RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The left-wing alliance “Union for Hope” (Unión por la Esperanza, UNES) has announced its candidates for the presidential elections in Ecuador in February 2021. In a video conference on Tuesday, the largely unknown Andrés Arauz was proposed for the presidency, with ex-president Rafael Correa as vice-president.
The 35-year-old Arauz is a renowned economist who has been working on his doctoral thesis at the National Autonomous University of Mexico for the past few years. In the past, he held a number of posts during Correa’s presidency, including senior positions at the Central Bank, the National Planning Authority, and the Ministry of Economy. Most recently, he was Minister of Knowledge and Human Talent, and as such coordinated the areas of education, culture, and universities.
He founded the Internet platform Observatorio de Dolarisación and repeatedly and publicly criticized Lenín Moreno’s government’s economic and financial policy by means of technical opinions on borrowing from the International Monetary Fund and debt policy.
Arauz is also on the Progressive International Council, a network of left-wing intellectuals and politicians in which leftist ex-presidents such as Correa, Evo Morales (Bolivia) and Lula da Silva (Brazil), as well as intellectuals Noam Chomsky, Yanis Varufakis, Naomi Klein, and many others have been members for several years. He is also an active member of the Puebla group, a network of left-wing and progressive politicians.
Arauz made it clear in his candidacy speech that he intends to return to the policies of the Correa government. He said he was confident that the UNES alliance had the necessary knowledge to fight the country’s severe crises. Should they win the elections, a Truth Commission will be established to investigate the repression during last October’s protests as well as the political persecution of the “Correistas”. The recent corruption cases in the healthcare sector would also be investigated.
According to the electoral authority’s guidelines, candidates must be confirmed at so-called “primarias” (primaries) of parties and electoral alliances. This also includes parliamentary candidates. Pierina Correa, activist of the “Civil Revolution” and Rafael Correa’s sister, is to head the list.
For the “Parlamento Andino” of the Andean Community (Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela) the UNES proposes Veronica Arias, currently a member of the National Assembly for the Province of Loja.
However, Correa’s candidacy is not certain. If there is no change in the rules for enrolling candidates, which must be done in person, he will not be able to participate, as he lives in Belgium and fears being arrested when entering Ecuador. The trial of his case is still pending and the last possible legal decision is awaited. However, if he is able to enroll in Brussels, he would be granted immunity, as candidates for public office may not be arrested.