- González gains three percentage points in Comunicaliza poll
- Crime is the most important issue for voters, by a wide margin

Stephan Kueffner, Bloomberg News
QUITO
EnergiesNet.co 10 06 2023
Socialist candidate Luisa González narrowed the gap with wealthy business leader Daniel Noboa in the final days of Ecuador’s presidential race, a poll found.
The survey by local pollster Comunicaliza shows that Noboa’s lead has shriveled to its smallest level yet, with ten days to go before the Oct. 15 vote.
Noboa would get 53.3% of the vote, compared to 46.7% for González, the poll found. In the previous Comunicaliza poll published Oct. 1, Noboa led by 55.9% to 44.1%.
Under local election law, no more polls may be published after Thursday.
Many investors are wary of González due to her close relationship with exiled former President Rafael Correa, who is seen as hostile to private business. Most of her new support came from previously undecided voters, and most felt she beat her opponent in a recent debate, the survey found.
“It was to be expected after the debate performance of Noboa that was a little weaker than that of Luisa,” said Comunicaliza head Alvaro Marchante in a telephone interview. “It remains to be seen whether this is a sustained gain or just a bounce.”
Read more: Rolling Blackouts to Hit Ecuador Days Before Presidential Vote
Extortion and Kidnappings
Crime is the top issue for voters in a campaign marred by violence which claimed the life of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. In the poll, 43.8% said crime is Ecuador’s main problem, trailed by unemployment with 16.4%.
Ecuador’s homicide rate surged to exceed that of Colombia and Mexico, while the country has also been hit by a wave of extortion and kidnappings.
Read more: Ecuador Candidate Noboa Tones Down Idea of Tapping Reserves
The winner will take over from President Guillermo Lasso in December. The vote was triggered by Lasso’s legal decision to close Ecuador’s congress, meaning that whoever wins will only serve out Lasso’s term that was scheduled to end in mid-2025.
Noboa has led polling since he and Gonzalez reached the runoff in August.
The poll of 5,265 people was conducted from Oct. 3-4 and has a margin of error of 1.35%.
bloomberg.com 10 05 2023