Ecuador leftists fail to reach a consensus; Noboa gains in latest polls; Cuenca rivers run low; Citizens Revolution refuses to condemn Venezuelan election

A series of Tuesday and Wednesday meetings of political leftist movements failed to form a common front to challenge President Daniel Noboa in the February election. “We agreed on many objectives and agreed to continue our dialog but we were not able to coalesce around a presidential candidate for next year election,” said United Workers’ Front (FUT) spokeswoman Andrea Salinas.

Among the groups attending the Quito meetings were Citizens Revolution, Pachakutik, the Socialist Party, Popular Unity Front, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie), Seguro Campesino, the Unión Nacional de Educadores (UNE) and FUT.

Citizens Revolution President Luisa González

The major point of contention, according to several attendees, was former president Rafael Correa and his role in the Citizens Revolution movement. “It was clear from the beginning that CR wanted the other movements to support a candidate picked by Rafael Correa and this is not acceptable to most of us,” said UNE assistant director Ricardo Segovia. “We support most of the CR positions but want Correa, who is a divisive figure, out of the picture.”

Popular Unity party director, Geovanny Atarihuana, went further, saying there could be “no reconciliation with Correismo,” as it is currently structured. “Many leftists have been betrayed and punished by Rafael Correa and will not form alliances with him,” he said. Atarihuana agreed with Segovia that Popular Unity is in accordance with some of Citizens Revolution objectives and that “there are many good people” in movement. “The problem is at the top,” he said.

Although he said he would not “absolutely rule out” an alliance with Citizens Revolution, Conaie President and announced Ecuador presidential candidate Leonidas Iza, said that a candidacy backed by Rafael Correa could not win in the general election.

Noboa gains in new polls
Reversing several months of declining poll numbers, President Daniel Noboa made modest gains in two new voter surveys. In a Comunicaliza poll released Monday, Noboa’s popularity stood at 55.6%, an increase of 4% from a poll conducted in late June. A Click survey published Tuesday gave Noboa 56.8% support, a 3.7% improvement from early July.

Among potential challengers to Noboa in the February elections, Citizens Revolution, Gustavo Jalkh and Luisa González polled 15.4% and 14.8% respectively in the Comunicaliza poll.

According to Comunicaliza, Ecuadorians say the country’s biggest problems are insecurity and crime (34.1%), lack of employment (16.8%), a poor economy (11%), political corruption (8.1%) and poverty (6.7%).

Cuenca rivers run low
Cuenca has gone 20 days without significant rainfall, city utility ETAPA reported Thursday. “This is a concern for our potable water service as well as the hydroelectric facilities downstream,” the utility said.

ETAPA said that all four rivers passing through Cuenca have seen drops in water flow in the past three weeks. “This is not unexpected, since we have entered the dry season, but it is of special concern given conditions of the national electricity grid,” the utility said. “The water in the rivers that run through the city feed the reservoirs that power the hydro plants in eastern Azuay Province,” it added.

Citizens Revolution refuses to condemn Venezuela election
The president of Revolución Ciudadana Luisa González said Wednesday that her party is not supporting Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in the controversy over Sunday’s election. “We are simply waiting to see how the voting process there works out,” she said in response to an Ecuavisa interviewer’s question about why National Assembly RC members did not support a resolution condemning fraud in the Venezuela presidential election. “Our members were not saying fraud was not committed and were not endorsing Maduro, they were simply not willing to jump to conclusions before all the facts are known.”

González attempted to avoid follow-up questions regarding Maduro, saying she was focused on Ecuador, but admitted being sympathetic for the eight million Venezuelans who have left Venezuela, including an estimated 500,000 in Ecuador. “Yes, there is a humanitarian crisis, and this cannot be ignored and yes, it has a major impact on Ecuador.”

Asked by the interviewer if she is aware that the “vast majority” of Ecuadorians believe the Venezuelan election was fraudulent, González said, “Yes, I have seen the polls.”