The presidential in Ecuador

 

Banana heir becomes president of Ecuador [Martin Mejia/AP/TT]  

 

Banana heir becomes president of Ecuador

 

A businessman and heir to a banana empire, but inexperienced as a politician, becomes the new president of Ecuador.  

 

The 35-year-old, Daniel Noboa won in the second round of elections over the left-wing candidate Luisa González. His father tried to reach where his son has now reached in five elections, without success. 

 

- Tomorrow we begin the work of rebuilding a country that has been badly hit by violence, corruption and hatred, Noboa said in a victory speech from his hometown of Olon.  

 

Luisa Gonzáles has admitted defeat and the electoral authority has named Noboa the winner. Noboa has, according to preliminary figures, received around 52 percent of the vote against just under 48 for González, who had to see a rerun compared to the result in the first round in August. Then she got 33 percent against 24 for Noboa, who, however, even then surprised by getting support significantly higher than expected. 

 

Violence as a political issue has dominated the election campaign and also quite literally. Just before the first round of elections, one of the top candidates, Fernando Villavicencio, was murdered in Quito on August 9. 

 

He ran an unprecedented campaign against corruption and organized crime, and in the election almost all the candidates have promised to fight the drug cartels.  

 

Both Daniel Noboa and Luisa Gonzáleaz have been seen campaigning wearing bulletproof vests.  

 

Noboa describes himself as center-left on the political scale, but outsiders describe him as more right-wing, with a neoliberal economic policy. 

 

Noboa is relatively inexperienced as a politician with only two years as a parliamentarian. Since the former president called early elections, during one term, Noboa has only a year and a half, until 2025, to show that he deserves the trust he receives

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The winner of the election gets the "worst job in Latin America"  

The winner of Ecuador's presidential election will face a big challenge, writes the Washington Post.  

 

Namely to restore peace in the nation in 18 months. In the second decisive round, which takes place on Sunday, the voters will decide whether it will be the centre-right candidate Daniel Noboa or the left-wing politician Luisa González who will take on the task. The winner will be in power for the final 18 months of Guillermo Lasso's term after he dissolved Ecuador's legislature in May. 

 

- I think this presidency will be the worst job in Latin America for the next year and a half, says Will Freeman at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank.