Noboa is vulnerable in November election, opposition says; Cuencana is world race walking champ; Fujimori leads in Peru election, faces runoff; Mazar recovers

President Daniel Noboa is in a vulnerable position ahead of the November regional elections, according to analysts and party officials. “I see the opposition making major gains in the election despite his efforts to intimidate the challengers,” says Geovanni Atarihuana, director of the Popular Unity party. “Because the president is in a weakened position, the election result could force a change in the direction of his government.”

Atarihuana was one five panelists on Ecuavisa’s Politically Correct Sunday news program.

Cuenca’s Paula Torres won the World Race Walking Championship Sunday in Brasilia.

“When you consider that Noboa began with 70% support and now has 70% opposition, you have a clear picture of the situation,” he said.

Political commentator and former assemblyman Jorge Peñafiel agreed and said Noboa has turned to legal attacks on his opponents to “stop the bleeding” ahead of the election. “He is having the electoral commission and the prosecutor’s office, which he controls, do his dirty work. He has put the mayor of Guayaquil in jail and disqualified the entire Citizens Revolution movement over legal claims that have yet to be proven in court.”

Peñafiel added that Noboa is attacking a wide range of provincial and city officials ahead of the election, including Cuenca Mayor Cristian Zamora, because he fears their local support. “Sadly, the president is using tactics that remind us of the days of Rafael Correa.”

Cuencana is world race walking champ
Cuenca’s Paula Torres won the World Race Walking Championship Sunday in Brasilia, Brazil, setting a new record in the process. The 25-year-old covered the 42-kilometer track in 3 hours, 24 minutes and 37 seconds, far ahead of second-place finisher Sofia Fiorini of Italy.

Torres, who finished third in last year’s championship in Tokyo credited her coach Andrés Chocho for “encouraging and pushing” her to victory, as she worked through training injuries to achieve her championship goal.

Torres follows in the race-walking tradition of Cuencano Jefferson Perez, the former Parque Calderon shoeshine boy who won Ecuador’s first Olympic Gold Medal in 1996.

Fujimori leads in Peru vote, faces runoff
Right wing candidate Keiko Fujimori has claimed victory in the first round of Peru’s presidential and legislative elections. Exit polls and partial vote counts on Monday showed the 50-year-old daughter of disgraced former President Alberto Fujimori ahead with 16.6% support, but well short of the 50 percent needed to win outright.

There was a statistical tie for second place and a spot in the two-person run-off, with former Lima Mayor Rafael López and centrist sociologist Jorge Nieto polling about 12%.

If no candidate ⁠clears the 50 percent threshold, ⁠the two most-voted-for ⁠candidates would ⁠advance to a second round, scheduled for June 7.

Mazar recovers
Following a three-week drop in water level, the Mazar reservoir in eastern Azuay Province has regained two meters. The water level dropped to 2,136 meters above sea level April 4 before recovering to 2,138 on Saturday. Mazar provides water to three hydroelectric plants capable for producing almost 40% of the country’s electricity.

CelecSur, which manages electric power in southern Ecuador, said recent rains have reversed the downward trend and stabilized the water level at the reservoir. It said the weather forecast calls for continuing rain through early May which should continue to boost the reservoir level.