Ecuador's Presidential Election heads to a Second Round in October

EPISODE: Ecuador’s Presidential Election heads to a Second Round in October

GUEST: Pilar Troya

Pilar is an Ecuadorian feminist anthropologist. Her main areas of interest are social public policies, especially concerning gender equality and the feminist movement. She has served as an advisor to the Ministry of National Planning and as an advisor and Deputy Minister to the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology of Ecuador. She is a researcher at Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research.

BACKGROUND:

Luisa González, of the Movimiento Revolución Ciudadana party, on Sunday took a lead in the first round of Ecuador’s presidential and legislative elections, which have been marred by political assassinations as the Andean nation struggles with a wave of violence that has brought homicide rates, under the Lasso administration, to record levels.

Gonzalez is set to face the surprise second-place finisher Daniel Noboa in a run-off election in October, according to the National Electoral Council of Ecuador (CNE), as neither candidate won more than 50% of the ballot.

González has promised to enhance public spending and social programs and wants to address the security crisis by fixing the root causes of violence, such as poverty and inequality. A former tourism and labor minister in Correa’s government, González has also called for the judiciary to be reinforced to help with prosecutions, analysts say.

Daniel Noboa is the son of banana businessman Álvaro Noboa – who himself has run for the presidency at least five times. The 35-year-old was a lawmaker before outgoing President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the legislature and called for early elections.

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ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Ecuador’s President Dissolves National Assembly Triggering Early Elections

Ecuador: The Lasso Government Post-National Strike

Ecuador Erupts Against Neoliberalism

TriContinental: Institute for Social Research

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