Verónica Abad Rojas

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Abad and the second or maternal family name is Rojas.

Verónica Abad Rojas
Abad Rojas in 2023
53rd Vice President of Ecuador
Incumbent
Assumed office
23 November 2023
Suspended since 9 November 2024 until 23 December 2024
PresidentDaniel Noboa
Preceded byAlfredo Borrero
Succeeded bySariha Moya (acting)
Ambassador of Ecuador to Israel
In office
4 December 2023 – 9 November 2024
PresidentDaniel Noboa
Preceded byMaría Concepción Barahona Páez
Succeeded byMaría Cristina Cevallos
Personal details
Born (1976-11-14) 14 November 1976 (age 48)
Cuenca, Ecuador
Political partyNational Democratic Action
Other political
affiliations		AMIGO Movement
Children3
OccupationBusiness coach

Verónica Abad Rojas (born 14 November 1976) is an Ecuadorian business coach and politician who is the vice president of Ecuador since 2023, serving in the Daniel Noboa administration. Prior, she was also an unsuccessful candidate for mayor of Cuenca in 2023 and previously worked on international projects to support entrepreneurship for young people and women.

Abad Rojas was elected to the vice presidency as the running mate for Daniel Noboa following the second round of the 2023 general election. Upon their inauguration in November 2023, both Noboa and Abad Rojas distanced themselves from each other with Abad Rojas launching personal attacks against Noboa. In June 2024, Abad Rojas survived an impeachment attempt by the Noboa government due to legal issues. In November 2024, she was suspended from vice-presidency for 150 days.[1]

Early life

Veronica Abad was born in Cuenca.[2] She belongs to a musician family, in which she spent her childhood practicing ballet, and playing musical instruments such as piano and violin.[3]

Abad studied Business Administration, but did not finish her degree. Then she took some short courses about Entrepreneurship in Santiago de Chile, Political Strategy at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom in Gummersbach, Germany, and Innovation and Technology at the Friends of Zion Institute, Jerusalem.[3]

Early career

Abad began in politics when she participated at the 2006 Ecuadorian local elections.[4] Later on, she became the founder of the Network of Women Directors and worked on international projects to support entrepreneurship, especially for young people and women.[5]

Abad worked at the Secretary Against Child Malnutrition between 2020 and 2022.[4]

In the 2023 Ecuadorian local elections, Abad was candidate for Mayor of Cuenca for the AMIGO Movement.[6]

Vice Presidency

In the general election later that year, Abad became the running mate of presidential candidate Daniel Noboa and they unexpectedly advanced to the run-off election.[7] They were running under the National Democratic Action ticket.[8]

Following her election as Vice President in 2023, Verónica Abad's first official role was a highly-charged one. President Daniel Noboa assigned her as a Special Envoy for Peace to Israel, tasked with facilitating dialogue and de-escalating tensions in the wake of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war,[9] effectively distancing her from his administration. On December 4, she was formally appointed by President Noboa as Ecuador's peace envoy to Israel.[10] She arrived at the diplomatic mission on December 10.[11]

Abad Rojas being inaugurated as vice president, November 2023

Both Noboa and Abad Rojas had distanced themselves from each other since the inauguration, with Abad Rojas launching personal attacks against Noboa while Noboa's administration has pushed back against several Abad Rojas's controversial comments.[12] In May 2024, Noboa registered to run for re-election in the upcoming 2025 general election, however declined to name Rojas Abad as his running mate.[13] In August 2024, Noboa named María José Pinto González Artigas as his running mate, going against Abad Rojas.[14]

In March 2024, the Ecuadorian Justice Ministry detained Abad Rojas's son as part of an ongoing investigation regarding influence peddling in the vice presidential office.[15] The Noboa administration attempted to impeach Abad Rojas as a result in June 2024, however the resolution failed with 47 votes in favor in the National Assembly, short of the 92 votes needed to impeach.[16]

On 9 November 2024, Abad Rojas was temporarily suspended as vice president by the Ecuadorian government after failing to leave Israel and travel to Turkey.[17] The Ecuadorian government had issued a mandate for Abad Rojas to leave Israel by 1 September.[17] In response, Abad Rojas called the Noboa government "authoritarian" and enacted legal action against her 150-day suspension.[18] Noboa named Secretary of National Planning Sariha Moya as acting vice president.[19]

