Ecuador shuns socialism in election surprise

Ecuadorean banker Guillermo Lasso has won Sunday's presidential runoff vote against leftist economist Andres Arauz, putting the country on track to maintain open market policies rather than return to socialism.

Bryan Wood reports.

Ecuador chose a conservative banker as its next president on Sunday.

It's a surprise result in a runoff election for Guillermo Lasso who won out over leftist economist Andres Arauz.

Lasso ran on a platform promising to jumpstart the economy with free market economics against social welfare plans from Arauz.

''This is a historic day.

It is a day in which all Ecuadoreans have decided their future, they have expressed with their vote the need for change and the desire for better days for all." The results set the country apart in South America in its rejection of socialism, while Argentina, Chile and Bolivia have seen recent, popular leftist movements.

Ecuador instead is set to maintain its open market policies, a move welcomed by foreign investors wary of the country’s weak finances.

The global health crisis has pushed a third of Ecuador’s population into poverty and left half a million people unemployed.

Outgoing President Lenin Moreno, who did not seek re-election, was unable to revive the economy.

Lasso is set to take office at the end of May.