ECUADOR

Ecuador is a unitary state organised as a republic with a division of powers as established by the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador in 2008. Legislative power rests with the National Assembly, whose members are elected for four-year terms. Executive power lies in the hands of the president, who is both head of government and head of state. Presidents are elected for a four-year term and may be re-elected once. Judicial power is vested in the National Court of Justice, together with the judicial courts and the traditional authorities of indigenous peoples in their territories.

The Constitution of 2008 sets out a four-tier system of decentralisation, divided into decentralised autonomous governments (GADs or Gobiernos Autónomos Descentralizados) at regional, provincial, municipal and parochial levels. The province of Galapagos has its own special status, as is also the case for the autonomous metropolitan districts and the indigenous and multicultural territorial jurisdictions (although no such territory has yet been created). Subnational elections are held concurrently every five years to elect the local authorities of the GADs. The last local elections took place in March 2019.

The operations of the GADs are regulated by the existing Constitution and the Organic Code of Territorial Organisation, Autonomy and Decentralisation (COOTAD or Código Orgánico de Organización Territorial, Autonomías y Descentralización), which came into force in October 2010. The GADs enjoy "political, administrative and financial autonomy" and must be governed "based on the principles of solidarity, subsidiarity, inter-territorial equity, inclusion and civil participation". All the GADs have executive powers. Regions, provinces, metropolitan districts and cantons have a degree of legislative competence within their jurisdiction, while rural parishes assume regulatory powers (Art. 240 of the Constitution).

In Article 310, COOTAD states that the GADs shall have an associative national body under public law with legal status at every level of government with the aim of strengthening and representing its members and working towards local development planning and the execution of their competences. There are three such associations, all of which existed before the code was introduced: the Consortium of Provincial Governments of Ecuador (CONGOPE or Consorcio de Gobiernos Provinciales del Ecuador), created in 1969; the Association of Ecuadorian Municipalities (AME or Asociación de Municipalidades Ecuatorianas), created in 1941 and recognised by the Act of Municipal Government of 1966; and the Ecuadorian National Council of Rural Parish Governments (CONAGOPARE or Consejo Nacional de Gobiernos Parroquiales Rurales de Ecuador) created in 2011. CONGOPE (the association of provincial GADs) was set up to build capacity for public governance and promote decentralisation and autonomy, to even up territorial disparities and ensure sustainable development. AME (the Association of Ecuadorian Municipalities) is an associative institution made up of GAD municipalities and metropolitan areas. It is based on coordinated planning and participatory governance and provides institutional representation at national level, technical assistance and multi-level coordination capabilities. CONAGOPARE (the association of rural parochial GADs) is charged with shaping policies and projects for these GADs, in coordination with other levels of government.

These GAD associations are represented, together with the National Planning Secretariat, on the National Competences Council (CNC or Consejo Nacional de Competencias), which seeks to organise and implement the decentralisation process, regulate the transfer of competences to the subnational levels, and mediate in any conflicts that may arise in the process. The CNC facilitated the development of the National Decentralisation Plan (PND or Plan Nacional de Descentralización) 2012-2015 in collaboration with local stakeholders. Following the evaluation of the PND, the Strategy for the Implementation of Decentralisation 2017-2021 was elaborated and was completed in 2021. The Plans for Territorial Development and Regulation are the instruments currently used by the GADs for territorial planning and local development, in alignment with the National Development Plan and the national territory strategy.

TERRITORIAL ORGANISATION
Municipal Level [1]	INTERMEDIATE LEVEL	REGIONAL LEVEL	TOTAL NUMBER OF SNGs (2021)
221 cantons/municipalities (cantones/municipios)	24 provinces (provincias)
Average municipal size: 79 043 inh. (based on INEC projections 2020)
221	24		245

[1] Name and number of sub-municipal entities (classified INEC, 2021):
Rural parishes: 821
Urban parishes: 671

OVERALL DESCRIPTION: The 2008 Constitution determines that the decentralised autonomous governments (GADs) in Ecuador comprise rural parish councils at sub-municipal level, municipal or metropolitan councils at municipal level, provincial councils and regional councils. However, in practice there are two distinct levels of subnational governments: municipal (cantons) and intermediate (provinces). Regional GADs are created at the initiative of the provincial GADs when two or more neighbouring provinces have a shared population that represents more than 5% of the national population. Following the resolution taken by the provincial councils, a draft bill and a statute of regional autonomy are drawn up. The draft bill is presented to the president of the Republic, who submits it to the National Assembly for approval. The statute bill is presented to the Constitutional Court, which makes a judgement on its constitutionality. Despite this provision, no such region has been created to date.

