The average voter has a fragile memory and tends to remember only positive things from the past.

Luisa González is perhaps the friendly face of correísmo, since she was only a second-rate official in that authoritarian and corrupt regime (although the supervisor silenced her, for $880,473, for misusing presidential planes, which flew to tax havens for no reason).

But that does not prevent her from being a candidate, along with Andrés Arauz, Correa, Glas, Mero, Duarte and others accused of corruption (some prisoners, others fugitives, others acquitted).

It is forbidden to forget

Many indigenous peoples seem to have forgotten the persecution they suffered at the hands of the Coreist regime, which included the assassination of several indigenous leaders (Bosco Wisuma, Freddy Taish, José Tendentza, Bairon Morocho); the blows received by Yaku Pérez, his partner Manuela Picq, Salvador Quishpe and other leaders of Conaie and Pachakutik. They also seem to forget that the Government took over the seat of Conaia (2014), which was later returned to them by Moreno.

Social organizations seem to forget that during the Correa decade more than 800 social leaders were arrested, leading to the criminalization of social protest; This included cases such as 10 from Luluncot, 12 from Central Técnica, 21 from Arbolito, etc. Karla Calapaqui documents in her book Criminalization of Protests: 2007-2015, victims correísmo more than 700 arrests, beatings and torture for social protests, as well as some murders.

UP/MPD leaders have forgotten that Correa dissolved the National Union of Educators (UNE) in 2016, liquidated its assets and appropriated $405 million from the severance fund for Ecuadorian teachers, UNE’s financial entity. These organizations forget that correísmo created parallel organizations to divide the social movement, such as the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT), Red de Maestros, etc.

Does society forget that there are at least 35 unsolved murders, including 15 journalists and people who denounced corruption, such as General Jorge Gabela, Quinto Pazmiño and his wife, María Chancay, Fausto Valdivieso, among others?

(…) this does not prevent her from being a candidate, together with Andrés Arauz, Correa, Glas, Mero, Duarte and others accused of corruption

Voters forget that there are reports of acts of corruption that the late president of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Jorge Rodríguez, estimated at at least $35,000 million in bribes, overpriced public contracts, tax evasion, commissions on oil exports and imports of derivatives, public debt and current spending. Other estimates calculate the damage to the state at 30,000 to 70,000 million dollars, between 10 and 20% of tax revenues over 10 years.

We cannot forget that Correa, the former vice president of Glas, 10 former ministers, 4 members of parliament, and the directors of IESS, Petroecuador, the Secretariat for Intelligence Affairs and the legal secretary of the Presidency were investigated and convicted.

In 2021, Arauz said he aspires to extend Correísmo’s government from 20 to 50 years; and to promote “good de-dollarization”.

We hope that the citizens’ memory is working. (OR)