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News > Ecuador

Ecuador's Decision: Job Creation or Capital Liberalization

  • Andres Arauz waves a flag of Ecuador, March 22, 2021.

    Andres Arauz waves a flag of Ecuador, March 22, 2021. | Photo: Twitter/ @ecuarauz

Published 22 March 2021
Opinion

The Socialist candidate Andres Arauz clearly defined what the Establishment intends to achieve: policies to allow the outflow of capital to tax havens.

Ecuador’s National Electoral Council (CNE) on Sunday organized the first and only debate between the presidential candidates who will face each other in the second electoral round that will take place on April 11

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During this event, the Creating Opportunities (CREO) candidate Guillermo Lasso spent his time attacking the Union for Hope (UNES) candidate Andres Arauz and justifying a neoliberal economic program.

Arauz proposes "tranquility for everyone"

The Leftist candidate emphasized the importance of promoting an economic model that is focused on job creation to ease the situation of millions of citizens who are "worried, anguished, and hurt" by President Lenin Moreno's mishandling of the pandemic.

The young economist recalled that the establishment has created a critical situation in which mothers live in fear of being fired and harassed by banks that ask them to pay their debts.

This economic harassment is also exercised against small farmers, producers, and merchants who work more and more but cannot increase their income because of a recession that has been amplified by austerity policies.

"We are going to put more dollars in the pockets of families," said Arauz, who harshly questioned the economic model embraced by Lasso, which aims to facilitate capital flight from the country.

"The Government must give peace of mind to all citizens and not just a few," the UNES candidate emphasized and promised to eliminate the taxes that aggravate the situation of small producers and restructure their debts.

To strengthen the monetary system based on dollarization, Arauz will promote policies to repatriate capital and increase demand in the short term.

The meme reads, "On leaving the TC television set where the presidential debate took place, Andres Arauz addressed the press. Candidate Guillermo Lasso decided not to give a statement and withdrew from the channel. Andres, you won again."

Lasso vowed to be concerned about poverty

The right-wing candidate presented himself as a self-made man who learned from a young age to work. Lasso vowed to be concerned about Ecuadorian families and the growing levels of unemployment among youth and women.

"Now people are not only demanding jobs but are hungry," said the banker who tried permanently to separate himself from the Moreno administration, which he has supported for the past four years.

Lasso also mentioned that he will keep the US dollar as free circulation currency in Ecuador and promised to promote "local and foreign investment to reactivate public works and the private sector."

The millionaire affirmed he would eliminate a tax hurting small producers while avoiding remembering that his own party proposed it in the National Assembly.

Although he promised he would provide 30-year loans at 1 percent interest to producers, Lasso avoided answering questions related to his private interests.

Arauz asked the banker why his properties are not legally registered in his name and demanded that he define his commitment to the country.

"If you had to choose between benefiting the population and your interests as a banker, what would you do?" the leftist politician told him. Lasso did not reply.

Given the absence of clear definitions, Arauz recalled that Lasso and his party have promoted laws and policies to benefit large non-productive entrepreneurs:

“This is not surprising. A few days ago, the Banco de Guayaquil asked authorities for changes in credit regulations to achieve more profits," the UNES candidate recalled.

Although Lasso rejected this last claim, he avoided offering details about what happened. Instead, the banker used his time to promote indiscriminate trade openness and policies aligned with Washington's agenda. Among them were his verbal attacks on Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

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