Due to environmental conservation, ethno-cultural and demographic considerations, the province of Galapagos, indigenous territories and autonomous metropolitan districts have a special status (Art. 242).

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL: Ecuador has a total of 24 provinces distributed in four geographic zones: coast, mountain, Amazon and the Galapagos Islands. The coastal zone has the largest number of inhabitants and the Amazon region the least. The most populous province is Pichincha and the least populous, except for Galapagos, is Pastaza. On average, 74% of the population of the coastal provinces is urban. By way of contrast, more than half the population in the Amazon region – around 57% - is rural.

The provinces are administrated by a provincial council made up of a prefect, mayors or municipal councillors representing the cantons and representatives elected from among the heads of the rural parish boards (Art. 252 of the Constitution). The Amazonian territories have a specific integrated planning system to ensure the protection of ecosystems and traditional cultures.

MUNICIPAL LEVEL: The municipal level is made up of 221 municipalities, including the metropolitan district of Quito. They are governed by a municipal council consisting of a mayor and councillors. The make-up of the councils is fixed according to the proportion of urban and rural populations within the canton.

The different territories vary widely in size and population. By way of example, some cantons exceed 19 000 km² while others cover less than 100 km². According to the National Institute of Statistics (INEC), in 2020, the most populous cantons were Guayaquil and Quito, each with around 2.7 million inhabitants, followed by Cuenca, with around 630 000. In contrast, 6.7% of the cantons have less than 5 000 inhabitants.

Agglomerations of municipalities whose population is equal to or greater than 7% of the national population may form metropolitan districts, following a municipal initiative. Municipal councils that integrate such districts must draft a statute of autonomy and coordinate their operations with those of the province and region within which they are located (COOTAD, Art. 247).

At sub-municipal level, there are urban and rural parishes which, although they are both known as parishes, have different qualities. Urban neighbourhoods and parishes are units of civic participation with community representation bodies within the municipalities or districts. Rural parishes are decentralised autonomous governments (GADs) governed by the rural parish council through members elected in a popular vote.

HORIZONTAL COOPERATION: The GADs in Ecuador have the authority to join together to form associations (contiguous GADs with the same level of government) and public consortiums (non-contiguous GADs or those with different levels of government) for the joint execution of the competences they define. These must be endorsed by the respective councils and registered in the National Competences Council, which evaluates the performance of the pooled competences.

The associations comprising the greatest number of GADs include Mundo Verde o del Buen Vivir Sumak Kawsay, made up of 18 municipal GADs with the aim of coordinating public services for environmental management and the planning of cantonal development and land management. Another major one is the association for the decentralised management of the competence of Land Transport, Transit and Road Safety (TTTSV or Tránsito, Transporte Terrestre y Seguridad Vial) of the Northern Region with 15 municipalities.

The consortiums unite a greater number of GADs. The biggest consortium (COMAGA) comprises 46 Amazonian municipalities and the province of Galapagos, working on municipal strengthening and international and decentralised cooperation. This is followed by the Jubones river basin, with 37 GADs at all three levels of government and the objective of managing the provision of public services and international cooperation.

COOTAD describes the responsibilities of the GADs in promoting development and quality of life by defining functions and competences. It details three types of sector or area of state intervention and responsibility: private sector (national and not decentralised, e.g. national defence, internal security and public order, international relations, economic policies and external debt); strategic sector (with responsibilities for stewardship and exclusive definition of the central state as well as other responsibilities at different levels of government, e.g. power generation, telecommunications, non-renewable natural resources, biodiversity and genetic heritage, radio frequencies, water); and community sector (decentralised powers).

