On Sunday, the Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa and his inaugural cabinet posed for an official photo. Notably absent from the picture was Vice President Veronica Abad, who was appointed as a "Collaborator for Peace" between Israel and Palestine.
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His team includes the Minister of Women and Human Rights, Arianna Tanca, and the Minister of Telecommunications, Cesar Martin. In the coming days, Noboa will appoint Juan Carlos Vega Malo as the Minister of Economy.
On his first day in office on Thursday, Noboa had already appointed most of his ministers. Among them were 8 women and 8 men. Niels Olsen, the Tourism Minister, was the only one who served in the previous government led by Guillermo Lasso.
The cabinet also includes Monica Palencia (Government), Gabriela Sommerfeld (Foreign Relations), Giancarlo Loffredo (National Defense), Daniel Calderon (Education), Roberto Luque (Transportation and Public Works), Ivonne Nuñez (Labor), Franklin Palacios (Agriculture), Sonsoles Garcia (Foreign Trade), Franklin Encalada (Public Health), Andrea Arrobo (Energy), Zaida Rovira (Economic and Social Inclusion), and Humberto Plaza (Urban Development).
In the official photo of the first cabinet, Vice President Veronica Abad was not present. So far, she has not directly commented on her appointment as "collaborator for peace and to safeguard the de-escalation of conflict between Israel and Palestine" in Tel Aviv.
On Saturday, however, she took advantage of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to convey a message through social media.
"Violence is not just about killing others. There is violence when we use derogatory words, when we make gestures to disdain other people, when bad actions intimidate your children and force you to silence injustices, when we obey out of fear, and when, abusing power, they belittle you and send you to die in war," she expressed.
"This violence leaves very deep scars, difficult to heal. Women are peace. We are life, justice, courage, strength. They may distance us, but the echo of our voice will set us free," Abad added, without making any mention of Noboa's appointment.
The relationship between Noboa and Abad appeared distant even during the electoral campaign, where they barely shared public events. On the day of Noboa's inauguration, Abad did not attend the official lunch at the Carondelet palace. Instead, she visited a market in northern Quito, where she had lunch and interacted with the merchants.
Abad has been criticized on multiple occasions for her far-right ideological stances, including positions against the women's movement and rights to health and education.