The social networks of Luisa González (Quito, 45 years old), the presidential candidate who is leading the polls in Ecuador, are full of sheep. They have dozens and dozens of pictures with little animals dressed up as doctors, engineers and other professions. “We have a movement that has given my country something that it has never had before: pride in being Ecuadorian, our self-esteem has increased,” says González of the Citizens’ Revolution, the political project led by former President Rafael Correa which she wants to lead After the crisis that erupted last May, he dissolved the Executive and Congress and brought forward the elections to August 20 in order to find a replacement for the current President, Guillermo Lasso. “Because of this defense of the plants, the highways and the schools we never had, the opposition started calling us sheep,” he says. At the end of the statement, his team starts grumbling in unison, “Beeee, beeee.” “They wanted to insult us and my response was to tell them, ‘Yes, I’m the shepherd,'” she says proudly.
As with the sheep, González’s strategy — a member of parliament, a former labor secretary and the only woman in the running for the presidency — is to flip the criticism and turn it into her campaign’s strengths. When asked about the role and interference of Correa, who was granted asylum in Belgium after being sentenced to eight years in prison for corruption and banned from holding public office for life, she replies that he will be one of her main advisers. If there is any doubt about the decision to work with Andrés Arauz, the candidate who lost to Lasso in the last election in 2021, he asserts that he is a winner. And when questioned about defining herself as a left-wing woman while speaking out against abortion, she says nothing will change her mind. After a three-day blitz visit to Mexico, where he met the ex-president, Correísmo’s powerful letter speaks to EL PAÍS about his key government proposals, his chiaroscuro and his desire to become the first president in Ecuador’s history. This is an edited version of the conversation.
Luisa González, during the interview with EL PAÍS. Aggi Garduño
Questions. Why do you want to be President?
Answer. Because the country needs someone with capacity, leadership, strength and knowledge to lead it. Unfortunately, we’re missing everything I just mentioned. There is a verse in the Word of the Lord that says, “Whoever knows how to do good and does not do it is a sin.” I know how the state works, I know the needs of the people and I have the capacity. And it would be irresponsible of me not to accept this challenge to move my country forward.
Q Which leftist movements or parties in other countries do you identify with?
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R Now that we are in Mexico, Morena is very close to our suggestions. We are talking about a progressivism based on social justice, like Lula da Silva in Brazil or Cristina Fernández in Argentina. But also whoever we have to work with for better days in Latin America, better.
Q How would you shape diplomatic relations with Venezuela?
R The Venezuelan people have their President, they elected him, and we respect Venezuela’s democratic choice just as we respect those of other countries. We will get along with Venezuela as we would with Chile, Colombia, Brazil or the United States, with total respect and reciprocity.
Q What role would Rafael Correa play in his government?
R I said it publicly, he will be one of my main advisers. I’ve already asked him.
Q And what did he tell her?
R Well, at the moment, of course, he cannot be hired by the state. He has a court case but he has told me he can advise me virtually. My country is in a situation it has never been in before. Improvising is not an option. I have to look for people who know how to work and have already delivered results. One of them is Rafael Correa.
Q What will you do with the punishment that the former president received?
R I have absolutely nothing to do with that. I will be the President and everything related to the sentencing of Rafael Correa will take place in international courts. The judiciary will take care of that. President Correa has made it very clear that he does not want pardons or amnesties. He wants his case to be resolved under strict law and justice.
Luisa Gonzalez in Mexico City. Aggi Garduño
Q Wouldn’t you give him a reprieve?
R Never. He doesn’t want it himself.
Q Speaking of Correa, the name of Lenín Moreno also falls, who seemed to be a faithful successor and ended up giving a break. How do you deal with this ghost?
R With the spirit of betrayal? I showed it. I’m Luisa González, not Lenin Moreno. I’ve been with Rafael Correa for 15 years now. We have resisted persecution to have our families and friends persecuted and imprisoned. And we stood firm. We never hid. I never kept my mouth shut. Betrayal is a thing of the past.
Q Are you concerned about Ecuador’s ability to govern after these months of political crisis?
R The National Assembly will be new and I think consensus can be reached. Political parties can be made to understand that the needs for security, health, employment and education do not relate to political banners, but to the state policies that lead Ecuador towards development.
Q What lessons do you learn from other Latin American countries to stop the spread of insecurity and organized crime?
R State security rests on two pillars. The first is to strengthen the coordinated work between the ministries, prosecutors and courts, as well as the police, armed forces and intelligence services. International relations are used to attack crime from other countries, to see how they work and how others fight this mafia. Next is crime in the country. This problem was solved by strengthening the security institutions. We will also focus on the causes: hunger, poverty, lack of jobs, lack of medicines in hospitals, lack of budget for education.
Q Would you consider engaging in a dialogue with Lasso about the transition?
R Of course we have to talk. This is not about what Luisa González or Guillermo Lasso think, but about the technical work for 18 million Ecuadorians. You need to make a responsible transition.
Ecuadorian presidential candidate Luisa González.Aggi Garduño
Q Would you encourage their prosecution?
R President Guillermo Lasso has a court case over the Encuentro case, his close circle’s ties to the Albanian mafia, over a report from the National Police and which he knew about and decided to go into hiding. His anti-corruption secretary filed a report on corruption in public companies and fired him instead of fighting corruption. All of this is handled by the prosecution and is handled by the judiciary. I want to be very clear. The Citizens’ Revolution has always been characterized by being devoted to work, not persecution.
Q Do you trust the judiciary? He’s the same one who prosecuted Correa…
R Rafael Correa has political asylum because the judges hearing his case were biased. There is no impartial justice system and Belgium says so when granting him political asylum. I do not trust the current judicial system because it is an absolute violation of the country’s legal and constitutional system. However, they must carry out their processes and be accountable for their actions.
Q They are part of a progressive movement, but also describe themselves as “pro-life”. Why are you against abortion?
R No one said you were a feminist or pro-progressive abortion. I respect the way others think and I hope they respect the way Luisa González thinks too. The focus is not on Luisa González’s criteria, but on what happens to the raped women, to the violence we suffer and to the aggressors. In my country, abortion in cases of rape is already decriminalized. But it cannot be that the system tempts you to attack the consequence and let the matter go completely unpunished.
Q If there was a majority for abortion rights in Ecuador, would you change your mind?
R I will never change my mind. I’m Luisa González and that’s my criterion, but the majority decides something else. It is a democracy and that is what must rule in the state.
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