Rafael Correa has won the Ecuadorean election run-off. His opponent was Alvaro Noboa, who is apparently the richest man in Ecuador, gung-ho on free trade, and stands accused of using child labour in his banana plantations. Again, that’s “stands accused of using child labour in his banana plantations”. So whoever Correa is, I’m thrilled. Ecuatorianos have become expert in getting rid of their presidents, but don’t seem to be as good at getting people elected they might not have to get rid of. Out of Correa and Noboa, Noboa seems the more likely candidate for needing deposing in a few months.

So who is Correa? According to this:

Nikolas Kozloff: The Rise of Rafael Correa,

Unlike Chavez, Correa does not come from a military background but grew up in a middle class family; the young politician also dresses impeccably. He got his doctorate in economics from the University of Illinois and is a follower of left wing economist and Nobel prize winner Joseph Stiglitz.

That’s encouraging, I like a well dressed man. He is also advocating renegotiating contracts with the international oil companies and claims he would prefer to default on national debt payments before cutting social programs. All of which sounds great. And a little odd, coming from a professional economist. So who knows? Maybe Ecuador has finally found a president worthy of the position. Probably not. But he sure looks better than anyone else who’s had the job lately. And with the list of Latin American countries either joining or in their second term of ‘Bolivarian Revolution’ politics – Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Chile and now Ecuador – it’s starting to look like a real thing.

Ecuatorianos take democracy very seriously. It’s striking that they keep their fervor and their faith in the representative political system after all the top-down efforts to corrupt and subvert it. So congratulations and good luck, voting citizens of Ecuador.

Vamos Ecuatorianos, que esta tarde, tenemos que ganar