The run-off election was this past Monday. Leading up to the election, we were peppered from all sides with differing opinions. The majority of the Ecuadorian teachers we work with sided with conservative Lasso. The majority of taxi drivers and blue collar workers we ran into supported the left-wing Lenin Moreno (current VP). Even our students got into it. We were told by our students that if ___________ won, it would mean the end of the country's prosperity and success. "We will surely become like Venezuela if __________ and their corrupt party takes power!" said the tiny echo chambers of their parents' political views. It was a touchy subject and both sides were charged with fear, emotion, and hope.
The weekend of the election, the city took on it's "Dry Law" again, banning the sale, consumption, or consideration of an alcoholic beverage. Hypothetically, IF we had consumed a beer, we would have been outlaws...
Election weekend was made a bit more complicated by our school hosting a ten person accreditation team (more on that in a different post) so we needed everything to go well. We were told that we needed to be prepared for riots in the streets, cars flipping, and general mayhem.
The Friday before the election, I went to the US Embassy for a community trivia night fundraiser with some friends. While there, the US Ambassador came to our table and spoke with us for about a half hour about the high probability of mayhem. He even told one of my friends who lives near the election office to "Go to a friend's house for the week...Just in case." Needless to say, we were all a little freaked out. He then told us that a one sided victory for either side would be the best possible solution, if the goal was peaceful transition of power. Anything close might put the entire city in a precarious balance of fury and protests.
The morning of the election, we had a meeting at a hotel with the accreditation team. "Don't worry visiting folks, nothing to see here, not impending political doom..." About an hour into the meeting, we realized that one of the candidates would be using the hotel as campaign headquarters again. So, we literally put them in the proverbial lion's den.
Throughout the day, exit polls showed close projections. Both sides claimed victory. But at the end of the night, the current VP, Lenin Moreno was declared the victor. Many people were upset at the results. They demanded recounts. They took to the streets in protest. On Monday, Lasso and his campaign workers went to the election offices to request a formal recount. There was allegedly proof of improper counting, exit polls not matching ballot reporting, etc. On Tuesday the election offices declared that "Moreno wins and it is final, no further review would take place." The final numbers that were reported had Moreno at 51% and Lasso at 48.9%. Our school immediately cancelled all after school activities for concern that the buses wouldn't be able to get students home quickly enough through protests in the streets. Then the decision was made to dismiss classes about twenty minutes early. All teachers were told to get off campus at 3:00pm sharp. Road closures were coming, and there was a general feeling of impending eruption. We were told before 4:00, it was going to go down.
At 3:10, tumbleweeds blew through the campus. It felt like that played out scene in every western movie where everyone goes inside and waits for the impending showdown between the good guy and the sheriff, only in this case it was people vs riot police. I texted Shannon and she wasn't ready to leave. She, as the woman in charge of our school's accreditation process, had to get everyone on the bus and safely to their hotel. She
We finally left at 3:25. This was no problem, because we had about 35 minutes to get home, and we only live 15 minutes from school. But wait, there's more. We found out as we were leaving that the normal route we take from school was closed off. The police were closing main intersections to try to contain potential marching protest routes. So now we had an issue. We had to take a back route that we had never taken before, not knowing how long it took, and based on everything we heard, 4:00 was the witching hour. That's when it was going to go down. We were told by someone at school that it was possible that since we were foreigners, and there were rumors of US involvement in the election, we were potential targets if things got really bad. We were told to go home immediately and stay inside, just in case.
In my mind, all I heard was "Get you and Shannon home before 4:00pm or the world is going to deteriorate around you in some sort of post-apocalyptic nightmare. I was on a mission. My family was at risk, and it was turning into The Purge. (Don't watch if horror movies freak you out)
We got in the car and floored it as much as possible. Traffic was already starting to pick up and we were winging it by the seat of our pants. I turned into a getaway wheel man. We may have gone up on two wheels once or twice as we navigated the treacherous winding mountain roads. We may not have. I can't tell. It was all a blur. We finally made it home and got inside.
We monitored the news and checked out as many potential sources as we could to get as much information as possible. There wasn't much. We were told to expect school cancellations, which did not happen. So we got up and went to school the next morning, as usual.
We were told that there were protests. They have been ongoing for a week. Luckily, the most unrest we experienced came in the form of rhythmic car horn blowing while people waved their Ecuadorian flags out of their window. There was shouting. But nothing serious. There have been protests around the country and the city, but luckily, for us it never turned into The Purge. It appears that Moreno is the winner and that is irrefutable. If that stays, I hope that Ecuadorians can find peace with the decision and get back on the same page, working towards making Ecuador a better place. That's the dream we all have for our countries. Being in democratic countries allows us to have a say in the way we want to be governed, but once the people have spoken (assuming no improprieties) time comes for the nation to unite again and work towards progress, regardless of who or what you have in the seat of President of your country.
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