The Office of the Attorney General is investigating a multimillion-dollar diversion of public funds intended for the reconstruction of Manabí after the devastating 2016 earthquake. According to the prosecuting entity, at least USD 367 million were misused by authorities linked to correísmo.
The funds, collected through the increase in VAT, mandatory citizen contributions, and business contributions, were supposed to be used for urgent works in cantons such as Manta, Portoviejo, and Pedernales. However, the Office of the Comptroller General detected irregularities in eight audits conducted on contracts executed by the Reconstruction Committee.
The case directly involves former Vice President Jorge Glas and the committee's former technical secretary, Carlos Bernal, who will be tried for the crime of embezzlement, punishable by sentences of 10 to 13 years in prison according to the COIP. Both are accused of redirecting resources to non-priority projects and of benefiting contractors and inspectors close to correísmo.
The initial complaint came from the Citizen Participation and Social Control Council at that time, whose investigations warned about the arbitrary use of the funds. Former Minister of Public Works, Walter Solís, was also investigated, although he was recently acquitted, while he remains in Mexico.
Fiscalía revela peculado en Manabi
The resources came from a package of measures that included the increase in VAT from 12% to 14%, the mandatory donation of one day's salary for those earning more than USD 1,000, the contribution of 3% of business profits, and 0.9% on assets over one million dollars. In total, the committee managed more than USD 3 billion.
Nevertheless, neither the repair of homes nor the reconstruction of priority infrastructure progressed at the expected pace. Most of the projects took years to be executed, while the money was allocated to initiatives unrelated to the emergency.
The trial hearing against Jorge Glas and Carlos Bernal will be held on June 17. The judicial process is seen as a milestone in the fight against the structural corruption that marked the years of correísmo. The diversion of funds intended for the victims highlights an insensitive and clientelist management, where the political use of collective suffering was commonplace.
For the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Comptroller General, this case is emblematic: it is not only about the misuse of public money, but also about the manipulation of tragedy to favor personal and group interests. Citizens are still waiting for justice for the human and economic losses left by that April 16, 2016.
The "Manabí Reconstruction Case" starkly illustrates how the opaque management of public resources during correísmo harmed those most affected by a national tragedy. In this context, the justice system has the responsibility to send a clear message against the abuse of power and corruption.
