Is today the first day of Lenin´s administration?

ECUADOR - In Brief 05 Feb 2018 by Magdalena Barreiro

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For many Ecuadorians today is the first day of Lenin Moreno´s administration even though eight months have already elapsed, albeit without establishing clear paths for top national priorities. In fact, the national vote favored the "seven times yes" promoted by the government ‒ including the two major political questions regarding indefinite re-election and the replacement of the current Council of People´s Participation in charge of selecting major authorities such as the Comptroller General and the General Attorney. The "yes" for Question 2 on re-election obtained 64.34%, and Question 3 got 63.18% at the national level. Guillermo Lasso, the second runner up in April´s elections, obtained 48.5% of the vote, therefore, it seems that Correistas have lost around 12% of people´s support since 2017 and around 25% since the previous election in 2013.The results from yesterday´s referendum should provide Moreno with a stronger political foundation to start making necessary but difficult decisions regarding the conduct of economic policy and taking a sounder approach to international affairs to open opportunities for Ecuador to expand trade and direct investment. However, yesterday´s results also reveal that Correa´s influence ‒ although significantly diminished ‒ is still present and active, especially on the Coastal provinces of Guayas and Manabi, where Questions 1 and 2, which more directly reflect his approval/disapproval, obtained 58% and 48%, respectively. Moreno´s inconsistencies and contradictions might offer the perfect opportunity for Correistas to start recovering power again, or even worse, they might lose support from those who voted "yes" in hopes of seeing the ...