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Campaign for popular consultation starts with tours and ‘reinforcements’
Posted On 04 Jan 2018
Ecuadornews:
Two groups confronted by the option Yes and by the No began yesterday the electoral campaign for the popular consultation and referendum of seven questions that President Lenin Moreno is pushing and that will culminate on February 1.
Those who support the Yes wore white and carried flags with the Democracia Sí movement logo, by Gustavo Larrea, Moreno’s friend. In a sidewalk of the Ofelia market, in the north of Quito, a tent was installed from which Larrea invited “to work tirelessly” to support the president in the consultation. “We are at a special moment in history. The patriots unite to rebuild the nation, “he said. In a motorized caravan, they planned to go through Quito’s main thoroughfares, until they reached the Plaza Grande, where a meeting was being held with the presence of Lenin Moreno, until the afternoon the rain prevented its realization.
In Guayaquil, however, the Unidad Popular movement began the campaign in the Plaza Rocafuerte, where the citizens were summoned to vote in a symbolic way for the Yes in the seven questions.
Geovanni Atarihuana, director of the group, indicated that they have about five thousand volunteers to travel the country and spread the content of the questions and generate the debate.
In the morning, at the other end of the capital, the opposing faction to Moreno and akin to Rafael Correa, led by Ricardo Patiño, called from the headquarters of Alianza PAIS (AP) to start a campaign for the No to questions 2, 3 and 6
As they are not qualified in the National Electoral Council (CNE) to access resources of the Electoral Promotion Fund, they will join the Permanent Forum of Ecuadorian Women, which is qualified.
Lisbeth Paredes, leader of the forum, described the consultation as “illegal” and that “it does not solve anyone’s life,” she said.
Patiño spoke for almost 40 minutes without admitting any questions and complained that it will be a “difficult” campaign because they will have “few economic resources” and “a sold referee”.
He exhorted people to buy their own sprays to paint on the walls: “No to betrayal, no to fraud!”
He confirmed that tonight Correa would arrive in Guayaquil from Belgium, where he lives with his family, to help them in the campaign throughout the month, and on Saturday they would be in Portoviejo (Manabí).
“It is an unexpected reinforcement, because when he was here a few weeks ago, he said that it would take a long time to return, but this consultation is important,” said Patiño. (I)
