Guillermo Lasso
Ecuadorian president, banker, and free-market advocate.
Guillermo Alberto Santiago Lasso Mendoza (born 16 November 1955) is an Ecuadorian businessman, banker, and politician who served as the 47th president of Ecuador from 2021 to 2023. A traditional economic liberal and free-market advocate, he founded the Creating Opportunities Party in 2012 and ran for president three times, winning in 2021 after narrowly losing in 2017. Lasso previously served as Governor of Guayas from 1998 to 1999, briefly as Superminister of Economy in 1999, and as Itinerant Ambassador in 2003. He was CEO of Banco Guayaquil for over 20 years and remains its largest shareholder through a trust.
Lasso was born in the Orellana neighborhood of Guayaquil to a middle-class family, the son of Enrique Lasso Alvarado and Nora Mendoza. He was one of eleven siblings, and his family faced financial difficulties. At age 15, he worked to pay for his baccalaureate at Colegio La Salle High School. He studied economics at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador in Quito but left without earning a degree. In 1970, he began working part-time at the Guayaquil Stock Exchange and later as a collection agency assistant at Casa Möeller Martínez. He worked at the financial companies Cofiec and Finansa before founding Constructora Alfa y Omega with his older brother in 1978. He married María de Lourdes Alcívar in 1980, and they have five children.
During the 1990s, Lasso became head of Coca-Cola’s Ecuador operations, tasked with restructuring the company after its local bankruptcy. He later served on the boards of Coca-Cola and Mavesa, chaired the Guayas Transit Commission, and was a board member of CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean. In 1994, he became CEO of Banco Guayaquil, a position he held for over two decades. He founded the Bancos del Barrio community banking program, which the Inter-American Development Bank recognized as an advancement in grassroots banking. He resigned as executive president in 2012. In March 2020, he launched the Saving Lives humanitarian initiative, raising $8 million for medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 1998, Lasso was appointed Governor of Guayas during a period of mass privatization. Following Ecuador’s 1999 economic collapse, he briefly served as Superminister of Economy under President Jamil Mahuad, taking over IMF negotiations and coordinating crisis response. In 2003, President Lu
- born
- 16 November 1955
- nationality
- Ecuadorian
- known_for
- 47th president of Ecuador (2021–2023); founder of Creating Opportunities Party;
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Lasso was born in the Orellana neighborhood of Guayaquil to a middle-class family on 16 November 1955. At age 15, he worked to earn money for his baccalaureate service at Colegio La Salle High School. He studied economics at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador in Quito but left without a degree. In 1970, he began working part-time at the Guayaquil Stock Exchange, later at Cofiec and Finansa. In 1978, he founded Constructora Alfa y Omega with his older brother Enrique. He married María de Lourdes Alcívar in 1980; they have five children. In the 1990s, Lasso was named head of Coca-Cola's Ecuador operations after the company's local bankruptcy, tasked with restructuring it. He became CEO of Banco Guayaquil in 1994, founded the Bancos del Barrio community banking program (cited by the Inter-American Development Bank as an advancement in grassroots banking), and resigned as Executive President in 2012. He is the largest shareholder in Banco de Guayaquil through a trust with his initials, GLM. Lasso served as Governor of Guayas from 1998 to 1999, then as Superminister of Economy under President Jamil Mahuad in 1999, taking over IMF negotiations during an economic collapse. He served as Itinerant Ambassador under President Lucio Gutiérrez from January to April 2003. He founded the Creating Opportunities Party in 2012. He ran for president in 2013 (22.68% of votes, second to Rafael Correa), in 2017 (48.84%, lost to Lenín Moreno), and won in 2021 with 52.4% against Andrés Arauz. His presidency focused on COVID-19 vaccination and IMF-backed economic relief via tax increases on the wealthy, but rising food and fuel prices sparked protests, with concerns over human rights abuses. In May 2023, facing a second impeachment, he dissolved the National Assembly using muerte cruzada, triggering a general election in which he did not run.
Reader's Guide
Guillermo Lasso's political career is defined by three presidential campaigns and a single, interrupted term. He first ran in 2013, coming in a distant second to President Rafael Correa with 22.68% of valid votes. In 2017, he advanced to a run-off against former vice president Lenín Moreno, narrowly losing with 48.84% and alleging electoral fraud. His third campaign in 2021 saw him narrowly advance to the April run-off, where he defeated socialist Andrés Arauz with 52.4% of the vote, an upset victory described as a win for free-market advocates. As president, Lasso vowed to uphold a $6.5 billion IMF financing agreement and focused on COVID-19 vaccination initiatives and economic relief through tax increases on the wealthy. However, increases in food and fuel prices culminated in protests, and the government's response raised concerns over human rights abuses, including crackdowns on indigenous protests and alleged excessive force against journalists. His approval rating dropped significantly throughout 2022 and into 2023. In May 2023, the National Assembly began a second impeachment proceeding against him; on 17 May, Lasso dissolved the Assembly using muerte cruzada, triggering the 2023 general election, in which he did not run and was succeeded by Daniel Noboa. His business background—CEO of Banco Guayaquil for over 20 years, head of Coca-Cola's Ecuador operations, and founder of the Bancos del Barrio program—shaped his free-market economic approach.
Did You Know?
- Lasso worked at age 15 to pay for his baccalaureate service at Colegio La Salle High School.
- He founded his first company, Constructora Alfa y Omega, with his older brother in 1978 when he was 23.
- Lasso was named head of Coca-Cola's Ecuador operations in the 1990s after the company's local bankruptcy, tasked with restructuring it.
- He founded the Bancos del Barrio program, a community banking initiative cited by the Inter-American Development Bank as an advancement in grassroots banking penetration strategy.
- In March 2020, Lasso created the humanitarian initiative Saving Lives, raising US$8 million to help purchase medical supplies for the Ecuadorian Health System during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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