The presidential debate of the second round had no big surprises and memorable moments. Within the framework of political correctness in which any foreigner who saw it would think that Ecuadorian politics is highly civilized and peaceful, both candidates learned their lesson, learned their numbers and presented their proposals in the most sophisticated way possible. At times it looked like a competition to see who is the smartest and knows – or remembers – the statistics of the national reality better. This is something significant, since it forced the candidates to prepare better; However, it seems to me that the format of the debate makes it a very technocratic and rote exercise and perhaps does not allow us to embarrass them and see the political essence of the candidates and their most strategic political interests.

For voting on the 15th

As for candidate Luisa González, I can point out that she was much better than in the first presidential debate. More authentic, without repeating the scenario like last time. In this sense, their performance was considered to be better. Overall, he asked good questions and answered well too, with a few evasions. As for candidate Daniel Noboa, I think his performance was very similar to last time: frugal, not very charismatic, with technical knowledge of some issues; but it was considered to be stagnating and perhaps not living up to the expectations it had created with its performance in the previous debate. It seemed to me that he wasted several of his questions and his answers were not at all convincing.

What worries me in the current situation? Two problems: the first is that it seems to me that a lot of faith is placed in the preparation and “technical” proposals of the candidates, while the reality is that I believe that none of them is ready to face the political, economic and social crisis that we are going through and the harsh scenario that we will have in 2024; maybe no one is. However, I believe that this focus on the candidate’s profile and his public policy proposals distracts from the short-term political and economic interests of the power groups these candidates represent.

Read the latest news about the elections in Ecuador

In this sense, it seems to me that if Luisa González wins, apart from trying to take measures that the financial context allows to contain the economic, social and security crisis we are experiencing, her strategic political interest is to pave the way for the political return of Rafael Correa. Is that necessarily a bad thing? I don’t know. What worries me about this course of action is that I believe it will not create a climate of political stability for the next year. On the other hand, if Daniel Noboa wins, besides trying to implement some of the proposals, without force or political alliances in the legislation or in the social field, perhaps his strategic interest is to use the power of the state in favor of the economic group ., which he represents from fiscal and tax points as well issues from public procurement.

In neither case is the scenario favorable; And besides the fact that I believe that the debate will not have a big impact on the electorate, we need to be more focused and concerned about what is really at stake in this election and for the near future of Ecuador. (OR)