Luis Arce and Andrés Arauz agreed on the need …

At the time of the take-over which will take place this Sunday at the Plurinational Legislative Assembly, the elected president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, shared an interview with Ecuador’s presidential candidate Andrés Arauz, where they agreed on the need to “achieve regional integration” and expressed hope with the construction of “a new progressive wave“which leave behind dictatorships and coups d’état.

“The message from the Bolivian people was very clear: no more dictatorships, no more coups, no more abuse by the oligarchies. It was a conscious vote, absolutely opposed to anything that the return to neoliberalism meant, ”said Arce of the electoral triumph of the Movement for Socialism, in statements to the La Pizarra program of the AM750.

In the same vein, Arauz underlined the impact of the electoral victory in Bolivia at the regional level, to which is added the plebiscite in Chile, where it was imposed to reform the Constitution of Augusto Pinochet. “They are leaving us a very clear signal in Ecuador. We are no longer willing to accept dictatorships, old or modern, worst institutional impositions that wanted to pervert justice for the purpose of persecution, ”Ecuador said and noted that the people of his country“ were enthusiastically taking notes on what had happened in Bolivia ”.

Regarding the economic challenges Latin America is facing Arce explained that in the short term, it is about overcoming the damage caused by the pandemic, “which marked the internal market and deeply damaged the productive apparatus”. At the same time, he warned that “globalization is disappearing” and that it is time for “neo-protectionism” where “The large countries will therefore prefer to conclude bilateral agreements rather than multilateralism, therefore in Latin America, which should lead us to greater integration.“.

For his part, Arauz agreed with the Bolivian president that the priority is to serve the most vulnerable families. “Many have seen their income level cut in half from what happened six months ago; 80 percent of the population have seen their income cut in half,” he said. Looking to the future, he assured that it will be necessary “to diversify the productive offer in order to find new niches around the world in this context of structural change resulting from the post-pandemic”.

Regarding the electoral campaign in Ecuador, presidential candidate Correísmo said that citizens know that “among all the options, only one will allow them to regain their dignity, their future, their employment opportunities. We injected this energy, this renewal, this youthfulness of ideas and creativity, I think they were received with great approval. We are totally dedicated to the country. “

By way of advice to face the electoral process, Arce assured that the most important thing is to listen to the population: “You have to have the virtue of being able to listen to everything, good and bad, to learn from everything. and offer solutions because our people need solutions to your problems. ”In this sense, he sent Arauz a hopeful message by stating that in February, they “will celebrate a resounding victory that they will win in Ecuador“.

Insurmountable counterpoint

At the end of the conversation, there was only one difference in criteria. When the two were consulted for their football preferences, the generation gap was evident.

“If you were to play a game for which chips… the best Maradona or the best Messi?” They asked.

Arce opted for “El pelusa” and Arauz for “La flega”.