Ecuadorian indigenous leader Leonidas Iza at the presidential candidates' debate, January 19, 2025. Photo: X/@CONAIE_Ecuador.
Leonidas Iza, former presidential candidate of the Ecuadorian indigenous movement Pachakutik, political arm of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), announced that the organization’s position in the second round of presidential elections will be decided in a Great Enlarged Council on March 7.
Speaking to the press on Wednesday, February 19, Leonidas Iza stated that the vote that he obtained in the first round did not come only from the indigenous movement. “My candidacy will have to be anchored to the rest of the citizenship that, although not being part of the indigenous movement, also opted for our proposal,” he said. “We are going to remain very open on the central issues upheld by the indigenous movement … We have to move forward and, in the current situation, it is not practical to call for a null vote.”
#ATENCIÓN
“No nos da la coyuntura para un voto nulo, pero respetaremos lo que la mayoría orgánicamente defina”, @LeonidasIzaEc anunció las decisiones del Consejo Político de la #CONAIE y #Pachakutik.
📢 El 7 de marzo, en el Consejo Ampliado, definiremos nuestra postura para la… pic.twitter.com/nc15KABVcy— CONAIE (@CONAIE_Ecuador) February 19, 2025
He called on the bases of the indigenous movement to remain united. He added that by March 7, all the grassroots organizations and their community territorial assemblies must define the position taken by their corresponding territory.
Iza called on the president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, to stop dividing the indigenous organizational structures with state funds, using the Secretariat of the Peoples, deceiving regional leaders with appointments or documents which, by the constitution, is the right of any Ecuadorian.
It will be decided in the March 7 meeting if Pachakutik will support any of the candidates for the April 13 run-off election: Luisa González of Citizen Revolution and the current president aspiring for reelection, Daniel Noboa.
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The indigenous vote will play a decisive role in the second round, given that Leonidas Iza, the candidate of Pachakutik, obtained third place in the first round, with 5.24% of the total valid votes, which amounts to more than 538,000 votes.
On Tuesday night, CONAIE announced a series of resolutions regarding the presidential elections, although it did not make a concrete statement of support for any of the candidates.
⭕ #EnVivo
Pronunciamiento del Consejo Político de la #CONAIE y su estructura organizativa junto al Movimiento #Pachakutik, sobre la coyuntura política nacional 👇🏾https://t.co/BfFdXAeOLd#EnUnidad#SomosConaie pic.twitter.com/Cl1TISetR4— CONAIE (@CONAIE_Ecuador) February 19, 2025
Previously, Iza, who advocates for a leftist and anti-capitalist proposal, refused to support the ruling right-wing National Democratic Action (ADN) movement and accused Noboa of “using the state apparatus and lying in his electoral campaign.”
However, he did not rule out a rapprochement with Correismo’s candidate Luisa González, who is aligned with key issues of the indigenous agenda, such as opposition to mining and oil extractivism by multinational corporations.
According to the final report of the first round by the National Electoral Council of Ecuador, Noboa obtained 44.17% of the valid votes while González obtained 43.97%, a difference of about 19,000 votes.
Given this narrow difference, the votes of the indigenous sector, as well as those who voted blank or null, will be decisive in the second round April 13. According to analysts, the indigenous vote is not a homogeneous bloc nor is it automatically transferable. Both Noboa and González are trying to attract crucial support from all these sectors.
(Telesur)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/DZ
