Due to the effect of “electoral silence”, this column cannot make a statement either for or against any of the candidates who will participate in the elections this Sunday. The campaign has ended. Alea iacta est. The die has already been cast and all that remains is for us to fulfill our civic duty and choose the future of our country in the elections.

This election campaign will go down in history as one of the darkest moments of our Republican era. A turning point where the power of mobsters became so great that they had no qualms about killing our nation’s presidential candidate in broad daylight. A direct attack on our democracy itself, which sends a very clear message to every citizen: “In Ecuador, we rule, not you.” In this dark hour, Ecuadorians must unite in the crusade against organized crime and vote with the knowledge that the winner of the election will play a decisive role in this fierce battle.

But all is not lost and despite the horror we face, there is something positive about this campaign that is worth highlighting. And that is that compared to other electoral processes, such as the one two years ago, it is undeniable that the quality of the political debate has improved considerably. Whether we love them or hate them, the truth is that Ecuador has not had a list of candidates with such good academic background for a long time. Furthermore, each of these candidates knew how to shape themselves well and put on the table an option and style of government different from those of their rivals. We are no longer faced with an undifferentiated mass of opportunistic politicians, each repeating ad nauseam the typical populist speeches of the tropics.

Furthermore, although most of the candidates are supported by traditional parties, the truth is that they are all new faces. Young, energetic people who still have a long future ahead of them in the political arena. We are not, then, facing a campaign monopolized by the “same old guys,” but rather an influx of new blood, one that the mummified politics of our nation desperately needed.

But not only that, but I think that a greater degree of maturity can be observed in our citizens. Before, political pundits praised that debates are a waste of time, they cannot move a single vote. Our electorate, they argued, was too apathetic and ignorant to care about them. Today’s reality is different. Despite the inconsistencies, all pollsters agree that last Sunday’s debate had visible effects on the candidates’ performance, whether positive or negative. This is a promising sign that our citizens are increasingly interested in the exchange of ideas and the intellectual quality of candidates.

In this very dark moment in our history, then, there are some rays of light. Let’s hope this will be the beginning of a new policy. (OR)