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Ecuador Election May Put In Question Outgoing President's Legacy

by VOA News

   Ecuadorians voting on presidential elections Sunday are set to decide
   whether to continue with a socialist administration or switch to a
   conservative government.

   Outgoing leftist President Rafael Correa, who has been in power for 10
   years, is not up for reelection and some say Sunday's election is a
   moment for the country to swing back to the right.

   A Correa ally with a socialist agenda, Lenin Moreno, had been leading
   in opinion polls and promised to continue the current president's
   programs "on tax-and-spend social policies."

   Guillermo Lasso, the incumbent and conservative former banker, has
   vowed to cut spending and taxes while creating one million jobs. Lasso
   is second in opinion polls.

   "What is at stake are two visions of society, two vision of
   development, two visions of the state," Correa said.

   The oil-rich country's economy with about 16 million people has shrank
   by 1.7 percent in 2016 due to falling oil prices.

   The result of the election can also change the future of WikiLeaks
   founder Julian Assange.

   One campaign promise from the two leading conservative candidates is to
   evict Assange from Ecuador's London embassy where he has taken refuge
   out of fear of extradition to the United States.