Far-Right will do Anything to Sway Election in Ecuador - Interview with Fidel Narvez

[Judi Lynn]

11th April 2025

“The April 13 Ecuadorian runoff election between the left-wing Citizen Revolution candidate Luisa González and the incumbent right-wing President Daniel Noboa takes place in a backdrop of soaring crime, economic collapse, and energy crisis and blackouts.”

In a special interview with Orinoco Tribune, Ecuadorian human rights expert Fidel Narváez expressed his confidence in the Citizen Revolution candidate, Luisa González, who leads going into the second round of Ecuador’s presidential election on April 13. However, he stressed that the public should remain alert for potential last-minute interference by Ecuador’s far right and US imperialism.


“They killed a presidential candidate to sway the 2023 vote. They are capable of anything—but Ecuador now sees through these tricks,” Narváez said in this regard.

Fidel Narváez studied International Relations at the University of Economics in Prague, Czech Republic, a prestigious institution known for its focus on diplomacy and economics. During his career, he became a prominent human rights advocate, serving as both a leader of Ecuador’s Permanent Assembly for Human Rights (APDH) and as the technical secretary of the Inter-American Platform for Human Rights, Democracy, and Development.

Since 2007, he has resided in the United Kingdom. Between 2010 and 2018, during President Rafael Correa’s administration, Narváez held diplomatic roles as Ecuador’s consul in London. Notably, he played a critical role in securing political asylum for Julian Assange in 2012, after the WikiLeaks founder faced potential extradition to the United States. During Assange’s seven-year confinement in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, Narváez lived alongside him for six years, managing diplomatic tensions and logistical challenges arising from the high-profile case. Thereafter, while Assange was imprisoned in the maximum-security Belmarsh Prison in London while the US-led lawfare against him continued, Narváez advocated tirelessly for the journalist’s release.

The April 13 Ecuadorian runoff election between the left-wing Citizen Revolution candidate Luisa González and the incumbent right-wing President Daniel Noboa takes place in a backdrop of soaring crime, economic collapse, and energy crisis and blackouts. Analysts trace the crisis to neoliberal policies post-2017, contrasting Western media’s reluctance to blame capitalism for Ecuador’s turmoil with its frequent attribution of similar crises to socialism in Venezuela.

More:
https://labouroutlook.org/2025/04/11/far-right-will-do-anything-to-sway-election-in-ecuador-interview-with-fidel-narvaez/

[al bupp]

1. I've been to Ecuador 3 times in the last 3 years

From the Ecuadorians I've talked to, Correa is widely regarded as have presided over an immensely corrupt government that while responsible for the construction of numerous infrastructure projects was also guilty of massive theft in the form of bribes and cooking the books, with huge construction cost overruns. All the principals of his government as of a couple of years ago were either in jail or had left the county to places conveniently without extradition treaties.

Correa's legacy is one of great betrayal, as he based much of his appeal on his indigenous heritage, but was then seen to have abandoned that in favor of power and money after he got into office.

It seems to me that this will be a lot for Luisa González to overcome. That she's that close says a lot about Naboa's inability to improve things in the country in the last couple of years.

People should understand that the average income in Ecuador is only about $20/day. While the county has significant national income from oil, its economy was hammered by Covid. Tourism plummeted and as far as I know hasn't come anywhere close to recovering.

The advent of drug cartel activities (predominantly in the port city of Guyaquil,
centered around transhipment of cocaine from Columbia to Europe) is largely responsible for the increase in violent crime. However, being a poor country, there are places in every city where one should not go at night.

I hope the Gonzáles wins, as I think she will be better than the son of a pineapple magnet at caring about normal Ecuadorians.

The country has socialized medicine, but it struggles under the weight of need, as do most socialized or not.

It is beautiful country with a large indigenous population and the people there tend to very friendly and outgoing, speaking a fairly easily comprehensible version of Spanish. Food and accommodations are quite affordable for Americans. I paid more to park my car in a lot outside the airport in Boston for 10 days than for the places I stayed in Ecuador during that time (so, I now take the bus and leave my car at home).

[Tom Dyer]

2. And it was such a desired destination for me.

Not any more. Damn. Ecuador?