He is 78 years old and did not want to stop voting in this crucial election. Luz Maria arrived early at the Salesian Technical University in Cuenca 450 kilometers south of Quito accompanied by her daughter Fernanda. She says she asked him to pick her up early to avoid the long lines but everyone is up early. He wears two masks because he has heard that this way he better protects himself from the coronavirus which is hitting the country and the world. You can guess that he says it with a smile because his eyes shine. And, raising his hands he adds We have to defend the water.
In Cuenca, a city crossed by four rivers there was also a popular consultation to decide whether to allow the exploitation of metallic mining in the water recharge zones. It was an additional motivator to vote in this capital of the Azuay province, where three of the presidential candidates come from Yaku Perez from Pachakutik Ximena Pena, from Alianza Pais the movement that brought Rafael Correa to power but no longer belongs to him, and Paul Carrasco from Juntos Podemos.
Overcoming fear, Ecuadorians came out this Sunday en masse to elect the new president who will govern for the next four years a 137-member National Assembly and five Andean parliamentarians. Except for an incident in Portoviejo such as the arrest of a man after being denounced for having voting papers in a folder another complaint from a woman, who said she was handed a ballot marked in favor of a candidate as well as the push to enter the University of Guayaquil because people got tired of standing in an endless line, the day was calm.
The spring weather throughout the Sierra, and the typical heat on the Coast, accompanied the votes. In Quito, especially in the south of the city, the attendance was massive and people lined up for a long time, although the social distance was not always kept.
Two Different Models
With all the complexity of a campaign with strong restrictions, due to the biosecurity measures imposed by the National Electoral Council (CNE), in the messages and the speeches of the candidates it was evident that in the election this Sunday in Ecuador they played two different visions on politics the economy and freedoms. One defended by Guillermo Lasso and with nuances also by Yaku Perez and some of 16 other candidates, who are open to investment defend dollarization and promote freedoms, including freedom of expression without a restrictive law such as the Gag Law partially moderated in the Moreno government.
And the one represented by Andres Arauz Correa’s dolphin, who wants to reinstate 21st-century socialism. We choose between a return to populism that destroys economies and condemns countries to eternal poverty or responsible economic and fiscal management says Jaime Carrera renowned analyst. In this election democracy and prosperity are at stake, synthesizes Simon Ordonez Cordero political analyst after voting north of Quito. He believes that the massive presence of people at the polls throughout the country, despite the pandemic, reflects that Ecuadorians assimilated that the decision is in their hands. I have seen a lot of senior citizens, he adds and notes that announcements of high absenteeism will not have been given.
In Guayaquil together with his wife Guillermo Lasso candidate of the Alliance CREO-Christian Social Party, voted While Andres Arauz the candidate of the Unión por la Esperanza UNES movement who could not vote because he is registered in Mexico, where he studies accompanied his grandmother to vote in Quito.
