Mara Štefica Topić Verduga won Miss Universe Ecuador 2024 on June 8, 2024. She represented the Ecuadorian community of the United States and competed against 24 other candidates at the Parque Zoila Ugarte de Landívar in Machala, El Oro, Ecuador.
Miss Universe Ecuador 2025
On July 26, 2025, Topic will crown her successor at the Palacio de Cristal in Guayaquil, Ecuador. It is the second edition of the national beauty pageant that selects the Miss Universe candidate of Ecuador.
There are 18 women competing for the Miss Universe Ecuador 2025 crown. If facial beauty is the only criterion, these will be my Top 5 candidates:
5. Paola Dayana Carrera, 25, Sucumbíos
4. Cristiane Marques Das Neves, 28, Guayaquil
3. Kenia Bonilla, 29, Santo Domingo
2. Christie Thermidor, 21, Región Sierra
1. Lisseth Naranjo Goya, 27, Azuay
Ecuador currently has four Miss Universe placements, which were achieved by Lucia Vinueza, Susana Rivadeneira, Constanza Baez and Topic. On July 20, 1981, Vinueza competed against 75 other Miss Universe 1981 candidates at the Minskoff Theatre in New York City, New York, USA and finished in the Top 12.
On June 1, 2004, Rivadeneira competed against 79 other Miss Universe 2004 candidates at the Centro de Exposiciones y Convenciones Mitad del Mundo (CEMEXPO) in Quito, Ecuador and finished in the Top 10. When Baez competed against 85 other Miss Universe 2013 candidates at the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, Moscow, Russia on November 9, 2013, she was second runner-up to Gabriela Isler of Venezuela.
On December 13, 2023, Tahiz Panus became the national director of Miss Universe Ecuador. On November 16, 2024, Topic represented Ecuador at Miss Universe 2024, competed against 124 other candidates at the Arena Ciudad de México in Azcapotzalco, Mexico City, Mexico and finished in the Top 30.
CONAN Daily 