Lasso Wins Ecuador Presidential Elections With Promise to Revive Economy

The promise of reviving the economy battered by coronavirus prevailed in Ecuador as Ecuadorean banker Guillermo Lasso unexpectedly won the Presidential race of the nation against the vows of his rival to return a socialist largesse.

The Ecuadorean banker secured 52% of the vote in the runoff election after a campaign that pitted free-market economics against the social welfare plans of Andres Arauz who is an economist. The win for Lasso was helped by a ballot spoiling campaign which left one in six ballots void based on election experts.

The President-elect, Guillermo Lasso, 65 will be looking for ways to kick-start a stalled economy while using the same pro-market playbook as President Lenin Moreno. Despite shoring up government finances, Moreno struggled to create jobs for Ecuadoreans and did not even seek re-election.

According to Reuters, Lasso shared during a campaign rally last week that one-third of Ecuadoreans are living in poverty and just 30% of the population has access to employment. The 65-year old banker turned president-elect added that the two are objectives that should bring 100% of Ecuadorean political leaders to dialogue.

Agricultural Openings

Moreover, the third campaign of Lasso for his presidency is centered on bringing in foreign investors to the Ecuadorean soil. The move will open and establish businesses and create jobs in the agricultural sector.

Meanwhile, the promises of Arauz, who is Lasso's rival, differed sharply from the President-elect as he plans to hand over $1,000 to a million poor families. He also wants to return the social welfare programs of the country which was initially established by former Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa, who is also his mentor.

In addition, the Ecuadorean banker also may have benefited from a protest campaign by indigenous leader Yaku Perez. The indigenous leader recently called on supporters to vote null as a protest of what he considered voter fraud in the first round in February.

The election win for Lasso is a rare bright spotlight for numerous emerging markets which are struggling under concerns such as tense talks of Argentina with the International Monetary Fund. Another is the broader headwinds from rising United States interest rates that threaten to spark a selloff. While the Ecuadorean bond prices had spiraled last year after Arauz stated that he would overhaul a $6.5 billion 2020 financing deal, Wall Street Journal reported.

Furthermore, Lasso is seen as someone who has greater capacity in terms of negotiating with the International Monetary Fund, but he has also said that he would be pushing back on IMF plans to raise taxes. However, it could complicate his efforts in keeping the playbook of the Ecuadorean government balanced.

Also, any economic rebound will rest on a restructuring of the stalled coronavirus vaccination campaign of the country which has been heavily affected by nepotism allegations. The revolving door in the health ministry of the country also affected the vaccination program of Ecuador. Recently, Ecuadorean health ministers have resigned or have been sacked due to a number of reasons related to the ongoing pandemic, Voice of America reported.

WATCH: Banker Lasso wins surprise victory in Ecuador election - Al Jazeera English