Yachay Tech, in Urcuquí, was founded as Ecuador’s first research-intensive university in 2012 (go.nature.com/2mmqbpr). Once seen as an ambitious means of advancing a small emerging country, the university now seems to have followed a trend pervasive in Latin America: it has become primarily a teaching institution.

I was appointed as the university’s vice-chancellor for research and innovation in 2016. I can attest to the hope of Ecuadorians from all walks of life that Yachay Tech would better their country’s economy, and the lives of its people, through state-of-the-art higher education informed by research. Students were enthralled by the prospect of learning at a research institution of international calibre, and of engaging in research themselves (see C. Castillo-Chavez et al. Science 357, 881; 2017).

This optimism has been beaten down by the headwinds of political meddling. Fractious partisan politics and financial constraints are compounded by a conspicuous lack of support from other important institutions and ministries. The incompetence of planners and builders for the City of Knowledge Yachay, where Yachay Tech is sited, is adding to the frustration.

I call on academics, politicians and concerned citizens to lend their weight to the development of research universities in emerging countries. These institutions need autonomy, national financial support, commitment to world standards of excellence and ethics — and freedom from political interference.