Social Christians and Nebot throw their support behind Lasso in the presidential race

Creating what they call an “unbeatable coalition,” Ecuador’s Social Christian alliance decided Monday to support the presidential candidacy of Guillermo Lasso. Lasso, of the CREO movement, lost narrowly to President Lenin Moreno in the 2017 election and shares many of the political positions of Jaime Nebot, the Social Christian leader.

Guillermo Lasso

In creating the new alliance, the Social Democrats announced the end to the presidential candidacy of Cristina Reyes, nominated last week by the party. In a statement, Social Democrat and CREO leaders said that both parties would support independent slates of candidates for the National Assembly.

In a joint statement, the parties said the support of Lasso recognized their common “centrist and centrist-right political views” and “assured Guillermo Lasso a clear path to the presidency.” The statement continued: “Ecuador faces a health crisis as well as an economic crisis and needs strong leadership to find solutions. We are certain that the Lasso- [vice president] Alfredo Borrero ticket will show the way.”

Jaime Nebot

Political analysts agree that the agreement makes Lasso a strong favorite in the February election. “It is very possible that he could win in the first round,” says Juan Sebastian, an advisor to former President Rafael Correa. “With 17 other candidates in the race, the vote will be widely split, giving the big advantage to the Lasso coalition. The expectation that the left and center-left would mount a serious challenge has been diminished by in-fighting and the lack of an effective coalition.”

For Lasso to win in the first round of voting, February 7, he would need 40 percent of the vote and a 10 percent lead over the second-place finisher.