The GADs have competences in the strategic and the community sectors. Within these they can exercise exclusive, concurrent, additional and residual competences using different kinds of authority (stewardship, planning, regulation, control and management) defined by the COOTAD.

The implementation of the National Decentralisation Plan (PND) was finalised in 2021, with no modifications to the competency framework envisaged.

Main responsibility sectors and sub-sectors
SECTORS AND SUB-SECTORS	Regional level	Intermediate level	Municipal level
1. General public services (administration)	Rates and special contributions (exclusive) Research and innovation policies for provincial development (exclusive)	Execution of public services and worksRates and special contributions for improvements (exclusive)MarketplacesCemeteries
2. Public order and safety	Coordination with national police (shared)	Coordination with national police (shared)Administrative units of municipal or metropolitan police.Civil security councilsFirefighting	Coordination with national police (shared)
3. Economic affairs / transports	Non-urban roadsProvincial productive activities (exclusive)Agricultural developmentTourism (shared)	Economic and business activitiesTourism activity (shared)Local economic development (shared)Plans for the social and solidarity-based economy (shared)Urban roads (exclusive)Land transport and transit.Signage.	Investment and special economic development of the popular and solidarity-based economy, in sectors such as agriculture, livestock, handicrafts and tourism (shared).Tourism (shared)Roads.
4. Environment protection	Watershed and micro-basin management (shared)Provincial environmental management (exclusive)Provincial irrigation system (exclusive)	Potable waterEnvironmental pollution (shared)Watershed and micro-basin management (shared)Sewage (exclusive)Waste management (exclusive)Sanitation (exclusive)Use of beaches, riverbanks, lakes and lagoons	Preservation of biodiversity and protection of the environment.
5. Housing and community amenities	Land management plansSocial housing plans and programmes for rural areas	Land management plans.Social housing plans and programmes for rural areas Physical infrastructure, equipment and public spaces.Use and control of land and urban planningLand registry	Land management plans.Physical infrastructure, equipment and public spaces.
6. Health		Health infrastructure and facilities
7. Culture & Recreation	Culture, arts, sports and recreational activities to benefit the local community in the rural area (shared)	Public spaces designed for culture and sportArchitectural heritageCulture, arts, sports and recreational activities to benefit the local community in the rural area (shared)Cultural heritage and social memory.	Culture, arts, sports and recreational activities (shared)
8. Education		Education infrastructure and facilities
9. Social Welfare	Policies of inclusion and equality (shared)Integral systems of protection for priority groups.	Policies of inclusion and equality (shared)Public spaces aimed at social development	Policies of inclusion and equality (shared)

Scope of fiscal data: 24 provinces and 221 municipalities (including the metropolitan district of Quito), rural parish governments and social security funds.

SNA 2008

Availability of fiscal data: Medium

Quality/reliability of fiscal data: Medium

GENERAL INTRODUCTION: The main legislative framework for the organisation of subnational government finance is enshrined in the 2008 Constitution and COOTAD (in force since 2010). Article 2 of the Constitution defines as one of the rights of state the equitable and solidarity-based development of the country by means of strengthening the autonomies and decentralisation. Likewise, the management of fiscal decentralisation comes under the remit of the 2010 Code of Organic Planning and Public Finance (COPLAFIP or Código Orgánico de Planificación y Finanzas Públicas), which is responsible for “organising, standardising and linking the National Decentralised System of Participative Planning with the National System of Public Finances and regulating its function within the different public sector levels” (COPLAFIP, Art.1).

According to the Constitution, COOTAD regulates the financing of the subnational governments and their participation in the general state revenues. Article 171 of COOTAD states that the revenue of the subnational governments comes from the generation of their own resources (tax and non-tax), from the transfers of the national budget, from other types of transfer, donations and bequests, from participation in the revenues from the exploitation or industrialisation of non-renewable natural resources and from resources stemming from financing (loans to finance investment projects).

