Quito, Ecuador – Under his brief tenure as president, Ecuador has suffered 14-hour daily blackouts. Violent prison riots. And a diplomatic spat with Mexico that drew international criticism.
But Daniel Noboa, 37, is sailing into Sunday’s presidential election on a crest of continued popularity.
For the past 14 months, Noboa has led Ecuador during a period of crisis. Crime remains stubbornly high. Drug trafficking continues to encroach on the country’s territory. And Noboa’s own actions have raised questions about the deterioration of human rights and presidential overreach.
And yet, his overall approval rating sits comfortably north of 50 percent, according to the polling firm Comunicaliza.
Of more than a dozen rival candidates in Sunday’s race, only one real challenger has emerged: Luisa Gonzalez, his left-wing adversary from the last election.
Experts attribute Noboa’s frontrunner status to several factors, but especially his iron-fisted — or “mano dura” — approach to crime.
“Security has been a constant theme for this government,” said Beatriz Garcia Nice, an Ecuador-based associate at the Wilson Center, a think tank. “And it has absorbed much of its focus.”
Still, the ways Noboa has expressed that heavy-handed style has spurred outcry — and signalled potential weaknesses in his campaign.