Ecuador’s Surprise Win
The conservative businessman Guillermo Lasso won the presidential elections that took place in Ecuador on April 11th! This was a surprise victory because his opponent, Andrés Arauz, led in all the polls leading up to the elections and was heavily favored to win.
Andrés Arauz was running on a socialistic, leftist platform and was part of the party led by exiled former president Rafael Correa. Many consider Arauz a political puppet of Correa, who desires another seat in government but needs to be pardoned from an 8-year prison sentence to run for office again Ecuador.
However, on Sunday, April 11th, Guillermo Lasso won the election and took 52% of the votes. His win was helped by a ballot-spoiling campaign promoted by indigenous advocacy groups that left one in six ballots void. Voting is compulsory in Ecuador, but around 16% of votes were invalidated because voters either left the ballot blank or purposefully spoiled their ballot so it wouldn’t be counted.
Guillermo Lasso, a former banker, ran on a conservative platform and is faced with the task of reuniting a politically divided Ecuador and restarting an economy that has greatly suffered because of COVID and quarantine. Please pray for Ecuador and President Lasso that he would have the wisdom to do what is right in the next four years.
About the Author
Kason and Bethany Bloom are missionaries on deputation to Ecuador. Find out more about the Blooms at reachingecuador.com and connect with them at kason.bloom@gmail.com