Yearbook 2017
Ecuador. In the second round of the presidential election
April 2, Lenín Moreno from the ruling party País Alliance
(AP) won with just over 51% of the vote over main opponent
Guillermo Lasso from the center-right party CREO. The
turnout was high: 83% of the eligible voters. Moreno was
installed in office May 24 with promises of combating
poverty and a reduced state administration.
According to
Countryaah.com, some of Moreno's representatives, former President Rafael
Correa's ministers, remained in government. However, the
year was dominated by a growing political conflict between
various factions within the AP, which centered around
President Moreno and President Correa, respectively. Already
in his installation speech, Moreno said that his
presidential style would be significantly different from the
confrontational and person-centered views that Correa, an
outspoken supporter of left-wing leaders Hugo Chávez and
Ricardo Maduro of Venezuela, had. He also distanced himself
from Correa politically through stated aspirations to
reconsider some elements of the leftist politics that Correa
conducted during his presidency 2007-17. The crisis worsened
when Vice President Jorge Glas, supporter of Correa, in
October, accused of corruption in connection with the
scandal with the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht
was arrested. Moreno then chose to replace him with María
Alejandra Acuña. The Correa faction saw the measure as
purely political, and the tone was significantly increased
with allegations and counter-accusations of treason and
corruption. The climax came on October 31 when the party
leadership kicked Moreno from the post of party secretary
and replaced him with Correa veteran Ricardo Patiño. The
crack became so deep that some AP members voted with the
opposition in congressional votes where the Correa
supporters are twice as many as Moreno's supporters. and the
tone was significantly increased with accusations and
counter-accusations of treason and corruption. The climax
came on October 31 when the party leadership kicked Moreno
from the post of party secretary and replaced him with
Correa veteran Ricardo Patiño. The crack became so deep that
some AP members voted with the opposition in congressional
votes where the Correa supporters are twice as many as
Moreno's supporters. and the tone was significantly
increased with accusations and counter-accusations of
treason and corruption. The climax came on October 31 when
the party leadership kicked Moreno from the post of party
secretary and replaced him with Correa veteran Ricardo
Patiño. The crack became so deep that some AP members voted
with the opposition in congressional votes where the Correa
supporters are twice as many as Moreno's supporters.
Moreno also announced plans for a referendum on the
constitutional change that Correa passed in Congress in 2015
and that by eliminating re-election restrictions would open
the way for Correa's return in 2021.
Moreno received the largest electoral support in the
densely populated coastal provinces of Esmeraldas, Manabí
and Santa Elena, where Ecuador's oil industry is
concentrated. However, major technical and administrative
problems have affected the large Esmeralda refinery, which
has reduced the country's important oil exports. Together
with the historically low oil price on the world market and
the dominance of Correa supporters in Congress, it was
predicted that Moreno will have limited financial space to
implement reforms.
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