Ecuador’s ‘banana baron’ throws his hat in the presidential ring for the sixth time

Guayaquil businessman Alvaro Noboa announced Saturday that he will make another run for the presidency. Sometimes referred to as the “banana baron” because of his large holdings of banana plantations, Noboa led current president, Rafael Correa, in 2006 in the first primary but lost in the run-off election.

Alvaro Noboa

He also ran and lost in 1998, 2002, 2009 and 2013.

Once considered the richest man in Ecuador, Noboa provided few details Saturday of his policies. In the past, he has called himself an “old-style politician.” In 2002, he famously promised to build houses for poor coastal families if they voted for him.

Noboa made headlines in 2010 when his Hacienda La Clementina, a massive banana plantation in Guayas Province, was seized by the government for tax evasion. The government claimed he owed almost half a billion dollars. He briefly moved to Florida but was able to return to Ecuador following negotiations with the internal revenue service.