Ecuadorians Will Head to the Polls a Second Time to Decide the Fate of Their Left-Leaning Government

!!!

The anointed successor to President Rafael Correa, Former Vice President Lenín Moreno, led in the voting on Sunday, February 19, 2017, but fell less than a percentage point shy of the 40% necessary to avoid a runoff election in April. Moreno, a left-leaning advocate for the disabled, served as vice president from 2007 to 2013. Rafael Correa was elected three times, and has served as Ecuador’s president for more than 10 years. And while he is still Ecuador’s most popular politician, Correa decided against constitutional tweaks that would have allowed him to run again immediately. He enjoyed broad support among the poor and leftist intellectuals for his policies, but a lack-luster economy, charges of corruption against the ruling party, Alianza País, and his ongoing hostile relationship with the news media, as well as his domineering governing style, have dulled Correa’s appeal among many Ecuadorians. Political observers across the region look to the second round in April to see if Ecuador’s government, one of the few remaining popular leftist administrations in Latin America, will buck the recent rightward electoral trend.

To read the full content subscribe today!