Daniel Noboa is one of the candidates who want to become president of Ecuador. Noboa, a center-right candidate, is the heir to a banana empire for which a change-hungry electorate in a country suffering from violence and a struggling economy surprisingly voted him second in the first round in August.
Noboa faces Luisa González, a left-wing establishment candidate who, in her bid to become the first woman elected president of the country, has promised voters a return to a time when levels of violence were low and the price of oil, a key industry, was high.
At stake in Sunday’s elections is the future of this Latin American country of more than 17 million people, once a quiet hinterland disrupted by international criminal groups that has made Ecuador a major player in the international drug trade.
International criminal groups working with local gangs have unleashed an unprecedented wave of violence that has driven tens of thousands of Ecuadorians to the U.S.-Mexico border, part of an influx of migration that has overwhelmed Joe Biden’s administration.
Like much of the rest of Latin America, Ecuador has suffered a severe financial blow from the coronavirus pandemic, and many workers are struggling to make enough money to feed their families.
Here’s what you should know about voting:
What makes these elections different from others?
Guillermo Lasso, the outgoing president, called early elections in May to avoid impeachment proceedings over embezzlement charges. Lasso has also become increasingly unpopular among voters outraged by the government’s failure to stop the violence.
The killing of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio as he left a campaign rally in August shocked a nation about to go to the polls in perhaps the most violent election season in its history.
This year, five politicians have been murdered, in addition to Villavicencio – who has been outspoken about alleged links between the government and organized crime – and last week seven men accused of Villavicencio’s murder were found dead in prison.
Whoever wins will only hold the presidency for about a year and a half. Noboa has been consistently ahead in various polls since August, although this has narrowed slightly in recent days and some polls show him very close to González.
What is at stake in these elections?
Ecuador was once a peaceful country compared to its neighbors, particularly Colombia, a country plagued by decades of violence between armed guerrilla forces, paramilitary groups and drug trafficking organizations.
That changed in recent years as Colombia reached a peace deal with the country’s largest left-wing guerrilla group and Ecuador began to be dominated by an increasingly powerful drug trafficking network that includes Mexican cartels and Albanian gangs.
Through its ports on the Pacific coast, Ecuador has become an important transshipment point for cocaine, which is smuggled into Europe. Some international organizations have joined forces with incarcerated gangs and are engaged in brutal competition for the lucrative drug market.
The news regularly features beheadings, car bombings, police killings, hanging young people from bridges, and murdering children outside their homes or schools.
Who is Luisa Gonzalez?
González, 45, is the hand-picked candidate of former President Rafael Correa, who led the country from 2007 to 2017. González held several positions in his government before being elected to the National Assembly in 2021, a position she held until Lasso dissolved the legislature in May.
His campaign aimed to stimulate voters’ nostalgia for the low murder rates and commodity boom that lifted millions out of poverty during the Correa government. González’s campaign motto in the first round was: “We did it before and we will do it again.”
But González’s close ties to the former president also pose risks. Correa’s authoritarian style and allegations of corruption deeply divided the country. Correa is living in exile in Belgium, fleeing prison for campaign finance violations, and many Ecuadorians fear that a González presidency will pave the way for Correa to return and run for president again.
González has promised to use central bank reserves to stimulate the economy and increase funding for the public health system and public universities.
“We know that he is on the side of the people, not on the side of the rich, and that is why he will make things better for us,” said Oswaldo Proaño, a 40-year-old street vendor in Quito, the capital, who spoke amid Shouting and whistling. at a recent González campaign rally.
“With Luisa we will have security like we had in Rafael Correa’s time,” said Luisa María Manteca, 65, who works at a cosmetics retailer in Quito. “The country has done well with him and we have to continue on this path.”
The possibility of González becoming the first woman to win the presidency of Ecuador is also attracting many voters.
“He’s a very humble person,” said Debora Espinosa, a 19-year-old student. “As a woman, she understands us.”
Who is Daniel Noboa?
Noboa, 35, comes from one of Latin America’s richest families, known to most Ecuadorians for its banana empire, which includes one of the world’s best-known fruit brands: Bonita bananas.
But the Noboa family’s vast assets are diverse and include fertilizers, plastics, cardboard and the country’s largest container storage complex.
Noboa’s father unsuccessfully ran for president five times, but young Noboa’s political career only began in 2021, when he was elected to Ecuador’s National Assembly.
Noboa has branded himself the “employment president” and even posted an application form on his website. He has also promised to attract international investment and trade and reduce taxes.
But like his father, Noboa has faced criticism from analysts who fear he could use his presidency to help his family’s growing business empire.
At a recent campaign rally, hundreds of university students lined up in the coastal city of Guayaquil, the country’s most populous city and one of the epicenters of the violence, where they waited more than an hour to see Noboa.
Noboa took off his bulletproof vest, slowly and calmly answered students’ questions and reiterated his arguments for making Ecuador an attractive market for international banking. He was greeted with applause and cheers, and teenagers rushed to take selfies with him.
“I’ve watched his interviews and I like his suggestions on issues like dollarization, education and jobs,” said Dereck Delgado, a 17-year-old electrical engineering student who plans to vote for Noboa. (The minimum age to vote in Ecuador is 16, and voting is compulsory for people over 18.)
Many voters also support Noboa because he represents an alternative to Correa’s party. Valeria Vásquez, 33, who runs a local beauty products company in Guayaquil, said she liked that Noboa was “not a socialist.”
Another Noboa supporter, Natasha Villegas, a 19-year-old university student in Guayaquil, said she believed the “time has come to give a young person the chance.”
What do the candidates say about security?
Noboa and González have promised to stop the violence, but neither has made security a central part of their campaigns.
Both candidates have talked about giving more money to police and deploying the military to secure ports where drugs are smuggled out of the country and prisons controlled by violent gangs.
González has cited the arrests of several criminal gang leaders during his time in the Correa government as evidence of his intention to take a heavy-handed approach.
Noboa has suggested using technology such as drones and satellite tracking systems to combat drug trafficking and suggested building prison ships to isolate the most violent inmates.
However, analysts say neither candidate has done enough to prioritize fighting crime that has destabilized Ecuador and made the country one of Latin America’s most violent countries.
Thalíe Ponce collaborated on reporting from Guayaquil; Emilia Paz y Miño and José María León Cabrera worked together from Quito.