Subnational government expenditure by economic classification
2020	Dollars PPP / inhabitant	% GDP	% general government	% subnational government
Total expenditure	506	4.6%	15.7%	100.0%
Inc. current expenditure	201	1.9%	9.3%	39.8%
Compensation of employees	101	0.9%	10.6%	19.9%
Intermediate consumption	-	-	-	-
Social expenditure	20	0.2%	10.8%	4.0%
Subsidies and current transfers	62	0.6%	15.2%	12.3%
Financial charges	18	0.2%	7.9%	3.6%
Others	-	-	-	-
Incl. capital expenditure	305	2.7%	25.8%	60.2%
Capital transfers	160	1.4%	16.8%	31.6%
Direct investment (or GFCF)	145	1.3%	63.2%	28.6%

EXPENDITURE: In 2020, the total subnational expenditure decreased by 15.56% compared to 2019 and represents 4.6% of Ecuador’s GDP. Of the total subnational expenditure, 39.8% corresponds to current expenditure (equivalent to 1.9% of GDP and 9.3% of general government expenditure). Within the total expenditure, 19.9% are personnel costs and 12.3% are subsidies and other current transfers.

DIRECT INVESTMENT: Capital investment makes up 60.2% of the total expenditure of the GADs. Subnational government direct investment amounts to 1.32% of GDP, which represents 63.2% of the direct investment expenditure of the general government. In general, capital expenditure went down compared to 2019 due to the economic consequences of the pandemic. According to the Central Bank of Ecuador, in annual terms there was a decrease of 11.9% of the GFCF of the general government in 2020, which was primarily due to a decline in the construction sector.

ⓘ No detailed data available for this country

Subnational government revenue by category
2020	Dollars PPP / inhabitant	% GDP	% general government	% subnational government
Total revenue	499	4.5%	15.1%	100.0%
Tax revenue	-	-	-	-
Grants and subsidies	326	3.0%	-	65.3%
Tariffs and fees	-	-	-	-
Income from assets	0.24	0.0%	-	0.1%
Other revenues	20	0.2%	-	3.9%

OVERALL DESCRIPTION: In 2020, subnational governments own-source revenues amounted to USD 1.378 billion and represented 30.7% of the total subnational revenues. In the case of the provincial and municipal GADs, the revenues come from taxes, special development contributions, returns on investment, fines and sales of goods, services and non-financial assets, recovery of investments, raffles, lotteries and other sources. It is not possible to determine the percentage corresponding to tax revenue and to tariffs and fees since they are not separated out in the official information.

In addition, the provincial governments have the power to collect specific contributions for road maintenance through the vehicle registration system. Rural parishes can raise their own income through the administration of infrastructure and public spaces. Rural parishes can also receive income sourced from other levels of government or from international cooperation, as well as donations and self-financing activities.

The different GADs can also raise revenue from loans through internal or external savings in order to finance capital investment projects.

The main source of financial income for the subnational governments is transfers from central government, which amounted to 65.3% of the total income in the 2020 fiscal year. This percentage was down by 19.6% over the 2016 fiscal year (according to the 2019 World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment Ecuador country profile), even though the percentage of GDP remained similar (3.0% for the year 2020 and 3.2% for 2016). Comparing the fiscal years of 2019 and 2020, the transfers from general government to the GADs reduced by 17.76%. This is explained to a large extent by the reduction in tax receipts in 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis, given that general government tax receipts saw a 12.64% drop, according to the Observatory of Public Spending.

TAX REVENUE: The regional, provincial and municipal councils have powers of taxation in their respective jurisdictions.

Municipal taxes are levied on urban property, rural property, property transactions (alcabalas), vehicles, license plates and patents, public shows, public services, the sale of urban plots and their capital gains, gambling and a tax of 1.5 per thousand on total assets.

