Esther Cuesta Santana

Esther Adelina Cuesta Santana (born 23 June 1975) is an Ecuadorian politician and a member of the National Assembly and The Citizens' Revolution. Cuesta was an undocumented immigrant in the United States and she represented the 800,000 Ecuadorian migrants in Europe, Asia, and Oceania. In January 2025 she became the acting President of the National Assembly.

Life Cuesta was born on 23 June 1975 in 1975. When she was 19, she vacationed in Mexico, secretly crossing the border into the United States. Cuesta earned an undergraduate, masters, and doctoral degrees from the University of Massachusetts Amherst

In 2009, Cuesta went to Italy to research and, while she was there, was offered the position of Consul

Before the elections in February 2021, Cuesta requested unpaid leave from the assembly so that she could take part in the elections. 42 other members also made the same request including Wilma Andrade, Mónica Alemán, Verónica Arias, Dallyana Passailaigue, Cristina Reyes and Silvia Lorena Vera. During her absence her job would be carried out by her substitute.

In July 2022 the position of vice-president of the assembly was vacant as Yeseña Guamaní had been removed by the Union for Hope (UNES) faction and a replacement was required. There was a political stand-off as the parties could not agree. The Pachakutik party proposed Mireya Pazmiño and Mario Ruiz and the Democratic Left offered Johanna Moreira. UNES offered Marcela Holguín, Sofia Espín and Cuesta.

The President of Ecuador Guillermo Lasso brought in the constitution clause number 148 known as Mutual death in May 2023 when he knew that he was about to be impeached. This required all of the National Assembly members to stand for re-election. Cuesta stood for re-election.

Cuesta was reelected. In April 2024 she caused controversy when she published a video in support of Jorge Glas who was a former colleague who was then avoiding arrest inside the Mexican embassy.

In January 2025 she took over from Viviana Veloz as the temporary President of the National Assembly. Veloz was standing for re-election so Cuesta will held the position of President until 9 February 2025. The actions she took during that time caused charges to be made against her.