QUITO, Ecuador (AP) – Voters in Ecuador appeared to turn to a conservative businessman in Sunday’s presidential election, rejecting a left-wing movement that has occupied the presidency for more than a decade, marked by a boom economic and then by a recession of many years, in neighboring Peru, a field full of 18 candidates, it was virtually certain that it would result in a second round of presidential voting in June.
Voters in Ecuador and Peru voted under strict public health measures due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has recently intensified in both countries, causing the blockade to return and raising concerns about their already battered economies. . The Peruvians also elected a new Congress.
The Electoral Council in Ecuador had not declared the official winner of the contest to replace President Lenin Moreno next month, but the results released by the agency showed former banker Guillermo Lasso with about 53% of the vote and the left Andrés Arauz with 47%, with little more 90% of the votes were counted. Arauz had led the first round of voting with more than 30% on February 7, while Lasso reached the final by finishing about half a percentage point ahead of environmentalist and indigenous candidate Yaku Pérez.
Arauz was backed by former President Rafael Correa, a major force in the South American country despite a corruption conviction that sent him to flee to Belgium out of the reach of Ecuadorian prosecutors. Moreno was also an ally of Correa, but turned against him while in office.
“Correa’s negatives exceeded the expectations of a new unknown candidate who had no career and did not campaign very well,” said Grace M. Jaramillo, an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia, the research of the which includes Latin America. “He did not speak for all audiences … for the entire population and was unable to respond to the human rights accusations of the Correista era.”
Correa ruled from 2007 to 2017 as an ally of the Cuban Fidel Castro and the Venezuelan Hugo Chavez. He oversaw a period of economic growth driven by a boom in oil and loans from China that allowed him to expand social programs, build roads and schools, and pursue other projects.
But Correa increasingly reprimanded opponents, the press and businesses during his last stint in office and clashed with indigenous groups over development projects. Ecuador also suffered an economic slowdown in 2015, mainly driven by falling oil prices.
Lasso finished second in the previous two presidential contests. It promotes free market policies and bringing Ecuador closer to international organizations. During the campaign, he proposed raising the minimum wage to $ 500, finding ways to include more young people and women in the labor market, and eliminating tariffs for agricultural equipment.
“For years, I have dreamed of being able to serve Ecuadorians so that the country can progress, so that we can all live better,” Lasso said in front of a room full of supporters despite patterns of social distancing. “You have resolved this to be the case today.”
Accompanied by his wife, María de Lourdes Alcívar, Lasso said that from May 24 he will dedicate himself “to the construction of a national project that continues to listen to everyone, because this project will be yours.”
Despite his conservative stance on issues such as marital equality, he promised to accept other views.
Election officials had no plans to officially declare a winner on Sunday, but at least one head of state congratulated Lasso on the election result. Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou tweeted that he spoke to Lasso “to congratulate him on his success and to work together on issues that our countries have in common.”
Ecuador is deep in a recession that many fears will worsen as the blockades return due to an increase in COVID-19 cases. Ecuador has counted more than 344,000 cases and more than 17,200 deaths as of Sunday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University in the United States.
The new president’s main task will be to “depolarize the country,” Jaramillo said. “There will be no signs of governance if the new government does not arrive and generates a platform where agreements with the (national) Assembly are possible.”
Peru’s elections became a popularity contest in which a candidate even addressed how he repressed his sexual desires. The full scope of presidential hopes came months after the country’s political chaos reached a new level in November, when three men became president in a single week after one was indicted by Congress on corruption charges and protests went on. forcing his successor to resign in favor of the third.
All former Peruvian presidents who have ruled since 1985 have been embroiled in a corruption allegation, some imprisoned or arrested in their mansions. One committed suicide before police could arrest him.
Claudia Navas, a political, social and security risk analyst at global company Control Risks, said the fragmented elections were the result of a political system that has 11 parties lacking ideological cohesion. He said Peruvians generally do not trust politicians, with corruption being a key driver of disillusionment with the political system.
Navas said congressional elections would likely result in a split legislature, with no party having a clear majority and political alliances falling short. He said the new Congress is likely to continue to exercise its authority to remove its own influence and block any initiative that threatens its own power.
“Therefore, we will probably continue to see significant legislative populism. This involves movements that seek to meet short-term public needs and demands to the detriment of medium- and long-term sustainability, “Navas said.” Regardless of who wins, we believe the president is unlikely to end his term due to of the populist stance of Congress and the risk of political instability is likely to persist through the administration.
To avoid a second round in June, a candidate would need more than 50% of the vote and an exit poll indicated that the main candidate would only get 16% support. The poll featured left-wing conservative master Pedro Castillo as leader, followed by right-wing economist Hernando de Soto and Keiko Fujimori, the opposition leader and daughter of former polarist Alberto Fujimori.
The country is among the hardest hit by COVID-19, with more than 1.6 million cases and more than 54,600 deaths as of Sunday.
___
Associated Press writer Regina Garcia Cano reported on this story from Mexico City and AP writer Gonzalo Solano from Quito.