In addition to municipal taxes on urban and rural properties, there is also a “tax on urban and rustic real estate”, which is levied on urban and rural natural properties, and refers to all the real estate located within the limits of the main urban zones of the canton or parish and other urban and rural zones of the canton (determined in accordance with the law and local legislation). Municipalities and metropolitan districts are obliged to carry out updates to the land registry and to the valuations of urban and rural properties. In rural zones, the value of the tax is calculated based on the value of the plot and the building. In urban zones, it is calculated by applying a variable percentage (which ranges between 0.25 and 5 per thousand of the value); the percentage is set by order of the municipal council.

The provincial GADs only benefit from 0.001% of the alcabala (a tax charged on property transactions), which is raised at municipal level. While they have the power to raise taxes such as VAT, rental tax and a tax on special consumption (ICE), these have to be turned over to the general government. The provinces that raise the most of these national taxes per capita are Pichincha and Guayas, and those that raise the least per capita are Bolívar and Esmeraldas.

According to the Constitution (Art. 301), the creation of new taxes, as well as the modification, exoneration or termination of existing taxes, is subject to the initiative of the executive branch of the central government and approval by the National Assembly.

GRANTS AND SUBSIDIES: The system of transfers, which has been in operation since 2011, considers the following parameters: Model of Territorial Equity (MET), new competences and the exploitation or industrialisation of non-renewable resources.

The “new competences” are related to the gradual decentralisation of functions of specific competences from 2011, which duly receive economic resources. The annual amount to be transferred depends on the progress made within each competence. In this sense, for the year 2020 a specific transfer was made for expanding the powers of the municipal GADs with regard to land transport, transit and road safety.

Most of the resources assigned by central government to the GADs relate to the transfers of the MET. Article 192 of COOTAD sets out that through MET, local governments can receive 21% of the permanent national revenues and 10% of non-permanent revenues. Of this amount, 27% is transferred to provincial councils, 67% to municipalities and metropolitan districts and 6% to parish councils, according to the powers transferred at each level of local government. These resources are distributed to each GAD based on a model that classifies the amount to be transferred in two parts: the amount A, a fixed sum corresponding to the transfers that were assigned to the GADs by law in 2010, and amount B, assigned based on a distribution formula that includes a series of criteria: size of population, density of population, basic unmet needs, prioritised and depending on the population living in the territory of each GAD; achievements in improving standards of living; fiscal discipline; administrative discipline; and compliance with the objectives of the development plan. In line with the formulas established to define the distribution of the transfers, the GADs in the province of Guayas received the largest share of the allocations from the MET in 2020 with 21.21%, followed by those in the province of Pichincha with 16.52%.

In 2020, grants and subsidies made up 65.3% of the total income of the subnational governments. This year, 93.02% of the capital transfers made by the central government were directed to the GADs, with the rest going to public enterprises. This corresponds to the transfers of the general state budget stipulated in COOTAD (fourth section) and includes amounts derived from the Model of Territorial Equity (MET), assigned powers, sectoral agreements, Law 047, reintegration of value added tax – VAT and other legal dispositions.

OTHER REVENUE: Other revenue in Ecuador includes: revenue from tariffs and special contributions for general or specific improvements; the sale of goods and services; return on investments and fines; sales of non-financial activities and recovery of investments; raffles, lotteries etc. In 2020 this revenue represented 3.9% of the income of the GADs and 0.2% of national GDP. The collection of other revenue, stable until 2019, reduced by 11.64% in 2020 over the previous year. This is largely explained by the crisis generated by COVID-19.

The regional GADs can create, modify and terminate tariffs and special contributions for improvements to services that come under their responsibility and for works that are carried out as part of their competences. While they cannot create taxes by means of regional legislation, they can add an additional sum to the taxes on all special consumption, vehicles and the price of fuel. The tariffs created by a GAD may not be multiplied within the same territory.

In accordance with COOTAD, the taxes are regulated by means of by-laws, initiated exclusively by the municipal or metropolitan mayor, processed and approved by the respective council for the provision of the following services: a) planning approval and building inspections; b) slaughterhouses (aimed at financing the management of the Public Animal Slaughter Authority); c) potable water: d) waste collection and public toilets; e) food control; f) rating and monitoring of commercial and industrial establishments; g) administrative services; h) drainage and sewerage; i) sundry other services.

