Category Archives: Rafael Correa

Banana fortune heir Daniel Noboa wins Ecuador presidential election

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Luisa González, handpicked by Rafael Correa as successor, loses to 35-year-old who promises tough line on violent crime and cocaine trafficking

Daniel Noboa, the heir to a banana fortune who pledges a hard line on rocketing violent crime, employment for the young and foreign investment, will become Ecuador’s youngest ever president at 35 after winning by a margin of around five points over his rival, the leftist lawyer Luisa González.

With 90% of votes counted on Sunday night in Ecuador, Noboa had 52.29% of the vote against 47.71% for González, according to Ecuador’s electoral council.

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¡Populista! review: Chávez, Castro and Latin America’s ‘pink wave’ leaders

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BBC reporter Will Grant has produced an excellent look at the group of strongmen who came from left field

If there was ever a surreal start to a trip to Cuba, it was the one that coincided with the news Fidel Castro had died. That was what I woke up to on 26 November 2016, hours before my husband and I were due to fly to Havana. A day later, we found ourselves in what seemed like an endless queue under a blazing autumn sun, waiting to enter Castro’s memorial at the Jose Martí monument in the Plaza de la Revolución.

Related: Sisters in Hate review: tough but vital read on the rise of racist America

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WikiLeaks says Assange’s internet link ‘severed’ by Ecuador

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WikiLeaks has blamed Ecuador for cutting off founder Julian Assange's internet access while he is holed up at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, and while his group is releasing thousands of emails from Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman. Assange has been at the embassy for more than four years after skipping bail to avoid being extradited over sex crimes allegations.