First Electoral Setback For Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa

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Article from NotiSur, March 14

President Rafael Correa’s Alianza País (AP) stumbled in recent local elections, falling in a number of strategic provinces and municipalities to emergent conservative and social democratic forces. The losses included Quito, the capital, which could serve as the springboard for a new opposition bloc. The government also lost all but one of Ecuador’s Amazonian provinces and may be forced to change its tune regarding resource extraction, which the elected prefectures in those areas are likely to oppose. The Quito mayoral result was a particularly tough blow for the Correa administration, whose preferred candidate, incumbent Augusto Barrera, lost the Feb. 23 election to conservative challenger Mauricio Rodas. The loss was all the more galling considering Barrera’s relatively strong track record as mayor. Luis Ángel Saavedra Read More