A 35-year-old business leader from a wealthy fruit-exporting dynasty, Daniel Noboa, will be Ecuador’s next president after winning Sunday’s election pledging to restore order to a nation torn by violence.
Investor-favorite Noboa beat his socialist opponent Luisa Gonzalez 52.3% to 47.7% in the runoff with 90% of votes tallied, according to preliminary data from the electoral authority. Gonzalez conceded in a speech to supporters in Quito.
Noboa, a political novice, has a year and a half to get a grip on a country besieged by powerful cocaine cartels, struggling to service its debt, and beset by instability in congress that has made it difficult to pass laws or raise taxes. His caretaker government will hold office from December until 2025.
US-educated Noboa, who becomes one of the world’s youngest leaders, wants to make the country more open to foreign investment, and use tax breaks to boost job creation. Before the vote, many analysts predicted that a Noboa win would spark a bond rally, since his opponent was an ally of former President Rafael Correa, who oversaw a debt default in 2008.
The second straight defeat for Correa’s movement should “provide a boost of optimism”, said Siobhan Morden, head of Latin America Fixed Income Strategy at Banco Santander SA.
“The attention will quickly shift to the economic team, the economic plan, and the political pact for a workable legislative coalition,” Morden wrote, in a report published Oct. 13.
Read more: Investors Look for Ecuador Election to Bring End to Bond Rout
The nation’s bonds due 2035 are trading at 36 cents on the dollar, implying that traders see a high likelihood of a default.
Despite his image as a free marketeer, Noboa endorsed a recent referendum to curtail oil drilling in the Amazon, arguing that it wouldn’t generate enough profits to justify the environmental damage. He also spooked investors when he proposed to raid the central bank’s reserves to fund spending, though he later backtracked.
The election was triggered when President Guillermo Lasso dissolved congress to avoid impeachment. Because of this, Noboa will only serve until May 2025, when Lasso’s term would have ended.
Father’s Company
After finishing his education in the US, Noboa spent his early years working for his father’s company. In the first half of 2023, the business exported more than 8 million boxes of bananas, according to trade association data.
They also own fertilizer, chocolate, transportation and plastics companies, among other interests. Noboa’s father Alvaro ran unsuccessfully for president five times.
In 2021, Daniel Noboa won a seat in congress, and became president of the congressional Economic Development Committee, which drafted legislation on sectors such as fintech and small business.
Noboa vaulted from sixth to second place after the startling assassination of fellow candidate Fernando Villavicencio in August. The nation was even more shocked when seven men accused of involved in the plot were massacred in prison.
Noboa has pledged to tame the cocaine cartels that have made Ecuador one of the world’s most violent countries in recent years. Among other initiatives, he says he’ll move the most dangerous gang bosses to prisons floating off Ecuador’s Pacific coast.
Read more: Ecuador Presidential Hopeful Wants Violent Prisoners Put to Sea
One of Noboa’s biggest challenges will be in congress, where only about 10% of lawmakers back his party and where the pro-Correa Citizen Revolution party will hold the largest number of seats. The lack of ruling coalition made it very difficult for Lasso to get legislation passed.
(Updates with Noboa’s biographical details and proposals from fourth paragraph)