On 23 December 2024, Abad Rojas was ordered reinstated as Vice President after a judge ruled her suspension unconstitutional.[20]

Political positions

Abad opposes abortion, LGBTQ+ rights[which?] and 4th wave feminism.[4] She says she defends freedom of religion, individual rights, private property, small government and free markets.[21] She has also shown sympathy for politicians including Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro, and the far-right Spanish party Vox.[21]

Personal life

Abad is a mother of three and grandmother.[6] She is a Christian.[22]

References

  1. ^ "Ecuador's VP suspended for 150 days deepening rift with president as February election looms". Associated Press. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Verónica Abad, la empresaria que acompaña a Daniel Noboa en el camino a Carondelet". Teleamazonas (in Spanish). 22 August 2023. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Verónica Abad la cuencana que propone rescatar la política junto con Daniel Noboa" (in Spanish). Plan V. 7 August 2023. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Vaca, Stefanía (29 August 2023). "¿Quién es Verónica Abad, candidata a la vicepresidencia?" (in Spanish). GK. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Quién es Verónica Abad, la candidata a la Vicepresidencia junto a Daniel Noboa". Metro Ecuador (in Spanish). 21 August 2023. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Verónica Abad, para la Alcaldía de Cuenca: "Seguridad, libertad y dignidad es lo que quiero para Cuenca"". Metro Ecuador (in Spanish). 22 January 2023. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  7. ^ ""La antigua clase política no dio resultados": Verónica Abad, fórmula vicepresidencial de Daniel Noboa, en entrevista con NTN24". NTN24 (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  8. ^ "Este es el programa de Daniel Noboa para derrotar al correísmo en la segunda vuelta de la elección presidencial de Ecuador, el 15 de octubre", CNN, archived from the original on 6 September 2023, retrieved 6 September 2023
  9. ^ Cañizares, Ana María. "Daniel Noboa envía a su vicepresidenta a Israel de forma 'indefinida' un día después de la posesión presidencial en Ecuador". CNN. CNN En Español. Archived from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  10. ^ "Verónica Abad deberá presentarse en la Embajada de Israel el 10 de diciembre Para hacer uso de este contenido cite la fuente y haga un enlace a la nota original en Primicias". Primicias. Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Vicepresidenta Verónica Abad se presentó en la Embajada de Ecuador en Tel Aviv". Teleamazonas. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  12. ^ "Verónica Abad, vicepresidenta de Ecuador, dice que el Gobierno utiliza argumentos propios de una dictadura tras su suspensión por 150 días". CNN. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  13. ^ "ADN, de Daniel Noboa, fue inscrito en el CNE con un número 'especial'" (in Spanish). El Comercio. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  14. ^ "¿Quién es María José Pinto, la compañera de fórmula de Daniel Noboa?". El Universo. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  15. ^ "La Fiscalía de Ecuador investiga un caso de tráfico de influencias en la Vicepresidencia" (in Spanish). El País América. 22 March 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  16. ^ "Dos intentos fallidos de Noboa por apartar a su vicepresidenta sumen al Gobierno de Ecuador en el desconcierto" (in Spanish). El País. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  17. ^ a b "Ecuador government suspends vice president from office ahead of 2025 elections". Reuters. 9 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  18. ^ "Verónica Abad, vicepresidenta de Ecuador, dice que el Gobierno utiliza argumentos propios de una dictadura tras su suspensión por 150 días". CNN. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  19. ^ "Sahira Moya vicepresidenta encargada por el Gobierno" (in Spanish). El Norte. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  20. ^ "Judge reinstates Ecuador's vice president after deeming her suspension unconstitutional". Associated Press. 24 December 2024. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  21. ^ a b "Verónica Abad, pro vida y a favor de VOX, es el binomio de Daniel Noboa" (in Spanish). La Republica. 23 August 2023. Archived from the original on 24 August 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  22. ^ "Verónica Abad, compañera de Daniel Noboa, se encargará de temas sobre migrantes, en caso de ganar las elecciones". El Universo (in Spanish). 2 September 2023. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.