Citizen Revolution's Luisa González (left) signing a unity pact with Pachakutik's Guillermo Churuchumbi, March 30, 2025. Photo: El Comercio.
This Sunday, March 30, as the electoral campaign for Ecuador’s presidential elections on April 13 progresses, Luisa González, candidate of the leftist Citizen Revolution movement, participated in the National Meeting for an Equitable, Plurinational, and Violence-Free Ecuador. There, she signed an agreement with indigenous movements and other social organizations ahead of the runoff.
Before tens of thousands of people gathered in Tixán, Alausà canton, Chimborazo province, González signed a roadmap to advance toward unity with Guillermo Churuchumbi, national coordinator of the Pachakutik movement.
The pact signed by González and Churuchumbi—whose organization nominated Leónidas Iza, leader of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), in the first round—includes a set of concrete actions.
Among other things, it prioritizes the fight against insecurity, immediate actions to confront large-scale mining, prevent the expansion of the oil frontier, and guarantee the bilingual education system.
Furthermore, they agreed to strengthen dollarization and reduce the value-added tax (VAT) to 12%, which Noboa increased to 15% allegedly to combat organized crime. The agreement also aims to defend quality public education and avoid privatization of strategic sectors.
González’s government could represent a different stage
Although he was unable to attend, Iza sent a message via teleconference and said that the agreement serves as a roadmap for achieving profound transformations for the country. He expressed that a González administration could represent a different era.
“We are determined to fight for life with our hands full of truth. The fear is theirs. The hope is ours. They will not succeed in dividing us. No more lies,” González said.
Luisa González: A new majority is born
Addressing those present in Tixán, González recalled that the country has seven million poor people who await change for the benefit of their communities. “A new majority is emerging,” González stated, insisting that the unity pact is not an electoral one but rather a step toward profoundly transforming Ecuador in the coming years.
While González deepened her ties with popular sectors, President and candidate for re-election Daniel Noboa traveled to the US to meet with President Donald Trump.
đź”´ Una abarrotada plaza espera el arribo de la candidata Luisa González en Tixán, cantĂłn AlausĂ, donde hoy se firmará un acuerdo programático entre la RevoluciĂłn Ciudadana y la tercera fuerza polĂtica del paĂs, Pachakutik. pic.twitter.com/OpLO2GNwkH
— Elena RodrĂguez Yánez (@ElenaDeQuito) March 30, 2025
Ecuador amid a deep and devastating crisis
During the campaign rally, Jaime Rosero, a social leader from AlausĂ, asked González, if she becomes president, to address the needs of this canton, which has been abandoned two years after a landslide on March 26, 2023, left 75 dead. He also noted the lack of attention to issues such as hospitals, roads, and the repair of basic services at ground zero.
After reading the 25 points of the agreement established between the Citizen Revolution, Pachakutik, and social organizations, the document was signed.
After signing the agreement, Churuchumbi stated: “Our country is going through a profound and devastating crisis of violence, insecurity, unemployment, extreme poverty, and economic crisis.”
Among other ideas, he emphasized Iza’s words, “not a single vote for the right,” and rejected the neoliberal policies imposed by the governments of former presidents LenĂn Moreno (2017–2021), Guillermo Lasso (2021–2023), and Noboa (since 2023).
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Constituent assembly
Another pact made on March 12 with the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) specified the rejection of a new constituent assembly in Ecuador. In recent years, many leftist analysts have claimed that a new constituent assembly might be the only legal tool available to untangle the systemic violation of legal and constitutional norms implemented since the moment Rafael Correa transferred power to his successor Lenin Moreno, a so-called leftist that ended up betraying the principles of the Citizen Revolution Movement and aligning with US imperialism.
In the case of a most probable victory of the left in Ecuador, the new constituent assembly debate will take the main stage. Meanwhile, analysts worry about the increasing possibilities of antagonistic maneuvers that would aim to criminalize or smear Luisa González in a desperate attempt to crash her chance of victory through an international scenario where US imperialism would not allow the easy loss of one of its few regional bastions.
(Telesur) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SF
