From the Forecast: Feb. 9 – Ecuador elections
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa is?asking voters for a full 4-year term?on?Sunday?and hoping to do so without another runoff election.
What’s happened so far? In May 2023, then-President Guillermo Lasso used a constitutional tool to?dissolve the National Assembly as a way to avoid impeachment proceedings. A snap election was?scheduled for August 2023?to serve out the remaining 18 months of the presidential and legislative terms. The final days of the race were?overshadowed by the assassination of candidate Fernando Villavicencio?in Quito, highlighting the voters’?concerns of crime and narcopolitics. Noboa?advanced to the second round with 24% of the vote, trailing only Luisa González, whose mentor was former president Rafael Correa, the leftist living in exile in Belgium over a corruption conviction. In the October runoff, the 35-year-old Noboa won with 52% of the vote and became the?youngest president in the country’s history.
The impact? Noboa and González are once again the main candidates running for president this weekend. Noboa, the son of a billionaire, has won some supporters for?cracking down on gangs. He has even?closed the borders and militarized the ports?leading up to the election. However, he’s drawn criticism for?alleged abuses by the armed forces?as well as an energy crisis that led to rolling blackouts. González is?campaigning on diversifying with renewable energy?as well as?using AI to help police?fight crime. Polls show a tight race, with no candidate tracking above 50%. If that holds true, a?run-off will be scheduled for April 13.
Ecuador's elections were also the featured interview in the Forecast Podcast.
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