Social media responds to the nastiness of Sunday’s presidential debate with jokes and memes
“Don’t forget what El Mashi [Rafael Correa] told you. When you greet Noboa, remember you are an abused woman and DO NOT SMILE.”
Among the most popular subjects was President Daniel Noboa calling Luisa González “Rana René,” (René the frog), her Muppet code name in cell phone texts by former Council of Citizen Participation and Social Control counselor Augusto Verduga. The chats are part of the evidence in the Ligados case investigation against Verduga and two others.
Luisa González as “René the Frog” was especially popular on social media.
Another popular subject was González’s suggestion that Noboa is a drug addict with ties to drug cartels. She challenged Noboa to take an anti-doping test after the debate.
A third subject of memes was González’s refusal to smile as she shook hands with Noboa prior to the debate.
“Guys, I tried, but I couldn’t understand the questions.”
González’s frequent invocation, “No, Noboa, don’t lie,” appeared to have been borrowed from former President Guillermo Lasso’s 2021 debate with Correista candidate Andrés Arauz [“No Andrés, don’t lie again”] and was also fodder for jokes.
According to Guayaquil sociology professor Jorge Feijoo, it’s no surprise that the debate is the butt jokes and memes. “The overall impression is that the candidates went off script to attack each other,” he said. “We’ve seen a veritable avalanche of jokes and satirical memes on the internet following the debate.”
Here are more of the most popular memes.
Many believed that González borrowed her frequent introduction, “No, Noboa, don’t lie,” from former President Guillermo Lasso’s 2021 debate with Andrés Arauz.
“At least I got something positive” … in reference to Gonzalez’s claim that Noboa is a drug addict and her suggestion that he take a drug test after the debate.
“We’re Ecuador. We’ll never let them make us into Venezuela.”
At the end of the debate, however, the candidates apologized to each other and all was well.
