The presidential debate between Luisa González, candidate of Citizens’ Revolution Movement and Daniel Noboa, President and candidate of National Democratic Action, marks the beginning of the electoral campaign for the second round of elections in the Latin American country. teleSUR
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00:00So, how are you going to guarantee the security of the people?
00:18I don't want to have this experience again as the one we had with the government of Novoa.
00:26He made everything worse.
00:28We had the most violent beginning of the year in the history of all Ecuador.
00:37He said that by declaring the state of war, we were going to be secure, and he lied.
00:47He said that with the three points of the IVA, we were going to be safe, and he lied.
00:54He took more money for poor families.
00:58He said that by bringing mercenaries with the public funds, we were going to be safe,
01:05but he lied.
01:11He proved that he doesn't trust in the armed forces, in the police, and in the people of
01:16this country.
01:17So, what are we going to do?
01:20We need a strong and firm hand to face and to fight against the criminality and criminal
01:30groups, so I will use all the means of the state to repress all the people that threaten
01:38our security.
01:40We are going to take control of the airports, ports, and frontiers, and roads to guarantee
01:49safety and to remove the money laundry.
01:58So precisely, the intelligence of our army forces were dismantled, so we are going to
02:06threaten them, as well as the police and our armed forces.
02:16We are going to threaten our army forces by training, in partnership with our friends
02:26of other governments of the United States, of the European Union.
02:37We are going to improve the units where our police should work and sleep and eat.
02:46So now, Candidate Novoa is to answer this.
02:53Lisa, I find it funny that you said you are going to fight against the crime.
03:03These are her chats.
03:16So this says that if Luisa wins, the laundry of money is going to continue.
03:31So members of the Citizens' Revolution are associated with narco-traffic, and also they
03:39are associated with your campaign.
03:41Are you going to declare war on them, as well?
03:47Candidate González, you have one minute and 30 seconds to answer.
03:53Ecuadorians look at the social media and research on Novoa trading.
04:05This is a company that exports drugs to Italy and Croatia, and it belongs to the Novoa group.
04:18This chat you mentioned is referred to the fact that today, in the banks, there are laundering
04:25money, and I'm going to fight that.
04:27And I remind you that your family also has banks.
04:31So I'm going to mention again that you are funding your campaign with money from the
04:45narco-traffic, with Maria Moreno, the president of your party, who also manages companies
04:53of the Novoa group, and is related to narco-traffic.
04:57Do not lie to the Ecuadorian people.
05:04Now you have 30 seconds for this second interpellation.
05:06Lisa, you are a lawyer, and you should know this.
05:23Your friends are still running around.
05:29Do you recognize the Maduro dictatorship?
05:35So you have one minute to ask this.
05:38Once again, Novoa trading, Ecuadorians, whose company belongs, this company belongs to Daniel
05:50Novoa.
05:51And in 2020, 2022, and 2024, it has been proven that this company is exporting drugs, and
06:02this case hasn't been solved, and that the one who's among the corruption is you.
06:12Why did you not answer that the president of your political party is linked to a case
06:17of narco-traffic, that the prosecution's office removed it from the system, but we
06:28managed to take it and to give it to the public?
06:35Now it's your turn.
06:40So, with the violence in the Ecuador, how are you going to
06:58combine repression of the criminality and preventive measures to guarantee safety to
07:03the people?
07:04So, we reduced homicides, we reduced femicides, extortions, also children that were victims
07:14of crime.
07:16That was in 2023, and 2025 will be better.
07:21It takes time.
07:22We are looking for international cooperation to work with the United States, Canada, France,
07:29Spain, Italy, and not with Maduro, as González pretends to do.
07:39And he hasn't answered how he feels about the government of Maduro.
07:47We are going to make the necessary reforms, because the constitution of the government
07:57of Luisa gave rights to the criminals, and gave rights to rapists, murderers, and they
08:08had more rights than people who followed the law.
08:13And we cannot continue this way, because we are going to strengthen the armed forces
08:18and the police, and we will establish a working law system to protect the citizen that follows
08:26the law to move forward with the country.
08:31We have signed agreements with the aduanas, with the customs companies.
08:38We are going to assure the borders with drones.
08:43Also we are monitoring the containers to make the roads safe for citizens, to ensure patrols
08:57and monitoring in the roads.
09:00We are equipping all our forces to guarantee this.
09:10Ecuadorians are first, young people are first, and then the money launderers and murderers
09:20go last.
09:21Do not lie, Novoa.
09:25You already made changes to the constitution, and we are still the most violent country
09:32in the region, and that was said by Inside Crime.
09:36This is the most violent year in the history of Ecuador.
09:40Every hour an Ecuadorian dies.
09:50I ask all these measures, helmets with night vision, drones for aerial surveillance, patrols,
10:06and all of this that you offered in 2023, you haven't fulfilled.
10:13Why should we believe you if you didn't fulfill any of the things you promised?
10:21Candidate Novoa, now you have time for your answer.
10:28I equipped the armed forces with state of the art technology, especially managing with
10:36all the money that you got from the government.
10:41We have brought equipment from Turkey.
10:45We have armed our forces with technology so they can patrol the seas.
10:55Now the national police has 300 more mobile units, and they will have 300 more.
11:09We will reinstate a base to control the narcotraffic in the Ecuador to have aerial control.
11:19The same base you removed before, now we are going to reinstate it, and with help from
11:25all those countries, Italy, United States, and not of Venezuela or Iran, we are going
11:31to move forward.
11:34The narcotraffic is an international issue, and so we are going to deal with that with
11:41cooperation with other countries.
11:46With those governments who have congratulated us for our work.
11:54It's really sad.
11:55Do not lie.
11:57You know that in this moment, the members of the armed forces and the police are seeing
12:03you and their families are suffering because you sent them without equipment, without nutrition
12:13to the streets as cannon fodder.
12:18Why are you humiliating our forces that way, by paying mercenaries?
12:28We are never going to humiliate the police of the armed forces.
12:32We are empowering them for their great work in this 15 months.
12:39We are going to give them a bonus in the next week.
12:43They deserve it, and they need it, especially those forces that have suffered a lot, and
12:51that your people, your political party, are attacking.
12:57Remember that in your government, you reduced the budget for the army forces.
13:05We are never going to humiliate our armed forces.
13:09We are going to look for international cooperation and advice.
13:21Now we have the space for closed questions with the same dynamic.