González and Noboa prepare for debate two weeks before the presidential runoff

Luisa González and Daniel Noboa finished preparations for Sunday night’s presidential debate with experts saying González needs a dominant performance to overtake Noboa in the October 15 runoff election.

Presidential candidates Luisa González and Daniel Noboa meet in Sunday night’s debate.

Six public opinion polls authorized by the National Electoral Council show Noboa leading by 5% to 12%.

González spent the weekend in Mexico, meeting with members of her Citizens Revolution party, including several who served in the administration of former president Rafael Correa. During the visit, González met with Mexican presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum.

Noboa, of the Democratic Action party, continued to campaign through Saturday afternoon, meeting with university students and provincial official in Tulcán and in a moderated forum in Quito.

According to her campaign managers, González will attempt to portray Noboa as the right-wing candidate of business interests and make a special appeal to young voters, who favored Noboa by a wide margin in the first presidential primary,

On Thursday, Correa agreed with analysts that the debate is González’s best chance to overcome Noboa’s lead. “Yes, she is behind and she must show decisively that she is the candidate of the people and not of private interests,” he said, adding that he believed voter sentiment was shifting in González’s favor.

Political commentators believe Noboa’s strong performance in the first debate helped propel him into the runoff. Noboa went from an average to 6% in the polls to 24% at the ballot box while González dropped several points.

The 7 p.m. Sunday debate will focus on economic issues, including the use of the U.S. dollar as Ecuador’s currency; crime and security; government and legislative functions; social problems; and El Niño preparations.

The debate will be broadcast on all Ecuadorian television channels.