Ecuador: seven candidates participated in the debate one week before the elections | The meeting was marked by the murder of Fernando Villavicencio

2023-08-14 05:01:00

Between constant interruptions and some crossed darts, seven Ecuadorian presidential candidates presented their government plans this Sunday in a debate marked by the absence of Fernando Villavicencio, the eighth candidate shot dead last Wednesday. Participating in the debate were Correista Luisa González (Revolución Ciudadana), environmentalist Yaku Pérez (Alianza Claro), businessman Xavier Hervas (RETO), former legislator Daniel Noboa (ADN), former vice president Otto Sonnenholzner (Actuemos), security expert Jan Topic (Country without fear) and the rural leader Bolivar Armijos (Friend).

The first stage of the debate, marked by many interruptions, was destined to increase violence and crime in Ecuador. “The security of the country is not a game. A banker sunk us and a sniper cannot give us security in the State,” said Luisa González, alluding to Jan Topic, who was asked: “How are you going to finance the security that You say? Are you going to pay the 32 million dollars that your company owes to the SRI (Internal Revenue Service)?”

The only woman running for president in these elections recalled that the government of Rafael Correa made Ecuador “the second safest country in Latin America” ​​and promised to build “a new Penitentiary on the Coast.” For his part, businessman Jan Topic promised to “implement the Zero Tolerance Plan,” “retake control of the country’s prisons” and “equip law enforcement.” Yaku Pérez, who in 2021 was very close to the second round by just 30,000 votes, emphasized carrying out a “permanent patrol with armed and police forces.”

Regarding ways to improve the country’s competitiveness, candidate Bolívar Armijos called for “strengthening agribusiness and the work of mining companies that can inject resources into the economy.” Xavier Hervas, from the Reto movement, called for building “an economic model that comes out of the extractivist model”, while Luisa González promised to move forward with the failed project of the Pacific Refinery to “generate development, roads and scholarships with the money from those fuels “.

On the set of the state channel EcuadorTV, the lectern that was intended for Villavicencio was left empty. More than 13 million Ecuadorians are eligible to participate in the presidential and legislative elections on August 20.