Conservative banker Guillermo Lasso, 65, was elected President of Ecuador on Sunday April 11 with 52.5% of the votes cast and five points ahead of his young left-wing opponent, Andrés Arauz, 36, who himself got 47.5%. An economist, Mr. Arauz was the candidate supported by former President Rafael Correa (2007-2017), who was thus attempting a sort of indirect return to power. More than 18% of voters voted blank or zero, twice as many as in the first round on February 7. Voting is compulsory in Ecuador.
Victory of the “eternal candidate”
“The third time is good”, Lasso’s supporters chanted happily in the streets, learning of his victory. Already a candidate in 2013, he was beaten by Rafael Correa in 2013 and by Lenin Moreno in 2017. Having come to power as vice-president of Mr. Correa, Mr. Moreno had quickly broken with his mentor to get closer to the circles of ‘business.
“The eternal candidate”, as his compatriots have nicknamed Mr. Lasso, will take office on May 24. It embodies a certain continuity of the current administration. “Guillermo Lasso was able to mobilize the vote of anti-Correa from all sides”, explains political sociologist Hernan Reyes.
Deemed to be authoritarian and corrupt, Mr. Correa is hated by the right and part of the left. He has lived in Brussels since he left power and is the subject of an arrest warrant in his country for a corruption case. But he continues to dominate the political scene.
Leading the first round with 32.72% of the vote, Andrés Arauz failed in the second to seduce beyond the pro-Correa electorate. “The country remains fractured between pro and anti-Correa, insists Mr. Reyes. The defeat of Mr. Arauz is a defeat of Mr. Correa. “
With 19.72% of the vote, Mr. Lasso won his place in the second round only narrowly ahead of Yaku Perez, the environmental candidate of the Indian party Pachakutik. Contesting these results of the first round, Mr. Perez called on the Ecuadorians to vote a draw on Sunday. “The instructions have been widely followed and Yaku Perez is also entitled to claim a victory”, considers Mr Reyes.
A curator open to dialogue
Election day passed without incident. While the counting of the first round had delayed several days, the result of the second fell very quickly. Less than five hours after the polls closed, Mr. Lasso knew he was president and was celebrating in Guayaquil, his hometown, “This historic day, a day when all Ecuadorians expressed the desire for change and better times for all”.
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