The young president of the equator, Daniel Noboa, known for his aggressive policies of law and order and control of social media, did not win the majority of votes in his candidacy for re -election on Sunday, forcing a Election of runoff against Luisa González, the leftist he beat in the last presidential race.
With approximately 96% of the voting bulletins counted early Monday morning, Mr. Noboa had received 44.37% of the votes expressed. Ms. González, the closest to her 15 opponents, had 43.86%.
The polls before the elections had suggested that Mr. Noboa, 37, could win a majority, which makes a second round unnecessary. But the race turned out to be tight, apparently reflecting ambivalence on the difficult tactics of Mr. Noboa in Ecuador, which is in the grip of five years by an increase in drug -related violence.
About an hour after the surveys are closed at 5 p.m., the supporters of Mr. Noboa were gathered outside a hotel in Quito, the capital, where he was to speak, horny car horns, waving flags and singing “one tour”. But at 10 p.m., they had dispersed.
Near the headquarters of Ms. González’s campaign at 10 p.m., a few hundred people danced, poured alcohol and sang, “Live Luisa!”
In a speech to her supporters who encourage, Ms. González said her campaign had captured “the feeling of a people who was forgotten”.
“We don’t want a state of war, we want the construction of peace,” she said.
Ms. González, 47, belongs to the party led by former president Rafael Correa, a powerful and polarizing figure. Many voters have expressed nostalgia for low crime rates and the strong economy that characterized its presidency, while others remember its authoritarian style and its conviction for corruption.
Mr. Noboa graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School who comes from one of the richest families in the equator, with a fortune in part on banana exports. He has been in office for a little over a year, having been elected in 2023 to complete the mandate of a president who was confronted with dismissal.
The stake is the direction that this nation in difficulty of nearly 18 million people will take by depriving generalized violence and high unemployment, which have led to tens of thousands of equatored migrants in the North in the United States. The country has also been faced with an energy crisis, with prolonged power outages.
The criticisms of Mr. Noboa say that if it is re -elected in the second round of the vote, which will be held on April 13, there could be disturbing consequences for democratic standards, the rule of law and civil freedoms.
Last year, after prison riots broke out and armed men seized a television channel, Noboa declared an internal armed conflict state, which allowed the military to patrol the streets and prisons . He also sent the police to the Mexico Embassy in Quito to arrest an Ecuadorian politician accused of corruption who had requested refuge, in what was considered a cheeky breach of the diplomatic protocol.
The supporters of Mr. Noboa say that he is a daring leader ready to break the rules and to resist corrupt forces. In April, the skills approved its hard -on -line security approach by voting to consecrate the increased military presence and give the president more powers to combat the violence of the gangs.
“I think that a president never has to compromise with anyone,” said Juan Arias on Sunday, 32 He said he had voted for Mr. Noboa. “For me, that’s what gives me security as a citizen.”
But Jonathan Andino, a childhood friend of Mr. Arias who accompanied him to the polling station, said that he had voted for Ms. González, who is often defined by his relationship with Mr. Correa because he ‘Has chosen to represent his party.
Mr. Andino, 32, architect, said life had been better when Mr. Correa was president. “There were more jobs. There was economic stability. There was health, education, “he said. “The problem is that the ecuadorians have no memory; They forget things.
Five years ago, Mr. Noboa was a political unknown. He was elected in 2021 to the Ecuador’s legislature, where he served a mandate.
His predecessor as president, Guillermo Lasso, called for early elections in 2023 while he was facing indictment procedures on the accusations of embezzlement. By campaigning for the first voting round, Mr. Noboa rose from the bottom of the polls to finish in second place after a high performance of debate. He then beat Mrs. González in a runoff.
His victory was partly fueled by the strong desire to change voters in the midst of the wave of gang violence. The 2023 presidential election itself was bloody, with an murdered candidate.
For years, Mr. Correa’s leftist movement has defined Ecuadorian policy and certain analysts said that the results demonstrated its persistent popularity on Sunday.
Mr. Noboa has poorly performed in regions with some of the country’s worst security problems, suggesting that voters most affected by violence could be unhappy with its policies, said Risa Grais-Targow, director of Latin America for Eurasia Group, a political risk.
During the legislative elections which also took place on Sunday, Mr. Noboa’s party, which was formed less than a year ago, led Mr. Correa’s party with 81% of the votes counted.
Ledy Zúñiga, a former Minister of Justice of the Party of Mr. Correa who presented himself in the National Assembly, rejected the idea that Ms. González represented the past.
“More than returning to the past, the problem is to have a team with experience and technical knowledge, because public administration is not easy,” said Ms. Zúñiga,
Despite Mr. Noboa’s difficult measures, violence remains omnipresent in Ecuador. Over the past five years, drug trafficking has expanded, attracting international criminal groups and releasing extraordinary levels of violence in the formerly questionable nation. Last month has seen more violent deaths That any month in the past three years, according to police data.
Many equustes blamed Mr. Noboa’s hard tactics for the death of four children in the Western province of Guayas, whose charred remains were found for weeks after being forced to participate in a military patrol car in December. The case launched the indignation and protests against the soldiers, and a judge ordered the detention of 16 soldiers.
Security and the economy are not the only major problems in the country. Since the equator depends largely on the hydroelectric energy, a drought last year caused daily power reductions of 14 hours for about three months. The crisis closed companies and endangered entire industries.
Critics say that Mr. Noboa’s campaign has been defined more by the image – the country has been flooded with cardboard cutouts of it – than by specific proposals to meet the challenges of the equator. Mr. Noboa has skillfully used social media to project an image of youth and vigor that has captivated many people.
Mr. Noboa often speaks vaguely to throw “the old equator” in the trash. Ms. González emphasized the fight against the security crisis by strengthening institutions such as justice, health and education systems.
José María León Cabrera Contributed reports.
