Diego Borja

Diego Borja Cornejo
Diego Borja Cornejo
Born	May 1, 1964 (age 62); Quito, Ecuador
Occupation(s)	Economist, politician
Years active	20th century–present
Known for	Minister of Economy and Finance of Ecuador (2005–2006); Coordination Minister for Economic Policy (2008–2010); vice presidential nominee for the Citizen Revolution Movement in 2025

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Diego Borja, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 11 August 2025

Diego Borja Cornejo (born May 1, 1964) is an economist and politician from Ecuador, currently running as the vice presidential nominee for the Citizen Revolution Movement in the 2025 general election, partnering with Luisa González.

He held the position of Minister of Economy and Finance between 2005 and 2006 during Alfredo Palacio’s presidency. In 2007, Borja secured a seat in the National Constitutional Assembly representing Pichincha Province but stepped down in 2008 to assume the role of Coordination Minister for Economic Policy under President Rafael Correa, a post he maintained until 2010.

Early life

Born in Quito, Borja completed a Master’s degree at the Catholic University of Louvain and earned his economics degree from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, where he also served as an instructor. Prior to entering politics, he held key leadership positions such as Executive Director of the Flower Producers and Exporters Association (Expoflores) and President of the Catholic Student Federation (FEUCE-Q). Additionally, he provided consultancy services focused on competitiveness and productivity to multiple organizations.

Minister of Economy and Finance

Borja’s tenure as Minister of Economy and Finance spanned from December 28, 2005, to July 7, 2006. During this period, he acted as Governor for Ecuador at institutions including the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.

He spearheaded reforms to the Hydrocarbons Law that increased the state’s share of oil revenues from private companies to 50%, a significant rise from previous levels as low as 18%, despite these firms earning profits reaching up to 250% annually. Under his leadership, the contract with Occidental Petroleum Co., which produced approximately 100,000 barrels per day, was terminated due to breaches of agreement. Borja was appointed to a commission responsible for overseeing both the transfer and management of these oil fields and played a key role in creating the administrative body tasked with their operation.

Among his notable accomplishments were repurchasing $740 million in high-interest bonds (specifically Ecuador Global 2012 bonds carrying a 12% annual interest rate), reducing Ecuador’s public external debt to below 30% of GDP, lowering inflation and unemployment rates, reversing a forecasted fiscal deficit of 0.8% into a surplus of 1.4% of GDP, and stimulating substantial growth in both oil-related and non-oil sectors.

Borja also established the CEREPS oil fund aimed at channeling public investment into infrastructure, energy sectors including oil and electricity, education, healthcare, and environmental initiatives.

Following his public criticism of regulatory reforms that benefited foreign oil companies, Borja encountered political pressure resulting in chief of staff Jose Modesto Apolo requesting his resignation. In response, Borja revealed Apolo’s involvement in those regulatory changes, which subsequently led to Apolo’s own resignation.

Congressional career

Prior to founding "Movimiento Poder Ciudadano," Borja was prominent within "Movimiento Nuevo País," where he advised presidential hopeful Freddy Ehlers and served as Ecuador’s alternate delegate to the Andean Parliament.

On September 30, 2007, Borja was elected to the Constitutional Assembly representing an alliance that included the social-democratic Party of the Democratic Left along with other democratic socialist groups. He was the leading candidate for Pichincha Province, which includes Quito. He resigned from this position after one year to join Rafael Correa’s government.

Correa administration

On December 23, 2008, President Rafael Correa designated Borja as the Coordination Minister for Economic Policy within his cabinet.

Borja departed from the Correa administration on April 5, 2010, and subsequently emerged as a prominent critic of Correa’s successor, Lenin Moreno.

2025 vice presidential campaign

In August 2024, the Citizen Revolution Movement nominated Borja as their candidate for vice presidency in the 2025 Ecuadorian general election, partnering with former National Assembly member Luisa González. By February 2025, the González-Borja ticket achieved second place with 43.97% of votes, qualifying for a runoff against the sitting President Daniel Noboa.

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