The general elections in Ecuador marked yesterday's news agenda in Latin America, with the excellent performance of the opposition candidate Luisa González against the overbearing President Daniel Noboa. Most, if not all, polls showed Noboa always ahead, and there was even a controversial, dubious exit poll giving him as the winner in the first round, but this possibility became less likely as the votes were registered in the official electoral information system. With close to 90% of the ballots counted, Noboa's advantage was +0.75%for a technical tie. To win in the first round, a candidate must obtain more than 50% of the votes or more than 40% with ten percentage points ahead of the second-place candidate. Thus, dinner is served for a second round next April 13.
SourceUnlike the first electoral round of August 2023, in which Noboa surprisingly took second place behind Gonzalez and gained a Carondelet-worth momentum, this time it is his rival who defeats predictions and comes out stronger for the final round. The citizenry is not so clear that Noboa is the most suitable for the top job. However, the heir to a big banana-powered empire continues to have decent popular support and also owns all the state machinery. This factor invariably serves as an unfair and natural steroid for any president going to reelection. Noboa has shown himself to be an authoritarian type of president, following his handling of the relationship with Vice President Veronica Abad, his refusal to request leave to campaign—the OAS took note—, and his order to storm the Mexican embassy to forcibly remove former Vice President Jorge Glas.
Although the numbers show some improvement, the country remains mired in a context of violence that daily claims new murders, with Guayas and other coastal provinces as the epicenter of cancer that generates it: drug trafficking. “For me, this president is disastrous,” a 35-year-old woman who says she is a victim of extortion told the AP. “Can he change things in four more years? No. He hasn't done anything.” Another voter said that “[his] vote was for Noboa because of his skills and because he maintains a direct confrontation with the armed drug-trafficking groups and the corrupt”. The Miami, Florida native also faced an acute energy crisis last year mainly because of a severe drought. It also had to do with a lack of foresight, although not entirely attributable to him because of his short time in office. Now begins an interesting race in which the political map is reconfigured from the alliances between the formations going to the second round and those that did not make the grade.
🔴 #AHORA | Una vez terminando el pronunciamiento del CNE, la candidata presidencial del correísmo, Luisa González, rompió el silencio y celebró su paso a #SegundaVuelta y la calificó como una "victoria".
February 10, 2025— Ecuavisa Noticias (@EcuavisaInforma)
Más detalles 📲 https://t.co/IVvAONYxLx pic.twitter.com/COpPnvGWyL
Latam somehow via X 👇.
Court grants request to block detained Venezuelan immigrants from being sent to Guantanamo https://t.co/FQoKL7dIJB
February 10, 2025— POLITICO (@politico)
On Haiti 👇.
Children's bodies a 'battleground' in Haiti as sexual violence surges, UNICEF warns https://t.co/BSmzNnUUtC pic.twitter.com/piGKOnwDhe
February 7, 2025— Reuters World (@ReutersWorld)
Posted Using INLEO