While Ecuador is in its deepest crisis, the country is going into a runoff election for the presidency. But neither candidate seems to have solutions to violence and crime.
Daniel Noboa is an entrepreneur, 35 years old – and has a good chance of being elected Ecuador’s youngest president today. In August he made it into the runoff election as a surprise candidate, going from bottom in the polls to second place.
Programmatically, Noboa is economically liberal, but at the same time he also upholds more left-wing, progressive ideas: more social spending, environmental protection, women’s rights, and he also promises “more jobs, security, public health and public education.” However, his deputy, Verónica Abad, is a right-wing businesswoman who cites former US President Donald Trump and Brazil’s ex-President Jair Bolsonaro as role models.
Daniel Noboa has life-size cardboard cutouts of himself distributed, taken photos on the beach and publishes his playlists on Spotify. And he has a good chance of being elected Ecuador’s youngest president.
Noboa presents itself as fresh
Noboa seems to be particularly successful with young voters and presents himself as young and fresh. “The minds here have to change, the mentality, so that there can be real change in Ecuador,” says a voter named Gabriel Ponce: “The more experience politicians have, the more corrupt they are.” Voter Gabriela Caceres also likes that Noboa is young: “Above all, he is not associated with the same clique as always, he is an alternative, something new.”
However, Noboa does not come entirely from political obscurity. His family runs one of the country’s largest economic empires, its core business being bananas. The millionaire patriarch, Alvaro Noboa, unsuccessfully ran for president three times.
Most recently in 2006 – with the same election campaign jingle as his son and against the man who is now involved as the foster father of his son’s opponent. Luisa Gonzalez is competing with Noboa in the runoff election for the presidency – and is tied with him in the polls.
Gonzalez is close to the people
The 45-year-old left-wing politician was more of a backbencher, but now she wants to become the first woman to head Ecuador. Gonzalez is close to the people and focuses on social issues: “I’m one of you, I come from a parish, I went to public school, I know what it means to use public transport and raise a child as a single mother. I’ll do the same I too can restore my fatherland!”
The fact that Rafael Correa is her closest advisor and mentor is both a blessing and a curse for her: the ex-president, who has lived in Belgium since the end of his term in office, is dividing the country. For some, he is the only one who brought stability and economic prosperity to the country. To others, he was an authoritarian and corrupt ruler who is trying to plan his own comeback through his candidate Gonzalez.
Political analyst Jacobo Garcia says it is clear that Correa chose Gonzalez to coordinate the next government together. On the one hand, Gonzalez now has to prove that she has her own profile, “on the other hand, of course, she benefits from being able to say: We have experience, that’s important, in a difficult moment like this.”
Ecuador is in deep crisis
Because Ecuador, which was long considered a relatively peaceful and stable country in South America, is in its deepest crisis: with economic recession, increasing poverty and inequality – but above all with a brutal wave of violence.
The murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in August overshadowed the election campaign. Villavicencio had previously repeatedly denounced the connection between the state and organized crime. The suspected perpetrators were arrested and found dead in prison last weekend.
Both candidates, Gonzalez and Noboa, have said they want to curb the violence. Noboa even appears demonstratively in a bulletproof vest. However, neither has presented a real concept for combating organized crime.
According to surveys, a good half of voters are still undecided about who and whether they will vote for this vote. It was brought forward after the still incumbent and completely discredited President Guillermo Lasso forestalled impeachment and called new elections.
Political analyst Garcia speaks of a mood of democratic fatigue and a general dissatisfaction with politics. “The people are also fed up with this election campaign; they want someone to finally start solving their problems,” says Garcia. “People are exhausted, they want to rest.”