- Title: Candidate Luisa Gonzalez, Correa's protégé, aims for presidency in Ecuador
- Date: 5th February 2025
- Summary: Gonzalez's campaign, themed "Revivir Ecuador," focuses on addressing criminal violence with major military and police operations, and by pursuing allegedly corrupt judges and prosecutors and giving law enforcement better technology. With the goal of becoming the first female president, she has channeled many voters' longing for a return of Correa's social spending into a l
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: Daniel Noboa Ecuador Luisa Gonzalez candidate election politics voting
- Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, ECUADOR
- City: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, ECUADOR
- Country: Ecuador
- Topics: South America / Central America,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA006874204022025RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Ecuadorean leftist Luisa Gonzalez says she can save her country from the improvised policies of incumbent President Daniel Noboa with social investment and harsher penalties for criminals, but she faces an uphill battle to win Sunday's presidential election (April 13).
Gonzalez, who also faced Noboa in a 2023 contest when he was voted in to serve the remainder of his predecessor's term, is the best hope for returning the Citizens' Revolution party of her mentor, former President Rafael Correa, to power.
Gonzalez is narrowly leading incumbent President Daniel Noboa in two polls ahead of the run-off race for the presidency of Ecuador, surveys showed at the end of March, after Noboa barely notched a win in the first round.
Gonzalez, a protege of Correa, had 51.4% of voting intention in a Negocios & Estrategias poll of some 3,000 voters conducted between March 24 and March 26 with a margin of error of 1.8%.
She was followed by Noboa with 48.6%, putting the two in a technical tie.
She was also leading a poll by Pedro Cango, conducted between March 25 and March 30, with 51.9% of voting intention compared to Noboa's 48.1%. That poll surveyed over 5,400 Ecuadoreans and had a margin of error of 1.5%.
Noboa, the 37-year-old heir to a family banana business, took office in November 2023 to finish the truncated term of predecessor Guillermo Lasso, who had dissolved Congress in order to avoid a vote to remove him from office.
Noboa beat Gonzalez, 47, by less than 1% - under 17,000 votes - in February's first round presidential vote.
Gonzalez says she would respond to crime with major military and police operations, pursue allegedly corrupt judges and prosecutors, construct new renewable energy projects and low-interest credit for small and women-run businesses, as well as a social spending plan in violent areas.
Gonzalez has excoriated Noboa over continued violence on the streets, but none have suggested a major security strategy that differs significantly from the tough-on-crime measures he is already enacting.
Gonzalez, who describes herself as a single mother, animal lover and sportswoman, has said she, not Correa, will take decisions as president.
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