Conservative businessman Daniel Noboa, 35, has been proclaimed as the new president of Ecuador after winning the country's Oct. 15 runoff elections.
Noboa, son of a banana magnate and five-time failed presidential candidate, was declared the winner of the runoff election with 94.03 percent of votes tallied. He received 52.3 percent of the national vote while his rival, socialist lawyer Luisa Gonzalez, received 47.7 percent. In August, Gonzalez took the No. 1 spot in the first round of elections while Noboa landed second.
Gonzalez landing on the top spot during the first round of voting on Aug. 20 did not put her in the Carondelet Palace. Under Ecuadorian election law, presidential candidates running in the first round must get over 40 percent of the votes and be 10 points ahead of the nearest rival. Given that none of the first-round candidates met this threshold, both Gonzalez and Noboa faced off during the second round. (Related: Socialist lawyer, conservative businessman head to second round of runoff elections to determine Ecuador's next president.)
Noboa, who will turn 36 in November, is the youngest president in the South American nation's history. While he has described himself as "center-left" in the past, he campaigned as a centrist and emphasized the need to unite Ecuadorians from both sides of the political spectrum. This has led political experts in the country to describe his policy platform as vague, though they acknowledged the "technocratic" skills he brings to the table.
The president-elect joined the newly formed National Democracy Alliance, promising to decentralize the federal government's powers and invest government funds heavily in expanding agriculture. Noboa also pivoted toward female voters – with his promise to implement a $60 government bonus for pregnant women so they can buy healthier food. He also promised to expand both access to medical care and job opportunities for mothers.
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Following his victory, Noboa issued a brief statement thanking his supporters. He also promised to "work for a country that has been hit by corruption, violence and hate."
Gonzales accepts defeat, pledges support for Noboa
Gonzales, meanwhile, graciously accepted her loss to Noboa and pledged her support for the new president. "We have never called for a city to be set on fire, nor have we ever gone out shouting fraud," Gonzalez told her followers.
Former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa blamed the "treason" of his successor, former Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno, for the loss of Gonzalez. Correa is currently in exile in Belgium after Moreno issued a warrant for his arrest in 2018, based on corruption and abuse of power charges. Correa served as the country's leader from 2007 to 2017.
"They even murdered a candidate to prevent our victory," Correa wrote on social media, referencing the Aug. 9 murder of Fernando Villavicencio. According to Correa, conservative powers had the journalist-turned-politician killed to smear the socialist. Villavicencio had been ordered jailed by Correa during his term as president.
Ecuadorian law enforcement arrested six Colombian nationals right after the killing, with a seventh suspect later taken into custody. Police later confirmed that the seven were killed in prison.
But Moreno, who stayed in Carondelet from 2017 until 2021, lauded Noboa's victory as a strong national rejection of Correa.
"Because of the grave damage they did to Ecuador, Correism will never again take power," Moreno wrote on social media. "They need to understand this once and for all. Ecuador wants peace, democracy, freedom, strong institutions, separation of powers, freedom of expression, transparency [and] moderation in public debt."
Moreno concluded his post by congratulating the Ecuadorian people "for an election of peace and democracy."
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Watch this clip that captures the last moments of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio before his murder.
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