The many challenges facing Ecuador’s unlikely new president

On October 15, Daniel Noboa won Ecuador’s presidential election with just under 52 percent of the vote, becoming the country’s youngest-ever elected president at the age of 35. He will take office at the end of November to serve out the remainder of current President Guillermo Lasso’s term.

Mr. Noboa’s victory is remarkable, given his relative obscurity until August. Indeed, the former lawmaker and son of Ecuador’s richest man — who himself ran for president five times — was polling in single digits until the first round of voting in August.

A strong debate performance is believed to have helped him overcome the several center-right challengers he faced in the first round to finish second and advance to the runoff.

His remaining opponent was Luisa González, a fellow lawmaker in the National Assembly who previously served in a number of positions in the administrations of former President Rafael Correa (2007-2017). Ms. González held a comfortable lead for most of the election season and led the powerful political movement loyal to Mr. Correa. Mr. Noboa’s victory was attributed to a more general opposition to a return of Correismo.

Now that he’s won, the real work begins for Mr. Noboa, who faces a number of particularly difficult challenges. These include the country’s ongoing security crisis, weak economic growth, and structural and political constraints.

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