Infighting will weaken indigenous politics in Ecuador

Significance

Perez disputes the official election results, which place him third with 19.4% of the vote, behind right-winger Guillermo Lasso, with 19.7%. Perez has claimed electoral fraud stripped him of thousands of votes, denying him the chance to face leftist first-round leader Andres Arauz in April’s run-off.

Impacts

• Lasso’s decision to back out of the agreement to recount the votes will cost him in the run-off.
• Perez will not endorse Arauz and many of his voters are likely to cast blank votes in the second round.
• While Pachakutik’s appeal stretches beyond indigenous communities, racial identity, ideology and regional cleavages will limit its growth.