Through the conclusion of his most recent campaign, Noboa has remained neutral about the limits of his authority.
Ecuador’s constitution requires that public officials take a leave of absence to run for re-election.
Noboa, who is in a fight with his vice president Veronica Abad, did not opt to sign two executive orders to prevent her from transferring power. Just this week, the Constitutional Court of Ecuador declared both unconstitutional.
After the ruling, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), a powerful Indigenous rights coalition, blasted Noboa for treating the presidency like “a private hacienda”.
“No authoritarian manoeuvre can hide the truth: Noboa’s government is riddled with irregularities, abuses and contempt for democracy”, CONAIE wrote in a statement.
“We have never trusted this government”, the acting president of CONAIE, Zenaida Yasacama, told Al Jazeera. His treatment of his vice president hurts me as a woman, he said.
Still, Noboa has campaigned for a second, full term on the basis that he will declare war against “the old politics” of Ecuador.
On advertisements, Noboa stands in a white T-shirt against a purple background, next to slogans for “one single round” — an appeal to voters to make Sunday’s victory so massive, no run-off election is needed.
It’s a pointedly informal look, one designed to appeal to Ecuador’s younger generations. Noboa is a favorite of young voters, according to Garcia Nice. Some even carry cardboard cut-outs of the leader.
That demographic could give those with the highest voter ID, especially those who are 16-year-old teenagers, who are on average only 28 years old, a significant advantage in the polls.
Yet, Noboa’s charisma as a young leader will only take him so far, Hurtado warned.
If he wins a full four-year term this year, he won’t have the benefit of the doubt that comes with being a relative newcomer to politics.
Source: Aljazeera
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