Debate shows strength of left-wing candidate in Ecuador election

The candidate of the Citizen Revolution (RC) movement, Luisa González, demonstrated in the last presidential debate, this Sunday (13), the reason for being ahead of the seven other candidates in all opinion polls for voting for the next 20th.

Emphatically, Luisa defended the strengthening of the State as an instrument of social justice, fought “the favoring of banks”, committed herself to “build the Pacific refinery to generate jobs” – 25 thousand direct and indirect jobs – and to give priority is given to health, education and public safety, asphyxiated by the straitjacket of the fiscalist and recessive policy dictated by the goals assumed by the government with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

With the social area reeling, the agro-exporting food country currently has the second highest child malnutrition rate in Latin America, surpassed only by Guatemala. According to official data, 23.1% of Ecuadorian children under five have chronic malnutrition or stunted growth.

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In the face of growing despair, crimes have multiplied five times in the last six years, making the security item rise in concern and gain the top in speeches, with an extremely reactionary approach on the part of the far right.

But the format of the debate set up by Ecuador TV, a state channel run by cronies of the banker president Guillermo Lasso, tied up free expression and questioning the roots of the chaos, in an attempt to reduce the debate on the country’s fate to a game of make-believe. account. “They are stealing my time. I ask that you do not interrupt my exposition of ideas”, condemned Luisa, having her voice silenced more than once by the debaters.

The candidate of former president Rafael Correa (2007-2017), condemned the media and telecommunications mega-businessman, Jan Topic, for being “a service provider to the State and, because of that, only talking about security”. Topic introduces himself as a Foreign Legion “sniper” who has seen combat in Ukraine, Syria and Africa. A kind of fascist Rambo, founder of the biggest security company in Ecuador.

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At the same time, Luisa González was full of irony and drew laughter when she thanked candidate Yaku Pérez “for recognizing that women are better administrators”. “Therefore, I count on your vote”, said the only candidate for the presidency.

Although they tried not to deepen the criticism between the names of the right and the ultra-right, with an eye on an eventual second round against the Citizens’ Revolution, barbs remained between the candidates. In Ecuador, to win in the “primera vuelta”, the candidate needs to get at least 40% of the votes with a 10% difference over the runner-up.

Identifying Topic’s greatest weakness, Yaku Pérez was accurate: “You only believe in pa-pa-pa”, making the gesture of a revolver. And he added: “Choose two legionary soldiers, the best among you, and I invite you to enter the field and play ecuavolley [um jogo de vôley equatoriano]”. Topic retorted and ignored him, saying that the moment was too serious for games.

Also pointing out Jan Topic’s involvement with state transport businesses, candidate and mega-businessman Otto Sonnenholzner mocked the alleged distancing: “But aren’t you the owner of the radars, Jan?”.

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Economist trained at Harvard, in the United States, Sonnenholzner was approached by Yaku, who threw firecrackers at the radio and television entrepreneur, for having left the vice-presidency in Moreno’s government, amid protests and denunciations. “Instead of jumping ship, why not fight from within to achieve reforms?” he asked.

Son of mega-businessman in the banana sector Álvaro Noboa, who tried five times to be a candidate for the presidency, Daniel Noboa presented his candidacy as a fop at the service of Topic, who thanked him for the partnership. “Daniel, thanks for the numbers… Daniel, your question is excellent”, smiled Topic. Noboa’s greatest expression of strength was to say that “the governor who does not work will be sent home with a kick”. And there it stayed.

Candidate Bolívar Armijos bordered on ridicule by including among his proposals “the hiring of 10 (ten!) doctors to advise the Minister of Health”. Likewise, Xavier Hervas, from the Renovação Total movement (Reto), when he said that he “would bring action to the United Nations (UN) to declare the criminal groups as terrorists”.

In different ways, Ecuadorian media conglomerates sought to distance themselves from the debate, omitting their inclination towards Topic, which had its reactions presented to the public at the time of the other candidates. Furthermore, the flood of advertising that invades our cell phones and computers when we access the internet is omitted. After all, Jan is the son of Tomislav Topic, owner of Telconet, which controls the internet service available to Ecuadorians.

Of all the newspapers, La Hora was the clearest in its pretensions, emphasizing that it is not the popular will that should determine a government’s course of action, but the economic interests that govern the country against democracy. and sovereignty. “The next representative will have the field demarcated and a scarce margin of financing from abroad. The International Monetary Fund is on the horizon again”, he said. And he went deeper: “Regardless of the political trend, the next President of the Republic will have to prioritize spending and focus on what is most urgent. Promises to spend more than Guillermo Lasso, even if they are loaded with good intentions, such as the fight against delinquency and economic recovery, are unfeasible”. And painted in strong letters: unfeasible.

To top it off, La Hora also echoed the words of the Minister of Economy, Pablo Arosemena. “When you have two holes and a cork, you cover one and the other is uncovered. Resources should be prioritized where they are most needed. We successfully closed an agreement with the IMF”, highlighted the Minister of Lasso.

In an attempt to keep the financier orchestra in tune, the mainstream media is committed to defeating Luisa González in the final stretch. The latest news is the candidacy of “investigative journalist” Christian Zurita, replacing Fernando Villavicencio, murdered in very poorly explained conditions at the end of an electoral rally at a school in Quito.

Founders of the “Investigative Journalism” portal, Villavicencio and Zurita were celebrated by the media cartel for revealing alleged “corruption plots”, mainly related to the government of former president Rafael Correa.

Because he was not registered in time, Zurita was left out of the debate.

CONTRIBUTE VIA PIX 10.511.324/0001-48

Agência ComunicaSul is covering the presidential elections and the National Assembly of Ecuador thanks to the support of the following entities: Hora do Povo newspaper, Diálogos do Sul, Barão de Itararé, Portal Vermelho, Correio da Cidadania, Agência Saiba Mais, Intersindical, Central dos Trabalhadores and Workers of Brazil (CTB), Single Central of Workers of Paraná (CUT-PR); Association of Social Workers and Psychologists of the Court of Justice of the State of São Paulo (AASPTJ-SP), Federation of Workers in Credit Companies of Paraná (FETEC-PR), Unions of Workers in Water, Waste and Environment of State of São Paulo (Sintaema-SP) and Santa Catarina (Sintaema-SC), Union of Workers in the Heavy Construction Industries of the State of Paraná (Sintrapav-PR), Union of Official Teaching Teachers of the State of São Paulo (Apeoesp Southeast-Center), Union of Writers in the State of São Paulo, Union of Workers in the Federal Judiciary Power of Santa Catarina (Sintrajusc-SC); Union of Workers in the Judiciary Power of the State of Santa Catarina (Sinjusc-SC), popular mandate of councilor Werner Rempel (Santa Maria-RS) and dozens of individual contributions.