the incredible campaign ad of candidate Andrés Arauz, offering voters $ 250 ahead of the election

Just over a week before Ecuador’s February 7 presidential elections, polls suggest it would be the candidate of Correísmo, the economist Andres Arauz, who would win in the first round, But it should go to the ballot.

Polls indicate he would collect 37.4% of the vote, which would force him to a second round, possibly with former banker Guillermo Lasso, who currently appears in second place with 24.3% of the vote.

Arauz, who had already generated noise for some of his proposals, returned to generate waves in recent days for a “generous” campaign notice that enters the waters of questionable legality.

In a video of just over 30 seconds, the candidate informed the population that he could pass through party headquarters across the country this Friday to withdraw $ 250 because of a grant he promised to all families if he were to win the presidency.

The video also states that each person should wear a ID card in order to receive the money.

On his electoral platform in 2020, Arauz had already launched his proposal at the origin of this benign progress: a promise to keep $ 1000 to 1000 families in the event of election, to be returned in the first days of his mandate.

Beyond the risky strategy of spending money on the account that you could only get back if you win the election, the initiative echoes some of the worst electoral practices, including vote purchase.

This isn’t Arauz’s only proposal that has drawn criticism. Your promise to invest $ 3 billion in infrastructure works in the country, he has been attacked for the lack of details on how Ecuador could, in a context like the current one, finance such a mission.

In recent days, Arauz was once again in the eye of the storm after the release of his statements during the presidential debate in Ecuador where he assured that Alberto Fernández had assured him of the delivery of “4 million doses of vaccines against COVID-19 “.

Arauz’s statements have been questioned by the current Ecuadorian Minister of Health, Juan Carlos Zevallos, who refuted his remarks at a press conference.

“It’s ridiculous for two reasons, the first because Mr. (Alberto) Fernández, no matter how president of a Republic (Argentina), only has power if he is the owner of AstraZeneca (.. .) it does not match, It is at the company AstraZeneca», Declared the minister, who, moreover, is also in difficulty to have first vaccinated his relatives.

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Although Arauz is only 35 years old, has a long history, so many in the academic field as in that of management. He was Managing Director of the Banks of the Bank of Ecuador between 2011 and 2013. Subsequently, between 2015 and 2017, he was Minister Coordinating Knowledge and Human Talent in the government of Rafael Correa.

He holds a degree in economics and mathematics, as well as a master’s degree in development economics and a doctorate in financial economics. Arauz speaks four languages: Spanish, English, French and Russian.

After Lenin Moreno came to power, Arauz moved away from administrative posts and devoted himself to academic research. At the end of 2017, he founded the Dollarization Observatory with a group of economists, an organization dedicated to the production of reflection and reflection on economic issues.

In the same spirit as Rafael Correa, Arauz is a Latin Americanist convinced. In this sense, in 2020 he was appointed member of the executive council of the Progressive International, which also includes the former vice president of Bolivia, Álvaro García Linera, the former foreign minister of Brazil, Celso Amorín and Correa himself.

Clarín editorial staff