Inexperienced politician Daniel Noboa won Ecuador's presidential runoff election Sunday held amid unprecedented violence that even claimed the life of a candidate.
Presidential candidate Daniel Noboa speaks in Olon, Ecuador, after results show him ahead in a snap presidential runoff on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023. At left is his wife Lavinia Valbonesi.
Noboa, 35, will lead the South American country during a period that drug trafficking-related violence has left Ecuadorians wondering when, not if, they will be victims for the first, third or eighth time. Their uneasiness has prompted them to continuously watch their backs and limit how often they leave home.The incoming president's term will run only through May 2025, which is what remains of the tenure of President Guillermo Lasso.
Violence erupted in Ecuador roughly three years ago with a rise in criminal activity linked to cocaine trafficking, and the government's inability to tackle it was laid bare in August with the assassination of presidential candidate and anti-corruption crusader Fernando Villavicencio. The younger Noboa's party will not have have enough seats in the National Assembly to be able to govern on its own. Garnering support from opposing lawmakers will be key to avoid the difficulties that plagued Lasso's term.
"I don't expect much from this election," Julio Ricaurte, a 59-year-old engineer, said Sunday near one of the voting centers in northern Quito."First, because the president will have little time to do anything, and second because the Assembly in our country is an organization that prevents anyone who comes to power from governing."
"I believe that the trend is irreversible, and today, we begin to build a new Ecuador," he said at the voting center, confidently alluding to a victory.
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