Noboa clashed with Vice President Veronica Abad on the question of disobedience as new elections approach.
President of Ecuador Daniel Noboa has named the vice president during a dispute with the incumbent.
Government Minister Jose de la Gasca announced the decision on Thursday, after the Noboa administration accused Vice President Veronica Abad of breaking the law.
Instead, Noboa has appointed planning minister Sariha Moya as vice president.
De la Gasca said Abad's actions constituted “force majeure” – an extraordinary event that required extraordinary action.
Abad served not only as vice president but also as Ecuador's ambassador to Israel. But according to de la Gasca, he rejected the order to move to Turkey due to security concerns as Israel continues its war in Gaza.
Ecuador's Ministry of Labor suspended him from his post in November.
“Until today he has not shown his work in Turkey,” de la Gasca said on Thursday at a press conference.
A court overturned Abad's suspension in December, but Noboa insisted Moya remain vice president until January 22 or until Abad arrives in Turkey.
Abad has denied any wrongdoing. He and Noboa have been in a tentative relationship for several months.
Controversy is one of the challenges facing Noboa, who is up for re-election in February.
Noboa, the last president in the modern history of Ecuador, was voted in October 2023 in an unprecedented period.
In the face of the accusations, Noboa's predecessor, Guillermo Lasso, invoked a legal power that had never been used before: “muerte cruzada” or “crossing over death”.
It allowed Lasso to dissolve Parliament to end his term quickly. A quick election was held to determine who would serve Lasso's remaining 18 months.
Since assuming office for a short period of time, Noboa – the successor to the banana economy – has faced protests, including list of shutdowns which disrupted the lives of millions of people.
The ongoing drought has disrupted the country's dependable electricity supply, and Noboa's government has ordered a power cut in the last quarter of 2024.
Ecuador's economy has also struggled to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. And then there is the question of crime.
Once considered the “island of peace” in South America, Ecuador has seen a rise violent crime while the drug gangs are going to his territory, looking for routes to the Pacific Ocean from the cocaine producing areas of Peru and Colombia.
Noboa pursued a strong anti-crime strategy in response, including expanding the powers of the police and military and increasing the scope of criminal penalties.
But these measures have come under scrutiny in recent months, with critics criticizing the military's brutality and abuse of power.
Earlier this week, authorities announced the cremated bodies of four people poor boys He was found near the battlefield in the city of Taura.
Surveillance footage shows he was taken by the military, and protesters question the delay in launching an investigation.
The incident has sparked outrage and protests.