QUITO: In a historic turn of events, Daniel Noboa, the scion of a banana fortune, emerged victorious in Ecuador’s recent presidential election at the age of 35, making him the country’s youngest-ever president. He secured his win with a margin of approximately five points over his rival, the leftist lawyer Luisa González.
With 90% of the votes tallied on Sunday night, Noboa had garnered 52.29% of the vote, while González trailed with 47.71%, according to Ecuador’s electoral council.
González, the chosen candidate of former president Rafael Correa, graciously accepted her defeat at the polls and pledged her support for the newly elected president.
Today we have made history, said Noboa in a message on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Ecuadorian families chose the new Ecuador, they chose a country with security and employment.” He emphasized that electoral promises from the campaign would be upheld, and corruption would be dealt with sternly.
This election occurred against a grim backdrop of escalating violent crime fueled by drug trafficking, transforming Ecuador into one of the most violent nations in the region, boasting the fourth-highest homicide rate, even surpassing that of Mexico.
Noboa, the millennial son of Ecuador’s wealthiest man and five-time presidential candidate Álvaro Noboa, made a surprising entry into the second round of elections in August. His composed and non-confrontational style resonated particularly well with voters aged 18 to 29, constituting a significant portion of the electorate.
A graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School, Noboa centered his campaign on fostering job growth and strengthening the economy. His proposals included advocating for tax exemptions and incentives for new businesses, along with a commitment to attract more foreign investment. On the issue of crime, Noboa suggested confining the most violent criminals on ships off Ecuador’s Pacific coast and bolstering military presence at the borders and coastline—both major trafficking routes for cocaine.
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Arianna Tanca, an Ecuadorian political analyst, stressed the importance of considering the future of the country over preserving personal power. Noboa is set to be inaugurated on November 25 but will govern for only 17 months, completing the term of the outgoing president, Guillermo Lasso, who dissolved Congress in May during an impeachment trial, prompting snap presidential and legislative elections.
It’s a short time, but it is precious and can be used for good, so let’s see if the politicians rise to the occasion, Tanca remarked.
Ecuadorians need peace; we can’t endure the violence any longer, this war, stated Carla Espinoza, a voter in Quito on Sunday.
The presidential campaign witnessed an unprecedented level of violence, including the daylight assassination of anti-corruption candidate Fernando Villavicencio as he left a campaign event in August. This month, seven Colombian suspects involved in the assassination were themselves murdered in prison.
Ecuador’s Pacific ports have become prime targets for drug traffickers smuggling cocaine, frequently concealed in shipping containers carrying bananas, the country’s primary export. Juan Zapata, Ecuador’s interior minister, disclosed that approximately 80% of cocaine smuggled from Ecuador was destined for Europe, fetching a street price of about $50,000 per kilo—twice the price in the US.
Zapata highlighted Ecuador’s geographical location between Colombia and Peru, the world’s primary cocaine-producing countries, necessitating international assistance in combating this common transnational threat. Homicide rates have surged fivefold since 2019, according to the Ecuadorean Observatory on Organized Crime, primarily due to violence involving local gangs allied with Mexican drug cartels, Colombian guerrilla groups, and Balkan traffickers.
The president-elect, lacking a parliamentary majority, may encounter challenges in achieving consensus within Ecuador’s fractious political landscape.
There is so much to do, Zapata emphasized. I hope that the new congress dedicates itself to [dealing with the security situation], unlike the previous one that wasted so much time and hurt the country.
