Leftist Arauz to face Indigenous fellow leftist Perez in Ecuador presidential runoff

[sandensea]

Leftist economist Andrés Arauz will face indigenous candidate Yaku Pérez in a presidential election runoff in Ecuador, according to an official projection by the country's National Electoral Council.

Arauz, 36, came out top with 31.5% of the vote, with Pérez, 51, on 20.04%, following Sunday's polls that were marred by long lines of people waiting to cast ballots as coronavirus restrictions caused chaos.

Right-wing ex-banker Guillermo Lasso, 65, who was initially expected to face Arauz in a runoff, received 19.97%, according to the electoral body's first count.

Arauz, a protégé of former President Rafael Correa, claimed a "resounding victory in all regions of our beautiful country" - although he urged supporters to wait for official results before celebrating.

The projection was based on 90.4% of the results from the nation's 2,425 polling stations. Turnout exceeded 82%.

At: https://sg.news.yahoo.com/ecuadorans-vote-choose-between-socialist-125119005.html

Ecuadorian presidential candidates Andrés Arauz, Guillermo Lasso, and Yaku Pérez.

While Arauz's first round win was widely expected, Pérez confounded polls by edging out right-wing banker Lasso for runoffs scheduled for April 11.

Pérez, a left-wing indigenous rights leader, earned renown for leading protests against President Lenín Moreno - who opted not to seek re-election amid severe recession and what's widely considered one of the world's worst Covid-19 pandemic responses.

Pérez has now become the first self-identified Indigenous Ecuadorian to compete in a presidential runoff - in a country where an estimated 39% of its 18 million population is indigenous.

[Judi Lynn]

1. Great to see this article. The photo above is the only photo I've seen of Yaku Prez.

He looks like a very decent person. Indigenous leaders take their lives into their own hands trying to create better lives for the native people of the Americas. So many of them have been persecuted, and a lot have been assassinated. Very, very best wishes to him.

It would be wonderful if Guillermo Lasso could simply step through an open manhole in the street.

Ecuador has had a filthy right wing forever which has been horrendous. So damned corrupt. The right-wing in Guayaquil was relentless against Rafael Correa.

Here's a useful article I'd like to add, over a year old:

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The Long Coup in Ecuador

Elected on a progressive platform, the Moreno government has resorted to the politicization of justice and the militarization of politics to repress its former allies and constituents.

November 18, 2019

Ecuador is facing some of its darkest days. The country is trapped with a highly unpopular president who has betrayed his mandate and proved his willingness to shed blood to implement a conservative economic agenda. Last October, the Moreno government unleashed a wave of repression to stifle widespread opposition to IMF-dictated policies.

Since taking office and after forcing a split within the ruling party Alianza País, Lenín Moreno has handed the state back to the powerful left-outs of Rafael Correa’s government. He used his mandate to subvert democratic institutions, persecute the opposition, and bring back the old neoliberal model to Ecuador, all in the name of the descorreización of the country. This has gained him the support of big business, the right-wing sector, the private media, and the U.S. government, who are not willing to let him go easily.

The Rule of Unconstitutionality

To push forward its agenda, the Moreno government has often disregarded the constitution. The first instance was the referendum held in February 2018 without the approval of the Constitutional Court, which kick-started the purge and ad hoc designation of state authorities, including the Attorney General and the Constitutional Court itself.

The capture of the judiciary did not rid the political system of all the obstacles to a neoliberal restoration. For this reason, the agreement signed with the International Monetary Fund was riddled with unconstitutional details. Apart from contradicting domestic regulations on monetary policy and fiscal deficit, the agreement bypassed the Assembly and the Constitutional Court. This violates articles 419 and 438 of the constitution and deprives the agreement of any democratic legitimacy.

The Moreno government employed unconstitutional measures to meet the protests against the economic policies imposed by the IMF. The state of exception that the government declared on October 3 and October 8 presented a number of serious legal flaws. Most importantly, it lacked constitutional backup for four days. This legal vacuum exposed the citizenry to a worrisome state of defenselessness and gave the government leeway to crack down on the protesters.

More:
https://nacla.org/news/2020/03/03/long-coup-ecuador