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Ecuadorean presidential runoff in April between a populist and a conservative banker

Monday, February 8th 2021 - 10:42 UTC
Full article 9 comments
A first exit poll by local pollster Clima Social showed Arauz with 36.2% of the vote compared with 21.7% for Lasso and 16.7% for Perez A first exit poll by local pollster Clima Social showed Arauz with 36.2% of the vote compared with 21.7% for Lasso and 16.7% for Perez

Ecuadorean presidential candidate Andres Arauz, and protegé of ex populist president Rafael Correa claimed victory in Sunday's election, although exit polls indicate he will face a runoff on 11 April, according to primary results.

 

The 36-year-old economist, and active member of “correismo” ran on promises to make US$1 billion in direct cash payments to families and disavow the conditions of a US$ 6.5 billion IMF financing package.

His main rival, Guillermo Lasso, has promised more foreign investment and increased oil production but has been hurt by his image as a conservative banker. Lawyer and indigenous activist Yaku Perez ran on an anti-“Correism” and anti-mining platform.

“The victory, as we have said, is big. It's a ratio of 2-to-1 against the banker candidate who appears to be in second place,” Arauz told a news conference. “We have to see the final results, but we are very happy.”

An exit poll by local pollster Clima Social showed Arauz with 36.2% of the vote compared with 21.7% for Lasso and 16.7% for Perez. A second poll by Cedatos showed Arauz with 34.9% of the vote compared with 21% for Lasso and 18% for Perez.

To win in a single round, Arauz needs more than 50% of valid votes, or 40% total with 10 percentage points more than the runner-up.

The elections council is expected to release an official quick count late Sunday early Monday, but the runoff in April seems most certain.

A brutal coronavirus outbreak last year left bodies uncollected on the streets of Ecuador's largest city, Guayaquil. Lockdowns around the world slashed fuel demand and prices for oil, Ecuador's main export, battering an economy also reeling from sharp cuts to government spending.

President Lenin Moreno, a former Correa ally, drove a pro-market agenda in hopes of reviving a sluggish and heavily indebted economy. His efforts sparked an angry backlash, with 10 days of violent street protests in 2019 against a planned fuel price hike.

Moreno, who took office in 2017, did not seek a second term.

 

Categories: Politics, Latin America.

Top Comments

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  • Think

    TWIMC...

    Mercopress' “Fantasy” article..., published on Monday, February 8th 2021 - 10:42 UTC...:
    ***Ecuadorean presidential runoff in April between a populist and a qconservative banker“***...?

    ”Real World“ situation as per Monday, February 8th 2021 - 10:42 UTC...:
    Ecuadorean presidential runoff in April between a populist and an indigenous activist”

    Capisce...?

    Feb 08th, 2021 - 11:37 am 0
  • Chicureo

    Either one of the contenders faces eventual complete failure.

    The indigenous there are so hard headed that it is the only country in the world that the Vatican gave special dispensation for the virgin Maria to be depicted with wings.

    According to what I was told — the natives were so hard-headed that they refused to accept that Maria did not have wings.

    Now the World is going to have to allow Ecuador special dispensation as they are incapable of accepting their bleak reality.

    (Sort of reminds me of Teresa in Canada — also unable to accept her reality with a frigid polar vortex outside her mother's basement in Canada.)

    ¡Saludos!

    Feb 08th, 2021 - 12:02 pm 0
  • Think

    My dear hermanito mestizo indolatinoamericano...

    No news..., that for the Latinoamerican exploitative white class (+/÷ 15% of the Continents population..., mostly composed by mestizos born of peroxide bleached mestizas..., btw.)..., the hard-headed indigenous are “The Problem”...

    One of our “wannabe-whites” educational problem we ..., the Thinking ones..., are working on...

    Capisce...?

    Feb 08th, 2021 - 01:46 pm 0
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