Daniel Noboa wins Ecuador's presidential election

April 15 ------ The mega-rich scion of a billion-dollar banana empire, Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa promises four more years of "iron fist" policies to tackle rampant drug gangs in his once-safe country. With a campaign of vanishingly short speeches and steely gazed photo ops, 37-year-old Noboa repelled a fierce challenge from his leftist rival Luisa Gonzalez to win reelection.

Noboa burst onto the political scene just two years ago, when he won a special election to become the youngest leader in Ecuador's history. He warned voters that "nothing gets solved in a year," asking them to keep faith with his tough-on-crime policies against mafia groups.

Born in the United States and a graduate of prestigious foreign universities, he has honed his image as a security hawk. He is frequently seen in a bulletproof vest accompanying military operations. But at other times, he's seen on Instagram in sportswear, strumming an acoustic guitar and humming a Goo Goo Dolls tune in English. Athletic and tattooed, Noboa avoids showmanship on stage, press conferences, and interviews, but doles out hugs and selfies along the way.

A trained sommelier, he once aspired to be a musician, tried to be vegetarian, collects chili peppers, and is passionate about cars, horses, and guitars, according to close family members. His close associates paint him as a man of routines and discipline: a balanced diet, protein shakes and daily runs of up to 10 kilometers. He rarely stays up late. His inner circle consists mainly of school friends, some of whom are part of his political team. He is married to Lavinia Valbonesi, a 26-year-old influencer, with whom he has two of his three children.

'More Soldiers'

Noboa defines himself as center-left but triumphed with the support of some right-wing factions and implements neoliberal economic policies. In the final stretch of the campaign, he sought the support of US President Donald Trump and suggested the return of foreign military bases, currently banned by law. He also announced an alliance with Erik Prince, founder of the controversial American security company Blackwater, whose employees killed and wounded dozens of civilians in Iraq. "We need more soldiers to fight this war 70% of the world's cocaine passes through Ecuador; we need help from international forces," he recently told the BBC.

His relationship with leftist governments is tense. He broke diplomatic ties with Mexico after ordering a police raid on its embassy in Quito to capture former vice president Jorge Glas, who was convicted of corruption. Noboa claims to have reduced the homicide rate from a record 47 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023 to 38 in 2024. "We are not a promise. We are a reality," he said.

Source: manilatimes.net