ⓘ No detailed data available for this country

FISCAL RULES: Article 286 of the Constitution provides that public finances must be managed in a way that is sustainable, responsible and transparent at all levels of government. The Code of Organic Planning and Public Finance (COPLAFIP), approved in 2010, defines the legislative principles. It stipulates that permanent expenditure must be financed exclusively from permanent revenue (Art. 81) and not through debt, except in cases laid out in the Constitution (health, education and justice).

Central government extends a guarantee to organisations and other public sector bodies that are allowed to contract public debt. This public debt must be destined for initiating capital investment projects or programmes, always provided they generate the necessary profitability.

DEBT: GADs may contract debt in order to finance infrastructure projects or investment programmes that generate sufficient returns in the medium and long term to repay the debt. Rural parochial GADs may be financed with funds from the State Bank in accordance with its founding law (COOTAD, Art. 211).

GADs can only incur debt up to a ratio of 200% of public debt to total revenues. Moreover, the financial expenditure for servicing the debt may not exceed 25% of the local revenue for the fiscal year. The Ministry of Finance analyses debt sustainability based on payment capacity. In the event that the debt may be contracted, the process of issuing bonds or sovereign guarantees remains the responsibility of the under-secretary of public finance.

In 2021, for example, an important line of financing was opened for the construction of rural roads. The province of Santo Domingo inaugurated a public works thanks to the funding of USD 2.1 million, while funding of USD 5 million was approved for the province of Loja. At the same time, there was a focus on potable water and sanitation: the municipal of Jipijapa started work on the construction of potable water systems and the municipalities of the province of Esmeraldas initiated conversations with the Development Bank of Ecuador to formulate projects to finance the sanitation system throughout the territory.

TERRITORIAL MANAGEMENT OF THE CRISIS: On 29 February 2020, the Ministry of Public Health (MSP or Ministerio de Salud Pública) confirmed the first positive case in the country. This landmark moment led to the drawing up of various directives linked to managing the health crisis. With the declaration of a global pandemic by the WHO on 11 March 2020, Ecuador activated its National Emergency Operations Committee (COE-N or Comité Nacional de Operaciones de Emergencia Nacional), featuring technical working groups. Following the declaration of a state of emergency in the country on 16 March 2020, the first response measures were aimed at obligatory preventative isolation, the banning of public events, the closure of city spaces and the suspension of classes and face-to-face work, along with restrictions on movement throughout the country.

After the initial declaration of a state of emergency, joint measures were drawn up by the COEs at national (COE-N), municipal (COE-M), provincial (COE-P) and rural parochial (Parochial Emergency Commission - COPAE) level for the National Decentralised System of Risk Management (SNDGR or Sistema Nacional Descentralizado de Gestión de Riesgos), organised in eight national legal bodies. This structure dates back to 2010 and has been modified on various occasions. These bodies are designed to act in the face of emergency situations and disasters, and to coordinate the necessary measures. In terms of general structure, the COEs encompass a decision-making body (made up of various institutional representatives in a multi-level format), technical implementation, emergency response, information management and infrastructure, and technological support.

SNDGR coordinates the measures taken by the subnational governments as suggested by the technical working groups. In the working group responsible for water, sanitation and solid waste management, AME was tasked with studying issues of waste management during the health emergency and established direct dialogue with the National Agency of Health Regulation, Control and Monitoring (ARCSA or Agencia Nacional de Regulación, Control y Vigilancia Sanitaria), to gather information about the provision of the service. As preventative measures against the spread of the pandemic, the GADs and COEs worked on monitoring movement and controlling entry points, capacity and isolation measures. They also designed and implemented measures regarding the management of contagion-prevention protocols.

January 2021 saw the start of the implementation of a vaccination programme called Plan Vacunarse, headed by the national government. Within this framework, the GADs worked in collaboration with the MSP to participate in the processes of microplanning and coordination of action across the country, managing medical waste, and supporting and facilitating the vaccination campaign in the territories. It is worth emphasising the agreement signed between the MSP, CONGOPE and CONAGOPARE to coordinate actions within their territorial jurisdiction and the fact that the rural parochial GADs together with the secretary of health were committed to facilitating access to the vaccine for the rural population and worked on resolving the associated problems.

