Quito.- The second edition of the Quito 2034 Agreement, held this Wednesday, concluded with the ratification and expansion of the historic pact between authorities, academia, and citizens of the capital of Ecuador.
The pact seeks to eradicate poverty and strengthen the social protection system; to recover security and peaceful coexistence; to promote well-being, employment and economic growth; and to build an intercultural, green and blue city.
Upon inaugurating the event, the city’s mayor, Pabel Muñoz, highlighted the importance of ceasing to dwell on differences and prioritizing the common points of society to advance in the construction of a development vision with common goals, which were already validated in the first edition of the Quito Agreement, held last year.
In this day, the participants supported the progress made during the first year of implementation of the Quito Agreement 2034 and recognized that “a greater involvement of all adherents, active and permanent communication, more meeting spaces and clear mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation” is required.
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The pact was established in October 2024 by 69 representatives from different sectors of the city, including councilors and delegates from the business, academic, cultural, and tourism sectors.
There was also participation from neighborhood leaders, parish authorities, and representatives of indigenous peoples. This diversity allowed the agreement to be born with a broad and multi-sectoral base, reflecting the multiple realities and needs of the Ecuadorian capital, the Municipality pointed out.
Insecurity and hunger as priorities
Muñoz noted that insecurity “keeps citizens awake” and commented that income poverty is at 13.1%. According to a study, 14% of surveyed households indicate that “a member of their family stops eating” so that another can.
Among the problems facing the city, the mayor referred to unemployment, which has been exacerbated by the “forced displacement” of Ecuadorians from other areas of the country, “for the first time in the city’s history,” which already experienced this phenomenon with Colombians, due to the conflict in their country, and Venezuelans, due to economic migration.
On the other hand, Quito also faces “expansive urban growth”, which has overloaded some sectors and depopulated others.
Among the opportunities of the city, Muñoz mentioned a positive demographic bonus, with most of the population of working age and an investment portfolio of more than 6 billion dollars active in the city.
The mayor noted that Quito – which contributes 26% to the national gross domestic product (GDP) – has a “very good rating in basic services coverage, although he acknowledged problems in basic sanitation issues, which is why the lack of wastewater treatment has affected the rivers.”
On the other hand, he highlighted that the Quito Metro -inaugurated on December 1, 2023-, has made more than 100 million trips, boosted the economy and avoided the emission of 107,000 tons of carbon dioxide into the environment.
Long-term Vision
After an analysis of the mayorships since 1978, Muñoz handles the hypothesis that Quito “has not managed to consolidate a long-term concept”, although he stressed that there are elements that have become pillars of management, such as heritage conservation and cultural promotion, as well as “episodes” of modernization of mobility and public transport.
