Presidential election in Ecuador will have second round

Ecuador President Daniel Noboa had a minimal advantage over his leftist rival In the presidential election of Sunday (9), in a country divided and plagued by the violence of drug trafficking. With 74%of the votes calculated, noboa leads (44.6%), followed by González (43.91%), according to official results.

“It is a great victory, we won (…) we are almost in a technical draw”, in front of his supporters in Quito the Left Lawyer, candidate supported by former socialist president Rafael Correa (2007-2017). In the capital Quito, surrounded by volcanoes and located at 2,850 meters over the sea level, the fireworks and the car horns marked the counting of the votes.

“If the trend is maintained … We will return to the polls on April 13 to the second round,” said Diana Atamaint, president of the National Electoral Council (CNE). Ecuadorians expect the next government to recover a country in an economic crisis, divided and suffers from the war between cartels for control of cocaine trafficking.

Noboa, who aspirated the victory in the first round, did not comment during Sunday night. “I came to support the President because we want to support us with the change in our country,” AFP Myriam Median, a 52 -year -old secretary in a hotel in the capital.

They are the expression of a country divided between the return of the left to power and the continuity of the young president, who preaches the hard line against the crime. “The situation in the country is very critical, a lot of insecurity, little work, a lot of people leaving,” said Luis Briones, a 56 -year -old engineer.

Political violence

In the shadow of a murder in 2023, campaigns occurred under strong security measures and proposals focused on curbing violence, which in 2024 recorded a rate of 38 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. Borders are closed until Monday, while about 100,000 members of the public force watch over the voting places.

“I received threats […] There are intelligence reports that say there are risks, they want to pay against my life, ”candidate González told AFP. Voting at Ecuador is mandatory and voters will choose a president and vice president from 16 candidates, 151 members of the Assembly and five Andean parliamentarians.

Noboa, 37, and González, 47, attended the polls early on their duties on the coast: the president voted for his family at the Olón resort, and the lawyer did so in Canuto. Candidates faced themselves in the 2023 election, in which the multimillionaire entrepreneur became one of the youngest presidents in the world. This time, González aspires to reach victory in the second round and be the first president elected in the country’s history.

“Consolidate the triumph”

Heir to a banana tycoon, Noboa was a surprise in 2023 when he was elected despite his limited political experience. He won the election to complete by May the term of former President Guillermo Lasso, who dissolved Congress and called on early elections to prevent the Legislature from depriving him in an impeachment process for corruption.

Very active on social networks, Noboa became popular for his campaign against drug trafficking. He tries to design the image of sportsman, musician, loving with his family and tattoos. “Ecuador has already changed and wants to keep changing, wants to consolidate his victory,” said the president.

His opponent, Luisa González, is a single mother, also with tattoos and Christian, who promises more “social justice” security and respect for human rights. “They are fear, we are hope,” the lawyer said when depositing her vote. Indigenous candidate Leonidas Iza is third (4.8%), but the influential movement of original people he leads promises to be a protagonist force during the next government.

Safety vs Investment

Experts question candidates’ scarce plans to face the worst crisis in half a century, with campaigns suffering from social networking misinformation and the increasingly sophisticated use of artificial intelligence. Noboa ends a brief but dizzying mandate: Cuts of electricity due to historical drought, diplomatic disputes with Mexico and allegations of abuse by security forces in his offensive against crime.

Four children were recently murdered and had their bodies charred in Guayaquil (southwest) in a case involving 16 military personnel. Ecuadorians feel the effects of a indebted state, with a 28% poverty rate and concentrated in financing the expensive war against drug trafficking.

For political analyst Leonardo Laso, these spectacular operations project an image of the country that drives “any possibility of investment” and generates “an adverse climate for job creation”. Public debt approaches 57% of GDP, according to the .

*With information from AFP
Posted by Victor Oliveira