EMERGENCY MEASURES TO COPE WITH THE CRISIS AT THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT: The GADs played a fundamental role in providing humanitarian assistance, basic services, healthcare and food security, taking responsibility for the purchase and management of supplies. Given the restrictions on movement set by the Ministry of Transport and Public Works, the GADs suspended inter-cantonal transport services during the peak periods of the health emergency, with some cantons establishing emergency cycle lanes. It is important to highlight the specific work carried out by the municipal GADs with grassroots recyclers to generate the protocols for the gradual return and management of waste collections in order to create safe conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The municipalities and rural parishes also provided logistical and humanitarian aid by setting up the Emergency Family Voucher scheme for people in vulnerable socio-economic situations who were dependent on welfare payments and were not linked to any other cash transfer programmes. They also called on the support of private companies to draw up plans for family vouchers and basic food parcels.

Throughout the state of emergency, the GADs coordinated the distribution of food together with local stakeholders, including various foundations and social organisations. In addition to the vaccination programme, measures were set up with bodies such as the Fire Brigade to help with the provision of logistical support and the delivery of food parcels by rural and municipal parishes. In the case of the measures taken to combat the increase in instances of gender-based violence, some GADs worked with women’s organisations. Likewise, they joined forces with the chambers of construction and commerce, as well as other private stakeholders, to gain insights into the main consequences facing each sector.

In coordination with the GADs, it was necessary to procure digital equipment for education and home working. There was also an expansion of the strategy to reduce the digital divide through the Infocentros project, managed by the Ministry of Telecommunications and the Information Society, which seeks to promote the development of innovation and entrepreneurship by guaranteeing access to and use of ICT.

IMPACTS OF THE CRISIS ON SUBNATIONAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE: The health crisis generated changes in the budgets of the GADs, which directed part of their economic resources to health prevention measures, activities and recuperation in the face of the health emergency. At a general level across Ecuador, according to Grupo Faro, the pandemic has caused a serious fall in the tax receipts for 2020, tax revenue having decreased by 15% for the general government.

In terms of local public investment, the subnational governments have had to redirect expenditure from their budgets to provide resources to deal with the pandemic. Some planned infrastructure projects have been suspended as a result. By way of example, local resources were dedicated to the purchase of medical equipment, medical brigades and emergency food and humanitarian assistance. Some highly populous municipal GADs such as Guayaquil and Quito directed resources to infrastructure for the setting up of supplementary hospitals.

According to the budget execution report, there was a reduction of 17.31% in the transfers from central government to the GADs compared to 2019. Likewise, collections of taxes and other incomes at subnational level also fell. The revenue of the GADs was affected, and this impact was aggravated by the fact that they had to direct resources to the emergency measures.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL STIMULUS PLANS: From an economic point of view, the national strategies for productive development and commercial activation were coordinated with the GADs, who lent support in the monitoring and surveying of the provision of key production services. Specific measures of credit and financing were put in place for different sectors. For example, from May 2020, access was given to “Reactívate Ecuador”, a line of credit specifically for SMEs. Support was also given to agricultural providers and those parts of the population worst affected by the pandemic. To incentivise local consumption, a campaign was launched entitled “Juntos Ecuador” (Together Ecuador).

In 2020, the National Council for Gender Equality generated strategic actions in the wake of the state of emergency declared for COVID-19 2020-2021, in eight respects: mitigation of poverty and production; sustainability of employment; unpaid care and other work; education and access to ICT; gender-based violence; health, sexual and reproductive rights; participation; communication. This plan specifies that it is directed at the three levels of government, although there is no evidence of how the GADs can take part in its design and implementation with the exception of the role of rural parishes in preventing situations of violence through the Emergency Parochial Commission (COPAE) and of municipalities and rural parishes in strengthening the voices of women and LGBTQ+ people when local decisions are taken.