Ecuadorian candidate seeks to calm investors in New York

The socialist candidate who won the first round of presidential elections of Ecuador had lunch this week with investors in New York to try to persuade them that don’t panic if he wins.

Andres Arauz He promised to offer investors legal certainty if he is victorious in the second round of April 11, as well as the possibility of invest in industries such as telecommunications and agricultureHe said in an interview with Ecuadorian TV channel Telerama.

The candidate also met during his trip to United States with the staff of International Monetary Fund, according to his campaign team and the fund’s press service.

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Arauz, 36, was elected by the former president Rafael Correa, which had strained relations with bondholders after default of more than $ 3 billion in debt in 2008. The country’s dollar bonds strengthened ahead of the Feb.7 vote, while Arauz adopted a more conciliatory tone and relaxed his anti-IMF rhetoric.

On Tuesday, he met with investors for lunch with the intention of defusing concerns about his economic plans, according to Victor Sierra, CEO of Torino Capital LLC, who coordinated the meeting.

Arauz has promised to distribute within the first week of taking office US $ 1,000 to one million families in need to be paid with central bank reserves. He often criticized austerity measures demanded by the IMF, in what 2020 granted $ 4 billion in emergency loans to Ecuador.

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As it stands, it is likely that Arauz faces career banker Guillermo Lasso in the second round. With 99.93% of the votes counted, Arauz obtained 32.7% of valid votes, while Lasso had 19.7%, which places him slightly ahead of the party candidate Indigenous Pachakutik Yaku perez, who got 19.4%. Whoever wins will take office on May 24.

Wednesday, Ecuadorian dollar bonds mature in 2040 they fell about half a cent on Wednesday to 43 cents on the US dollar, the lowest level in just over a week.

EuDr