17FEB25 "Leonidas Iza: “We have to choose between González, who is not left-wing, and the right-wing bordering on Noboa’s fascism”
The indigenous candidate has the option of adding his support to the current president or to the progressive candidate. His decision could be key to winning the elections in Ecuador.

The last two major indigenous protests in Ecuador in 2019 and 2022, succeeded in getting the governments in power to back down on their decision to eliminate the fuel subsidy ,

which for them meant an increase in the costs of agricultural production, further aggravating the vulnerability of rural populations.

However, the protest was also a response to the systematic failure to comply with agreements and promises, a reminder of the structural abandonment that has marked the State's relationship with indigenous peoples.

In this scenario, the figure of Leonidas Iza emerged as the face of resistance. Iza, son of José María Iza, one of the historical leaders of the indigenous movement in Cotopaxi, has been a controversial figure. Known for his extreme leftist positions,

he has won the sympathy of those who see him as a firm opponent of capitalism and neoliberalism. Although in an Ecuador where the ideological spectrum seems diffuse and ambiguous, his proposals often spark debates about their clarity and scope.

He is not bothered by being labeled a radical, because he assures that his position is in line with what the Constitution dictates.

Iza's emergence on the political scene has generated deep polarization. For his detractors, he is seen as an agent of chaos, willing to do anything, even resort to violence, to impose his vision. However, for his followers, Iza represents much more than a radical leader.

He is perceived as a legitimate defender of social rights, especially of indigenous peoples, a population that has historically been marginalized and silenced in the country's spheres of power.

In 2023, after Guillermo Lasso signed the death-cross decree, the political arm of the indigenous peoples, Pachakutik, chose not to participate in the electoral contest.

Daniel Noboa won the elections , and Iza, although he maintained an opposition profile, lowered his tone, after triggering a serious security crisis in January 2024

and then an energy crisis that left the country in darkness for up to 14 hours a day. In the middle of that same year, Noboa also decided to eliminate the fuel subsidy, but on that occasion the indigenous movement did not call for protests.

In the new presidential election, Pachakutik unanimously chose Leonidas Iza as its candidate. Despite the controversy generated by his figure, Iza obtained 5.3% of the votes, placing him in third place in an extensive ballot in which 16 candidates participated, of which 12 did not exceed 1%.

The 536,000 voters who supported his candidacy could be decisive in the runoff on April 13, an election that will decide who will be the next president of the country."

https://elpais.com/america/2025-02-17/leonidas-iza-hay-que-elegir-entre-gonzalez-que-no-es-izquierda-y-la-derecha-rayana-al-fascismo-de-noboa.html#