What is at stake in the August election is something that far exceeds the short period of eighteen months that the authorities emerging from it will have to do. On the contrary, it could take only a few days for the Presidency and the Legislature to turn around in various aspects. It is enough to take into account the economic situation in which the country will find itself at the end of this year to predict the desperation that will be felt by whoever would take power. It is no coincidence that none of the candidates put the economic topic at the center of their agenda. If they did, and especially if they acted responsibly, they would be forced to accept that adjustment will be inevitable.

News about the August 20 elections in Ecuador.

Those who touched on this topic very thinly and with a lot of ignorance announced that they will reach for international reserves. If they did, they would cause an immediate crisis and open up an unmanageable situation in the medium term. Dollarization could not be sustained because of the effects it would have on the financial system and in the fiscal sphere. This would come to an end in a shorter period of time if the binomial correísta triumphed, as it would be very likely that the vice president would insist on the proposal to issue the misnamed electronic money he made while running for president. All of this would have worsened if the option to stop the exploitation and export of oil from Yasuní had prevailed in the consultations.

Obviously, none of this is said, because in the campaign it is important to get votes, and it is already known that a good part of them come from those who are treated like stupid sheep who meekly follow whoever leads them to the slaughterhouse.

The elections in August are more important than those that will be held… in 2025…

In addition to the future of the economy, these elections will also be used to determine whether the pincer operation will be carried out, which is designed to achieve impunity for those accused and convicted of corruption. The first steps have already been taken by the control of the Council for Citizen Participation and Social Control, which defined the dismissal of the Attorney General as its main and only task. The same people who defended the plagiarism of former Vice President Jorge Glas, verified and admitted by himself, are now demanding the dismissal of the official who has become the main stumbling block for the cancellation of the sentences. Coincidentally, she is the subject of death threats, as is lawyer Juan Esteban Guarderas, who is contesting through legal processes the election campaign that brought victory to several members of that Council. In short, the pincers are missing a small part of the arm, which is an operation from the justice system. It failed them because of the clumsiness with which they acted, but it would be feasible if they had another chance to raise their hand to justice.

Indeed, eighteen months is not a short time to make progress in demolishing the country. What is being elected is not only the transitional Government and the Assembly. The elections in August are more important than those that will have to happen almost immediately in 2025, because the latter will depend on what happens in those eighteen months, or rather, in a few days or weeks of that period. (OR)