Implications of Ecuador's Presidential Election First Round

(CRISTINA VEGA RHOR/AFP via Getty Images)

Ecuadorean presidential candidate Yaku Perez (L) and his partner French-Brazilian Manuela Picq (R) speak with an OAS member during a meeting with his competitor Guillermo Lasso, CNE and OAS members, at the National Electoral Council (CNE) in Quito, on February 12, 2021.

Results from Ecuador’s first round of presidential elections indicate a likely return of populism, a rejection of the economic reform process being supported by the IMF, and the growing popularity of an environmentally-focused political movement. On Feb. 7, Ecuador held its first round of presidential elections, narrowing the field of sixteen candidates to two, in preparation for the second round of presidential elections scheduled for April 11. Widespread popular frustration with the political establishment led 1.2 million of the 9.5 million voters to cast null ballots. Left-wing populist Andrés Arauz of the Union for Hope coalition, won a spot in the runoff election with an estimated 31.5% of the vote, emerging as the favored candidate to win the second round. Environmentalist indigenous leader Yaku Pérez and centrist business-friendly Guillermo Lasso are virtually tied at around 20% of the vote for the second spot.