presidency (2017–2021)
On 1 October 2016, Moreno was chosen as a candidate for the 2017 presidential election. This announcement was made by President Rafael Correa. Moreno was nominated by the Alianza País party.
On 19 February 2017, Moreno won the first round of elections. He received 39.3% of the votes. However, he needed a bit more to win outright. So, a second round of voting was held. On 2 April 2017, he won the runoff election. He defeated Guillermo Lasso with 51.16% of the votes.
Presidential Actions
After becoming president, Moreno began to change some policies. This led to disagreements with former president Rafael Correa. In 2018, Moreno used a public vote, called a referendum. Through this, he changed some laws that had been put in place by the previous government. He also reversed a rule that allowed presidents to be re-elected many times.
Moreno's government adopted more conservative policies. This included reducing government spending and making trade easier. They also aimed to encourage investors to return to Ecuador.
Moreno's government supported plans for oil drilling. This was in Ecuador's Amazon region. They also set limits on how much the government could increase spending each year. This meant less money for some public investments.
In October 2019, Moreno announced the end of fuel subsidies. These subsidies had kept fuel prices low. This decision led to large protests across Ecuador. The government had to move from Quito to Guayaquil for a short time. Seven people died during these protests. About 2,100 people were arrested. Moreno later signed a directive to bring back the subsidies. This ended the protests on 13 October.
Security Challenges
During Lenín Moreno's presidency, Ecuador saw an increase in insecurity. The rate of homicides, or murders, went up. Experts said that budget cuts and changes in security leadership contributed to these problems.
These changes included reducing funds for security and dismissing some public workers. This also affected the prison system. Ecuador faced serious challenges in its prisons. There were not enough guards, and the number of inmates was very high.
Foreign Relations
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In June 2018, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence visited Ecuador. He and President Moreno agreed to improve relations between the United States and Ecuador. These relations had been difficult under the previous president. Ecuador then started working more closely with the U.S. on security. This included buying weapons and sharing information.
In August 2018, Ecuador left ALBA. This was a group of countries led by Venezuela and Cuba. Moreno wanted Ecuador to be more "independent" and not follow specific views from other organizations.
In January 2019, Moreno supported Juan Guaidó. Guaidó was an opposition leader in Venezuela. This showed a shift in Ecuador's foreign policy. It moved away from supporting Nicolás Maduro.
Ecuador also received loans from international organizations. These included the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. These loans were meant to help Ecuador's economy.
On 11 April 2019, Ecuador ended the political asylum of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Assange had been living in Ecuador's London embassy since 2012. Moreno stated that Ecuador had "reached its limit" with Assange's behavior. This allowed the police to arrest him.
Public Opinion
Lenín Moreno was very popular as vice president. In 2012, about 91% of Ecuadorians approved of his work.
After becoming president in 2017, his popularity was still high, around 77%. However, his approval rating began to drop over time. By early 2021, it was very low, around 5%. When he left office, his approval rate was only 9%. This was one of the lowest in Ecuador's recent history.
After the Presidency
Moreno did not seek re-election in the 2021 Ecuadorian general election. On 4 March 2021, he was removed from the PAIS Alliance party.
After his presidency, Lenín Moreno moved to the United States. He later became a Commissioner for the Organization of American States (OAS). He now lives in Asunción, Paraguay, for this role.
Images for kids
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Lenín Moreno's signature
See also
In Spanish: Lenín Moreno para niños
