Finally, they approved the Arauz correísmo formula …

Obstacle course

Few times a presidential formula has had to overcome so many obstacles to reach its qualification. However, it appears to be the end of a long agony for the correista candidates. The director of the CNE, Diana Atamaint |, confirmed that the last challenge to the formula had been rejected. “The Litigation Electoral Tribunal (TCE) has notified that the candidacy is already firmSaid the official. The CNE had to respond to a demand against UNES presented by supporters of former President Lucio Gutiérrez, a candidate in the February elections. He argued that the Democratic Center, one of the forces that make up UNES, did not have legal status at the time of registration. But the electorate reported that the TEC had restored the legal status of this party, Therefore, the request to cancel the formula was ruled inadmissible. “We have 16 firm presidential pairs“Said the president of the electoral authority.

After receiving the news, Arauz said that despite his party’s validation, attempts to postpone the elections are still ongoing. “I still do not rule out that this is the intention with other applications that postpone. But we’re already on the ballot and it’s a joy to all the Ecuadorian people who can decide their future and their destiny“, said the Economist At the location Public journalism. Last week, the candidate denounced an attempted “coup against democracy”. “There have been years of political persecution and threats against any correista candidate,” said the former director of the Central Bank of Ecuador. For his part, Correa retweeted a post from Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in which the former president celebrated the news with the icon V-shaped fingers.

Manage debt like Argentina did

In September of this year, the justice of Ecuador disqualified Correa from his candidacy for vice-presidency after being found guilty in a corruption case. Once this sentence was approved, the party looked for a figure known to the public to replace it. This is how they joined Rabascall, a 59-year-old sales engineer, who did journalism on Ecuadorian television for 13 years. On YouTube you can see some of the interviews the former progressive president gave him. These are spicy crosses where Rabascall denounces the contradictions of the leader of the Citizen Revolution (RC). However, the engineer does not hesitate to qualify Correa’s disqualification as a “political ban”. “When we made the alliance to unify progressivism, which originally led to the Arauz-Correa duo, Justice started to step on the accelerator. They handed down sentences against the former president in record time. A call that historically can last an average of two or three years came out in a matter of days. This is how the obstacles started, ”said the candidate.

For Rabascall, the process of persecution against Correismo is not yet over. Far from triumphalism, he took up what Arauz had underlined, concerning the government’s intention to postpone the elections. “Moreno is five months away from leaving office. He tried to privatize telephone companies, hydroelectric power stations, refineries and telecommunications, among others. Now they want to stay in power to implement these privatizations», Denounced the journalist. He also underlined that the traditional sectors of financial power, led by the presidential candidate of CREO, Guillermo Lasso, are at the origin of this accelerated re-establishment of neoliberalism in Ecuador. “Moreno came to power with the progressive and they say he betrayed Correa. But it’s not like that. He betrayed the Ecuadorian people who had chosen him to continue the CR process“Said the aspiring vice president.

In August this year, Moreno announced that Ecuador would receive a new loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), along with other organizations, for $ 7.5 billion. The current president will deliver to the government an external debt exceeding 50% of the GDP, according to calculations by the Latin American Strategic Center for Geopolitics (CELAG). For Correísmo, it is essential to establish a dialogue with this financial body in order to restructure these liabilities. Rabascall designates as horizon the negotiations carried out by the Argentine government with private capital. “As Alberto Fernández did, we have to say to the IMF: “Gentlemen, we cannot live up to the conditions that you have imposed on Ecuador.”. By 2021, the organization is forcing us to reduce salary costs by $ 3 billion. It would mean reduce health, education, security and justice»Said the engineer. At the same time, he argued that with a reduction of this magnitude, the country’s institutions would be in danger. “If we don’t come to an agreement, we’re sorry, but we won’t bring our people to their knees“Said the reporter.

Up in the polls

The UNES formula is moving forward at full speed to travel the country and succeed in presenting its government program. Rabascall recognizes that this is the challenge. However, he is confident about what is to come. “In all surveys, we are in the first place. We have a lot of chances even to win in one round, that’s why they are so scared»Said the engineer. The Ecuadorian press figures give him the reason. The place Pichincha Communications revealed an investigation by analyst Omar Maluk Salem which shows Arauz with 40.1% intention to vote. Second appears Lasso with 30.9 percent. The third is Yaku Perez, of the indigenous Pachakutik party, with 13 percent. Another study from the consulting firm Click on Studio last November, shows the formula of UNES with 41% and Lasso with 19.1% of the vote. However, over 40 percent of the population was undecided.

The victory of Luis Arce in Bolivia, Alberto Fernandez in Argentina and Andrés Manuel López Obrador in Mexico, show a resumption of progressivism on a continental scale. Rabascall argues that if they win the election, their goal will be to reclaim continental alliances. “We progressives in Latin America and the Caribbean have not understood the need to be united. We must save the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) to build true regional integration“Said the running mate.