Scion of business Daniel Noboa will fulfill a long-held family desire when he enters office as Ecuador’s president, having won the election on Sunday on promises to create jobs and curb crime gangs.
Noboa, 35, who resigned from a job at his family’s enormous company when elected to the national assembly in 2021, received more than 52% of the vote, knocking out leftist competitor Luisa Gonzalez, who received roughly 48%, with the initial tally nearly complete.
“Tomorrow we begin work for this new Ecuador, we begin to work to rebuild a country severely battered by violence, corruption, and hatred,” Noboa told supporters in the seaside town of Olon after winning a campaign marred by the assassination of an anti-corruption candidate Fernando Villavicencio.
“From tomorrow Daniel Noboa starts work as your new president,” he went on to say.
Gonzalez admitted defeat and complimented her opponent.
Noboa grew up with his banana baron father Alvaro during the latter’s numerous failed presidential attempts and was a surprise qualifier for the second round run-off.
His campaign represented a departure from his father’s populist rhetoric and his opponent’s calls to return to the social policies of her mentor, former President Rafael Correa.
Noboa, a Guayaquil native, has promised to attract foreign investment and expand Ecuador’s economic sector.
Analysts believe his election will provide an immediate boost to markets, but his cabinet picks remain unknown and will likely alter the long-term market outlook.
Noboa has also promised job development, particularly for young people, and his fans have praised the married father-of-two for bringing a fresh perspective to the country’s difficulties.
Ecuador’s economy has struggled to recover since the coronavirus outbreak, contributing to rising violence and emigration, which outgoing President Guillermo Lasso blames on drug-trafficking gang rivalries.
Noboa has promised to establish a new intelligence unit to combat gangs, provide tactical weapons to security forces, and put the country’s most dangerous inmates aboard prison ships at sea.
The next president will take office in December.
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