Elections Ecuador: Correísmo consolidates in the polls and expects a rival for the second round | International

The electoral atmosphere is already breathed in Ecuador. The country will go to early presidential and legislative elections on August 20, after the death cross decree issued by President Guillermo Lasso. The president, harassed by a political trial, decided to dissolve Parliament and abruptly end the term that was due to end in May 2025. It is the first time that the South American country has activated that escape valve, allowed in the 2008 Constitution. Up to eight candidates They will compete for power in a panorama that is still highly segmented, but which according to polls favors Correísmo. Her candidate, Luisa González, is still far from a first-round victory.

The next government will be in power for only 18 months. The eight candidates are awaiting the approval of their nominations in the Electoral Dispute Tribunal, which is analyzing the challenges presented by the Correísmo party, Revolución Ciudadana, against the candidate Xavier Hervás, whose process has prevented the schedule to start moving forward. officially the electoral campaign. In these atypical elections, the campaign will last nine days and not 36 as in past elections.

With the short times, the candidates are already in the streets, going through the media and constantly posting on social networks. They have to convince a population that "is very disgusted," says Pablo Pardo, a political analyst. “The main feeling before these elections is that people are not up for experiments, they want something safe,” he adds.

47 days after Ecuadorians go to the polls, polls agree that the Correísmo candidate, Luisa González, has the advantage. The other seven candidates dispute the other position in the second round. Until now, the closest one is one of Lenín Moreno's former vice presidents, Otto Sonnezholner, who once identified himself as a liberal and who will try to come to power under the slogan "peace, money and progress." There is also Yaku Pérez, a well-known face in politics, who won third place in the 2021 elections backed by the indigenous movements that are now divided.

The profiles of the candidates are very varied. Fernando Villavicencio presents himself as a battering ram against corruption under the slogan It's time for the brave. He was an assemblyman until his dissolution and chaired the audit commission. He was criticized for his actions in the impeachment process against President Guillermo Lasso, because that commission issued a report favorable to the president that did not have the support of other legislators.

Jan Topic, known as the Ecuadorian bukele, registered his candidacy with the support of the traditional right-wing party Social Cristiano, Centro Democrático and Sociedad Patriotica and participates with the message of Ecuador without fear. He presents himself to combat insecurity and reinforces his discourse by visiting places that no other candidate has set foot on, in high-risk neighborhoods or on the dangerous northern border, where he highlights vulnerabilities in the control of arms, fuel and drug trafficking. The series of his tours can be followed through his social networks, which are advertised with trailers.

Daniel Noboa, the son of millionaire and five-time presidential candidate Álvaro Noboa, wants to follow in his father's footsteps because he says politics "is in his DNA." And Bolívar Armijos, from the Amigo movement, seeks support in the rural sectors of the country where years ago he mobilized people to support former President Rafael Correa.

The electoral process comes at a difficult time for the country, which fears the announced arrival of the El Niño Phenomenon, which would hit the Ecuadorian coast in full transition of the new Government. Added to this is the insecurity crisis that is spreading throughout the territory, with a high rate of murders and crimes such as extortion and robbery that expel thousands of Ecuadorians who see migration as the only solution to their problems.

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