By Satyaki Chakraborty
In the first Presidential elections in Latin America in the year 2025, , in Ecuador , the incumbent right wing president Daniel Noboa faced a close fight with his left wing opponent Luisa Gonzalez resulting in a runoff elections on April 13 to choose the President of the country for a term of four years. Figures released show that Noboa got 44.43 per cent of the votes polled while Gonzalez got very close 44.17 per cent. There were 14 other candidates.
According to the Ecuador constitution, in the first round, if no candidate gets more than 50 per cent of the votes or more than 10 per cent above the next candidate, the run off has to be held to decide the presidency on the basis of the largest number of votes. President Noboa was tipped to be far ahead the left wing contender in the opinion polls, but the final figures showed that the contest was very close. Gonzalez nearly caught up with the votes of the right wing president.
Luisa Gonzalez is a renowned lawyer and she worked under the former president Rafael Correa as a minister. Correa was president of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017. He brought about many changes favouring the underprivileged people during his tenure. He was hounded out in corruption charges. The government was led by President Lasso, a banker of the right wing camp. Daniel Noboa got elected in 2023 snap poll beating Luisa Gonzalez as Lasso was not allowed to contest presidential elections due to serious corruption charges against him. Noboa ruled for just sixteen months of the remaining tenure of Lasso.
The left wing coalition of Gonzalez has been following the programme of their mentor Correa though he is abroad. The left presidential candidate has wide experience as a law maker while Noboa was a newcomer in 2023 before taking over as the president. He belongs to one of the wealthiest families of Ecuador having monopoly over banana plantations industry.
Voting is mandatory in Ecuador. Electoral authorities reported that more than 83% of the roughly 13.7 million eligible voters cast ballots in the February 9 first round. The security of the citizens was the main election issue as the social life is controlled by the mafia and traffickers who kidnap people and demand huge ransoms. The women generally do not remain in the streets in major cities after 10 PM fearing such kidnapping. Both Noboa and Gonzalez have promised toughest measures in controlling the kidnapping activities in the country.
The Left candidate Hs got more than two months to prepare for the runoff on April 13. The coalition parties especially the trade unions and the students have been planning to appeal to the support base of smaller parties which got more than ten per cent votes together. President Noboa will equally be trying to get the votes of the smaller parties. So the election campaigning will be more intense in the coming two months.
In 2025, a few other Latin American countries like Bolivia are going for national elections. The right forces are inspired by the victory of Donald Trump as they are looking for big help from US administration for fighting against the Left ruled governments such as in Bolivia. In Bolivia, the problem is that the Left wing coalition Movement for Socialism (MAS) is split between the present president and the former president and there is no sign that this will be made up before the next polls.
The Left forces in Latin America are eagerly waiting for the Presidential polls in these two countries Ecuador and Bolivia. Both the Presidential elections will be held in an atmosphere of big propaganda against the Left and active support by the U.S. corporates and the U.S. government to the right wing forces. The building of unity between the Left forces and the other liberal elements has become crucial at present in the political situation in Latin America. (IPA Service)
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