2023-10-14 18:35:14
The crowd formed a traffic jam on Francisco de Orellana Avenue in Guayaquil. A car ends up breaking through the crowd dressed in white and purple which has gathered on this artery of the Ecuadorian metropolis. A young man, with a bulletproof vest on his shoulders, gets out of the vehicle then climbs onto a truck as he is encouraged. On his perch, Daniel Noboa signals: the caravan can set off.
The fervor that accompanies the convoy does not sufficiently reflect the extent of the surprise that Ecuador could experience this Sunday, during the second round of the presidential vote. Daniel Noboa, 35, has been favored by the polls since the end of the first round. The latest, published on October 5, predict a victory with 5 to 12 points ahead of her competitor, Luisa Gonzalez, candidate of Citizen Revolution, the party of former left-wing president Rafael Correa (in power between 2007 and 2017). ).
Candidates from father to son
A sweet irony for the candidate of the National Democratic Action party: on the eve of the first round, the polls gave him no more than 8% of the votes. But here it is: Daniel Noboa, classified as center-right, but who especially takes care to maintain his image as an entrepreneur more than a politician, collected nearly 24% of the votes and validated his sesame. “Anyone who tells you that he predicted that Noboa would pass the first round is a liarlaughs Pablo Ospina, professor of political and social sciences at the Simon Bolivar Andean University in Quito. Nobody saw it coming.»
Before his meteoric arrival on the scene, the most famous Noboa was not Daniel, but Alvaro, his father. A billionaire who made his fortune in the banana agro-industry, Alvaro Noboa ran for president five times, without success. But the candidate prefers to appear alongside his mother, the highly respected doctor Annabella Azin, and his wife, the influencer Lavinia Valbonesi. “Alvaro Noboa doesn’t have a very good reputation. He is accused of not paying his taxes…”recalls Pablo Ospina.
To become the youngest president in the history of the country, Daniel Noboa could above all take advantage of the strong anti-Correist sentiment which hinders Luisa Gonzalez, above whom hovers the shadow of Rafael Correa, adored as much as hated. In 2020, the ex-president, now a refugee in Belgium, was sentenced to eight years in prison for corruption. “The election promises to be similar to that of 2021explains Pablo Ospina. The outgoing president, Guillermo Lasso, had many faults but the voters voted against Correismo, and he won. »
Employment and security issues at the center
Confident of this asset, Daniel Noboa focuses on employment and “freedom to undertake”, which he considers to be inseparable from a return to security, in a country where violence has exploded in recent years. Convinced, Alfredo Bautista, present at the caravan, decided to campaign in favor of the young entrepreneur : “If security returns, you can start working again. It’s not possible when you have your little business and the gangs come to blackmail you. »
Daniel Noboa affirms that his program is especially attractive “young people and women”. Keyla Solis, lawyer, is convinced of this: “With Noboa, all Ecuadorians can once again dream of a peaceful and prosperous country. Noboa is the future! »
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