President, your victory is a testimony that democracy is possible even in the worst circumstances; that the voice of the youth can refresh the stale atmosphere of electoralism and that most people believe that it is possible, despite everything, to bet on renewed leadership. Their victory is a triumph for a hopeful country, but it is also proof that ours is a divided society, where illusions coexist with resentment and hatred with scant generosity.

His victory should nullify all pretensions to vanity, because that victory, firm, painstaking and pure, was born in a country tormented by violence and crime, resentment and politics understood as a perverse pact. And it is born, at the same time, from the hope of people who believe that it is possible to rebuild peace and restore the security necessary for work, education of children, nurturing decency and trust in authority.

His triumph belongs to Ecuador, this deformed Republic, this beautiful and beloved country, where it was possible to embrace each other without fear, to believe without doubt and to fight for its signs, without shame and with pride.

Will that country be possible? Such a challenge is in their hands, it is in the hands of politicians and members of parliament, their supporters and their opponents. It is also in our hands, but it depends in any case on the exercise of power, all powers, which is testimony to the transparency, commitment and loyalty of the leaders to the voters. It will be possible if solidarity has a place in the short and complex management that concerns all the holders of power, if selfishness is subordinated to the best interest of the community and if the law ceases to be a trick for the naive. All this will be possible if you mark your mandate with a message of firmness, unquestionable justice and constant commitment to the people who voted for you.

(…) to give space to a painful country and thereby increase the possibilities to see each other again as fellow citizens, neighbors…

But there are also those others, those who do not share the hopes derived from their triumph, there are those who are indifferent, disappointed, suspicious. Those who believe they are “enemies”. They are part of this country. It depends on your chivalry and your intelligence, President, to understand the magnitude of the challenge and their grave responsibility. And it depends on them, on the opponents, whether they will give space to the painful country and thereby increase the opportunities to see each other again as fellow citizens, neighbors and countrymen.

On the agenda are the dramas of economy, investment, work and education. Too many things really. But, first, there are factors that are far from numbers and balance: lost trust, destroyed institutions, minimal security to live without the anxiety that gnaws at so many people in these times. There are mothers, old people, young people, workers, businessmen. There are “those who leave” because they cannot find a future here, those who with admirable determination set out and face the adventure of creating a life in another country.

Huge responsibilities, Mr. President. The high hopes of many people. (OR)