Ecuador's New President 2021

Update... The election authorities now plan to post some results by 6 p.m. -- with a final result posted by 10 p.m., unless the race is razor close.

The presidential race is the only one on the ballot, according to Cuenca Highlife.

It's the top story in Quito's top newspaper, El Comercio:

https://www.elcomercio.com/

They are saying that the CNE (Consejo Nacional Electoral del Ecuador) will give the results at 19:00 tonight.

The exit polls have it quite close.  Will it be Lasso, or Arauz?  Stay tuned.

As of 7:36 p.m. Quito time, CNE's website reports that 78 percent of the vote has been counted.

Guillermo Lasso, age 65, a former banker and three-time nominee for president, has an eight percentage point lead.  He has 54 percent of the counted votes.

Andrés Arauz, 37, an ally of ex-presidente Rafael Correa, trails with 46 percent of the votes.

Correa, self-exiling in Europe, is a democratic socialist who has been convicted in absentia of corruption committed during his long term in office (2007-2017).  The courts banned Correa from running for office for 25 years and, specifically, from being Arauz's 2021 running mate for VP.

Vote count source... CNE

As of 8:02 p.m. Quito time...

Lasso leads with 52.7 percent of the counted votes.

Arauz has 47.3 percent.

Almost 92 percent of the votes have been counted.

  -- CNE

At 9 p.m. on Election Day in Quito, Guillermo Lasso appears headed to victory in the Ecuadorian presidential race.

With 97 percent of the vote counted, Lasso holds a five-point lead over Andrés Arauz.

Lasso     52.5 percent

Arauz     47.5 percent

Flash!  Lasso Surprises With
Presidential Election Victory in Ecuador


Guillermo Lasso, age 65, a conservative banker who came in second in previous presidential elections (2013, 2017), today was elected president of Ecuador.

The president-elect defeated leftist economist Andrés Arauz by five percentage points, 52.5 to 47.5, in a runoff election .. two days after a national covid emergency declaration was ended by a recent court decision.

Lasso ran on a platform of creating two million new jobs, increasing oil production and attracting more foreign investment.

He vowed to shift away from leftist policies of previous administrations, which Lasso said had dragged Ecuador down.

Presidente Lasso will be inaugurated on May 24.

The incumbent, Lenín Moreno, did not run for re-election.


*Credit:  Reporting on Lasso's platform by the B.B.C.*

Some interesting points about the reporting  and framing by the BBC and others:
Arauz was director of Ecudor's central bank. Doesn't that make him a "leftist banker"? He has a Master's in Economics, but has not yet held a job with the title.

"Andrés Arauz started his career as a public servant in 2009 at the Central Bank of Ecuador. He was general director of banking at the Central Bank from 2011 to 2013. "

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A … prov=sfla1

In regards to Lasso, according to Wikipedia, he self-identifies as a liberal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillermo … prov=sfla1

"A self-proclaimed liberal, his public agenda includes classical liberal points such as the defence of the division of powers to limit government and of fundamental rights."

So is Lasso a conservative or a liberal? Does self-identification matter?

Would it be factually correct for the BBC (and other news outlets to frame this biographical shorthand as "liberal. private banker Lasso" and "leftist, central banker Arauz"?

How would that affect the readers interpretation of the election choices?

I can say it was interesting watching things unfold on my Facebook feed, between my wife's comments & the rest of the family. She was pulling for Arauz,  but a lot of her cousin's were pulling for Lasso. Fortunately things did not go toxic, but it is interesting to see that no matter the country, many of the arguments are the same.

Damon.

Guillermo Lasso took the oath of office today -- May 24, 2021 -- and assumed the presidency of Ecuador upon his inauguration in Quito.

Among the world leaders and dignitaries who came to Quito for the event were King Felipe VI of Spain, Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil and a delegation from the USA led by its United Nations representative.

Presidente Lasso, an ex-banker, inherits a country whose economy contracted by over seven percent in the past year .. and where 20,000 people died from covid in 2020.

He takes office with an approval rating of 60 percent.  His predecessor, Lenín Moreno, saw his rating drop to nine percent.

As reported by Agence France Presse.

In a video posted right after the inauguration, Expats JP and Amelia discuss Presidente Lasso's priorities as expressed in his inaugural address .. and state there is little cause to think there will be problems for Expats in the Lasso Era....

Search at YouTube.. unconventional life ecuador has new president

Presidente Lasso will be the first president of Ecuador to live in the Carondelet presidential palace on Plaza Grande, since 2007.

First, there will be $800,000 in renovations, paid for by Lasso, who was a wealthy banker.

Then the Lassos will move into the presidential apartment within the palace.  They have been living in a Quito hotel.

Source... Cuenca's El Mercurio, translated to English
                  and posted at www.cuencahighlife.com