Ecuador presidential campaign opens amid drug war, internal power struggle [Video]

The monthlong campaign for general elections in Ecuador began Sunday as President Daniel Noboa faces a challenging war against drug gangs and a power struggle within his administration.

The campaign, with 16 presidential candidates including leftist Luisa Gonzalez and Indigenous leader Leonidas Iza, will end February 6, three days before the election.

The National Electoral Council (NEC) called on all candidates to conduct campaigns of “tolerance and mutual respect that promote reasoned debate (and) a culture of peace.”

Despite drug-related violence and a serious drought that led to prolonged blackouts, Noboa leads in early opinion polling, at 33 percent.

Gonzalez, a 47-year-old lawyer close to opposition leader and former president Rafael Correa, is not far behind, at 29 percent, according to a recent survey by the Comunicaliza firm.

“A united, brave and hopeful country is about to be reborn,” Gonzalez said on X before launching her campaign in capital Quito …