QUITO (Reuters) – Candidates competing for Ecuador’s presidency reached a consensus during a debate held on Sunday that the country needs stronger security measures, although they differed in their approaches to revive the economy.
In the run-off vote on October 15, leftist lawyer Luisa Gonzalez, a protégé of former president Rafael Correa, will compete against young businessman Daniel Noboa. Gonzalez secured nearly 34% of the votes in the first round, while Noboa surprisingly came in second place.
President Guillermo Lasso initiated early elections in May by dissolving the legislature to avoid an impeachment process. Whoever wins the presidency will only hold the position until 2025, when regularly scheduled elections are set to resume.
During Sunday’s debate, both candidates pledged to crack down on organized crime syndicates, bolster the security forces, and seek international assistance in addressing the escalating insecurity issue.
Gonzalez stated, “I am going to regain control of the country that has been taken from us.”
Noboa, who previously outpaced Gonzalez in polls, intends to classify gangs as “narco-terrorists” and proposed the implementation of floating prisons at sea to house the most dangerous prisoners.
However, the candidates held differing opinions on where to focus investments to stimulate Ecuador’s struggling economy, which is projected to grow by 1.5% this year and 0.8% in 2024.
Gonzalez pledged to increase oil production and reiterated plans to inject $2.5 billion of international reserves into the economy. He also discussed eliminating certain tax benefits.
Noboa proposed offering incentives to companies that hire young individuals and expressed his commitment to promoting private investment in electricity transmission and oil refining operations.
Nevertheless, he clarified that his previous suggestion of utilizing $1.5 billion of international reserves was solely reserved for worst-case scenarios.
“Using the reserves was plan Z,” he said. “If we observe severe problems among the population, such as those caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon, we would resort to utilizing that sum as a last resort.”
(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Writing by Oliver Griffin)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
