Former Ecuadorian President Gustavo Noboa died on Tuesday (16) at the age of 83, the country’s current president, Lenín Moreno, announced.
Responsible for implementing dollarization in the Ecuadorian economy, the politician at the center was Jamil Mahuad’s deputy, elected in 1998. Two years later, the then head of state was overthrown by a indigenous and military rebellion, and Noboa took over the presidency until 2003.
“Ecuador is in mourning. From tomorrow, I will declare national mourning in memory of Gustavo Noboa, former President of the Republic, ”Moreno wrote on Twitter.
According to the El Universo newspaper, the former agent was admitted to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami after undergoing surgery for a brain tumor on February 9.
His son Diego Noboa said a day after the operation went well, but the condition worsened on Tuesday after a heart attack, according to relatives who spoke with the Ecuadorian vehicle.
This was Noboa’s second surgery for a brain tumor – he made a full recovery after the first surgery, in 2017.
Before becoming president, when he implemented the dollarization determined by a decree of Mahuad to get the country out of the severe economic crisis, Noboa was governor of Guayas, home of Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador.
In addition to politics, he also stood out in the academic and spiritual spheres. He was dean of the Catholic University of Santiago de Guayaquil between 1986 and 1996 and a spiritual trainer for many years at Colegio Cristóbal Colón, where he also studied.