The victory of Daniel Noboa, 35, a father of two, in the Ecuadorean presidential poll, has brought hope and cheer to a country wracked by economic crisis, drug trafficking and violence. During the campaign, one of the contestants, Fernando Villavicencio, was killed, which made the political atmosphere tense and gloomy. He has promised a new future for his country, jobs for the young, end to drug trafficking by tightening security at ports and airports, and creating prisoner ships to control prison riots. He has also promised to bring in foreign investment.

He has won 52 per cent of the vote as against Luisa Gonzalez’s 48 per cent. Both Noboa and Gonzalez appealed to the young. A quarter of the 13 million Ecuadoreans belong to the age group between 18 and 29. Eduardo Chavez, 23, a student, said, “We need new blood and not the old politics that have done so much harm. Our president should waste no time and work very hard to put the brakes on insecurity.” The voting was 82.3 per cent, a historic high.

While Noboa’s political agenda promised jobs and foreign investment, Gonzalez promised welfare measures of former president and her mentor, Rafael Correa, who still wields political power despite being convicted for corruption. Noboa’s term as president will be a short one because it comes in the middle of incumbent Guillermo Lasso’s presidency, who calls an early election to avoid impeachment. So, the new president will serve the remaining term, which ends in May 2025. Noboa will be able to contest for the presidency at the end of this term. Ecuador’s economic problems began with the coronavirus epidemic, and they have worsened since then. Many of the Ecuadoreans were forced to migrate because of the distress conditions at home.

Noboa’s National Democratic Action, which he formed before the election, stood third in the national legislative elections held in August. So, the young president for all his enthusiasm to turn Ecuador around has a tough challenge on hand. First, he has a limited time to prove his credentials. If he managed to do some of what he has promised, then he might hope to win the next presidential term in 2025. But given the daunting situation, it is not going to be an easy task. It is also felt that the success of his government will depend on the people he chooses to form the government.

The victory is a matter of personal satisfaction for Noboa because his father, Alvaro Noboa, the banana tycoon, had unsuccessfully fought many presidential polls. Despite hailing from a rich family, Noboa seems ready to deal with the problems faced by the poor and the aspiring people, and he understands that the economy needs to rev up. Noboa seems to trust in market solutions to Ecuador’s economic problems and he can hope to succeed because welfare populism as tried in many of the South American countries does not seem to have fared well. Nor did the purely market way as pursued by former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro appeal to people. Noboa is then treading a fine line between a rigid right economic programme and a left-of-centre populism.

The young president-elect is optimistic and hopes to accomplish much. He said, “Tomorrow we start work for this new Ecuador, we start to rebuild a country seriously battered by violence, by corruption and by hate.” He thanked his wife, parents and God, and the young people who became part of his new project, and described his political project “whose purpose was to give back a smile to the country.” It is this positive political message that seems to have impressed the voters to vote for young Noboa