Guillermo Lasso

The US State Department is pushing a politicized vote recount, overseen by the coup-sponsoring OAS, after socialist Andrés Arauz won Ecuador’s election in a landslide. Meanwhile Colombia’s ex-president warns his country’s “radical right” is “interfering” with “slander” and a “dirty game.” GUAYAQUIL, ECUADOR – A popular socialist candidate, Andrés Arauz, won the first round of Ecuador’s historic presidential election by a landslide on February 7. The leftist’s overwhelming victory prompted the US State Department, the right-wing government of neighboring Colombia, […]

El candidato presidencial ecuatoriano Yaku Pérez ha apoyado golpes en Bolivia, Brasil, Venezuela y Nicaragua. La campaña de su partido Pachakutik, respaldado por Estados Unidos y supuestamente de “izquierda” ambientalista, es promovida por lobistas corporativos de la derecha. Por Benjamín Norton Traducido por Diego Sequera (You can read this article in English here.) QUITO, ECUADOR – La elección presidencial del Ecuador del 7 de febrero concluyó con una sorpresa: el conteo rápido publicado por el Consejo Nacional Electoral del país […]

Ecuador’s presidential candidate Yaku Pérez supported coups in Bolivia, Brazil, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. His US-backed party Pachakutik and supposedly “left-wing” environmentalist campaign is being promoted by right-wing corporate lobbyists. (Puedes leer este artículo en español aquí.) Editor’s note: This article was updated on February 8, following the first round of Ecuador’s presidential election.

Ben Norton traveled to Ecuador to report on the historic February 7 election, which pits a wealthy US-backed right-wing banker against a left-wing economist who pledges to continue the socialist Citizens’ Revolution launched by former President Rafael Correa. In this dispatch, working-class Ecuadorians explain why they support leftist candidate Andrés Arauz and oppose the repressive Washington-allied government of Lenín Moreno. QUITO, ECUADOR – The South American nation of Ecuador is currently suffering through its worst economic crisis in decades. Poverty […]

Ecuador’s top TV network will broadcast exit polls of the February 7 presidential election by notoriously corrupt polling firm CEDATOS, which was funded by the main right-wing candidate. GUAYAQUIL, ECUADOR – On the eve of the presidential election in Ecuador on February 7, observers are warning of a series of anti-democratic actions targeting the country’s left-wing Citizens’ Revolution movement. Ecuador’s most-watched TV network is relying on a notoriously corrupt and politicized polling firm called CEDATOS, which works closely with right-wing […]

Alianza PAIS’s presidential candidate Lenin Moreno, left, and his running mate Jorge Glas smile end of the day of the presidential election, in Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, April 2, 2017. (AP/Dolores Ochoa)
Progressive candidate and renowned disability activist from the ruling Alianza Pais party, Lenin Moreno, won the Ecuadorean presidential election Sunday.

The final round of Presidential elections in Ecuador is complete and with over 95% of votes counted, leftist Lenin Moreno has won with 51.11% of the vote. His right wing rival Guillermo Lasso has demanded a recount and has made accusations of rigging saying that, “They’ve toyed with popular will”.
In spite of Lasso’s refusal to concede defeat, outgoing left-wing stalwart President Rafael Correa Tweeted his congratulations to Mr. Moreno saying,

On April 2 Ecuador will choose a new president. For the first time in a decade, Rafael Correa’s name will not be on the ballot. After ten years in office, Correa is stepping down from the presidency and, however temporarily, stepping away from politics.

Ecuador’s 2017 presidential candidates. (Photo: TeleSUR)
(ANALYSIS) — As Ecuador’s leading presidential candidate of the governing Alianza Pais party, Lenin Moreno, wrapped up his campaign with a massive rally in the nation’s capital, Quito, on Wednesday, WikiLeaks tweeted out portions of the U.S. diplomatic cables related to the three major candidates in Sunday’s election.

Ecuador will hold its first round of presidential elections on February 19. Eight candidates will be on the ballot and the final runoff is scheduled for April 2. The country’s President Rafael Correa is not running in the election for the first time in more than a decade. The ruling PAIS Alliance party will be presented by Lenin Moreno, a former vice president.