Ecuador votes for economic reform, spurns Correa

Ecuador is poised to deepen economic reforms with the victory of former banker Guillermo Lasso in a presidential run-off today.

Lasso overcame his leftist rival Andres Arauz by a substantive margin of around 5pc, with more than 95pc of the votes tallied. According to official results issued by the national electoral council (CNE), Lasso secured 52.5pc compared with 47.5pc for Arauz.

The outcome turns back a leftist tide that has swept other Latin American countries, including Mexico, Bolivia and Argentina, in recent years, expanding a left-leaning alliance with Venezuela.

Arauz is a youthful protege of Ecuador's exiled former president Rafael Correa, who ran the former Opec country from 2007-17 in a tenure marked by widespread corruption and a crackdown on political opponents.

Arauz's loss is a repudiation of the Correa era, and also reflects divisions among indigenous groups that had supported Yaku Perez, the indigenous leader who came in a close third in the 7 February general elections.

Lasso has promised to work closely with the IMF to recuperate Ecuador's oil-based economy, draw in foreign investment and bring Quito into the pro-trade Pacific Alliance of countries that include Chile. He will inherit a flagging national oil industry, and heavy oil-backed debt to China.

Lasso is promising widespread vaccinations against Covid-19, which hit the country early and hard last year. "Democracy has triumphed," he said in a victory speech today, asserting that Ecuadoreans had chosen a "new path".

The electoral outcome affirms Ecuador's use of the US dollar as its official currency, a policy that critics accused Arauz of jeopardizing.

Lasso will replace incumbent President Lenin Moreno on 24 May.

Moreno served as Correa's vice president before turning his back on him upon taking office himself in 2017. He went on to adopt a reform package, including the introduction of market-based fuel pricing that sparked violent protests in October 2019. He repealed the pricing system only to re-impose it successfully last year, after oil prices crashed with the onset of the pandemic.

Moreno also oversaw the merger of state-owned oil companies PetroEcuador and PetroAmazonas, and promised to outsource the operation of an oil refinery and major oil field.

Dark horse leads in Peru

Peru's voters also went to the polls today, giving first place to dark horse candidate Pedro Castillo, a far-left teacher and union leader. Castillo, at the head of the Peru Libre party, garnered 16.1pc of the votes in an 18-candidate field, according to an exit poll from Ipsos Peru.

Castillo's tally is far from the 50pc needed to win outright, so he will head to run-off, likely in early June, with whoever is confirmed as the second-place finisher.

Tied at 11.9pc each in the exit poll are pro-market economist Hernando de Soto and Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori. She made run-offs in 2011 and 2016 only to lose by close margins. Just behind them is center-left candidate Yonhy Lescano, who led in most polls in the final weeks of the race. He received 11pc.

Peru is expected to issue official results tomorrow.

Castillo, who has never held elected office, has called for a new constitution, aggressive taxes on business, emphasizing agriculture over extractive industries. Peru earns most of its foreign exchange from mining, followed by LNG.

Peru is the world's second-largest copper and silver producer, and leads South America in gold, lead, tin and zinc production.

By Patricia Garip and Lucien Chauvin