The Ministry of Education appoints Iván Mazabanda as data protection officer

The Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture has appointed Iván Patricio Mazabanda Zurita as the Data Protection Officer for the State Portfolio. The appointment is formalized through Ministerial Agreement MINEDEC-MINEDEC-2026-00069-A, signed on August 13, 2026, by Minister Gilda Natalia Alcívar García and published in Official Registry No. 361 on Thursday, September 3, 2026.

The designation is made through a partial reform to Agreement MINEDEC-MINEDEC-2025-00054-A of October 20, 2025, which had established the ministry’s data protection delegations. The new officer assumes the responsibility of advising, ensuring, and supervising compliance with the legal obligations attributable to the controller and the processor of personal data, in accordance with Article 48 of the Regulations to the Personal Data Protection Law.

A position required by law

The figure of the data protection officer is mandatory for the public sector according to Article 48 of the Organic Law on Personal Data Protection, which orders their appointment when processing is carried out by public sector entities. Article 49 of the same law assigns them functions of advisory, supervision of regulatory compliance, risk analysis, and cooperation with the Personal Data Protection Authority, for which they act as the point of contact.

Article 48 of the General Regulations specifies that the officer performs their functions professionally and independently of the controller and the processor. In public institutions, the appointment corresponds to the highest institutional authority, as is the case here.

Profile and trajectory of the appointee

Mazabanda Zurita Iván Patricio joined the ministry on August 1, 2026, in the position of Public Procurement Specialist, as stated in memorandum MINEDEC-CGAF-2026-02454-M of August 4, 2026. After an analysis of his professional profile by the National Directorate of Human Talent, it was determined that he meets the technical and legal requirements for the position, in accordance with Article 55 of the General Regulations of the Organic Law on Personal Data Protection.

The process included a favorable legal opinion from the General Coordination of Legal Advice, sent via memorandum MINEDEC-CGAJ-2026-00586-M of August 11, 2026.

Scope of the delegation

The data protection officer will have, among others, the following functions:

• Advise the controller, the staff, and the processor on the provisions of the law, the regulation, and the guidelines of the Personal Data Protection Authority.
• Supervise compliance with said provisions and regulations.
• Advise on risk analysis, impact assessment, and security measures, supervising their application.
• Cooperate with the Personal Data Protection Authority and act as the point of contact with said entity.

The agreement shall enter into force upon its signing, without prejudice to its publication in the Official Registry, and entrusts the General Coordination of Secretariat and Citizen Service with the publication process of the instrument.

The appointment reinforces the protection of the personal data of students, teachers, and public servants handled by the ministry, in a context where the Organic Law on Personal Data Protection and its regulation require public institutions to guarantee confidentiality and the legitimate use of information. The figure of the delegate thus becomes a key mechanism for the independent supervision of data processing within the country’s educational, sporting, and cultural system.

Source: Official Registry of Ecuador, No. 361, September 3, 2026, Executive Branch section, page 2 (official reference: Ministerial Agreement MINEDEC-MINEDEC-2026-00069-A).