Ecuador Elects New Right-Wing President Linked to Big Banana Business

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Thurs. Oct. 18, 2023: Daniel Noboa, son of one of the wealthiest men in Ecuador, was elected as the new president of the Andean nation on October 15.

The 35-year-old Noboa of the right-wing National Democratic Action alliance accepted his victory, saying, “Today we have made history. Ecuadorian families chose the New Ecuador. They chose a country with security and employment.”

The other candidate, Luisa González, ran for the left-wing Citizen Revolution Movement (RC) party. She aspired to be the successor to former president Rafael Correa, who governed Ecuador for 10 years and managed to bring stability and prosperity to the country.

González congratulated President-elect Noboa and thanked the Ecuadorian people for their support.

On the same day as the elections, outgoing President Guillermo Lasso congratulated Noboa for his victory against the Citizen Revolution Movement.

In May, Lasso cut his four-year term short and implemented the Cross Death mechanism, a provision of the Ecuadorian constitution. This procedure permits the president and the National Assembly to call for anticipated elections and ends the terms of both Executive and Legislative powers in the country.

In the first round of these historic and widely anticipated elections on August 20, the Citizen Revolution Movement swept the legislative side of the elections. The RC obtained 39.37 percent of the votes or 54 seats. However, the right-wing forces won the majority of seats in the unicameral parliament.

However, there were irregularities in the voting system for Ecuadorians living abroad. The results will be official in the upcoming days.

SOURCE: The Peoples Dispatch / Globetrotter News Service