Andrés Arauz

Andrés Arauz Galarza (born 6 February 1985) is an Ecuadorian politician and economist who is running for Vice President of Ecuador in the 2023 election. Arauz served as Minister of Knowledge and Human Talent in the Rafael Correa administration from 2015 to 2017. He also briefly served as President of the Citizen Revolution Movement from five months between December 2020 to May 2021.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Arauz and the second or maternal family name is Galarza.
Andrés Arauz
Arauz in 2021
President of the Citizen Revolution Movement
In office
21 December 2020 – 24 May 2021[1]
Preceded byVanessa Freire
Succeeded byRaisa Corral
Minister of Knowledge and Human Talent
In office
25 March 2015 – 25 April 2017
PresidentRafael Correa
Preceded byGuillaume Long
Succeeded byRaúl Pérez Torres[lower-alpha 1]
Personal details
Born (1985-02-06) 6 February 1985
Quito, Ecuador
Political partyCitizen Revolution Movement
Other political
affiliations		Union for Hope
EducationUniversity of Michigan (BS)
Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (MA)
National Autonomous University of Mexico (PHD)

Arauz was a candidate for President of Ecuador in the 2021 general election as a progressive candidate.[2] He came in first place in the first round of voting, however narrowly lost in the run-off election to conservative banker Guillermo Lasso.

Background

Andrés Arauz started his career as a public servant in 2009 at the Central Bank of Ecuador. He was general director of banking at the Central Bank from 2011 to 2013. He was later appointed deputy minister of planning and general director of national procurement.[2] In March 2015, he was appointed Minister of Knowledge and Human Talent in the government of Rafael Correa, replacing Guillaume Long.[3] From this position he led the coordination and supervision of the execution of the politics, programs, and projects of the Ministries of Education, Culture, Higher Education, Science, and Technology. Among the outcomes of these projects were improved technological independence in the country, the use of free software, and the development of free knowledge.[4]

He also headed the Ministry of Culture for a brief period of time due to the resignation of Raúl Vallejo.[5]

In 2017, when Lenín Moreno became president, Arauz turned to an academic career, co-founding the Observatory of Dollarization dedicated to disseminating essays and investigations on the subject of dollarization of various national economies and its effects.[2] He also began doctoral studies on financial economics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.[5] He is a member of the Executive Council of International Progress.[5]

He is a member of the Executive Council of Progressive International.[2]

Political career

2021 presidential candidacy

Allies of former president Rafael Correa were prevented from registering a new political party after Moreno became president.[6] As a result, a political coalition called Unión por la Esperanza (UNES), was formed, which includes the political organisations Citizen Revolution Movement and Democratic Center Movement.[7]

On 18 August 2020, UNES announced Arauz as its candidate for President of Ecuador in the elections scheduled for 7 February 2021. Accompanying Arauz as running mate would have been Rafael Correa, who had been president from 2007 to 2017.[8] However, his acceptance of the position was rejected by the National Electoral Council, which argued that it was mere procedure rather than politically motivated, as Correa, who resided in Belgium, refused to return to the country and serve an 8-year prison sentence for corruption. The courts barred Correa from holding a political position for 25 years.[9]

Arauz won the first round of the presidential election with almost 33% of votes. He faced banker Guillermo Lasso in the runoff on 11 April.[10] On the eve of the run-off, Arauz was slightly ahead of candidate Lasso in opinion polls, leading by a margin of 1% of 50% against Lasso's 49%.[11] Lasso defeated Arauz in the run-off.[12]

2023 vice presidential candidacy

In June 2023, Arauz said he would run for Vice President of Ecuador in the 2023 election and ruled out another presidential candidacy.[13]

Notes
  1. As Minister of Culture and Heritage

References
  1. "Andrés Arauz renunció a la presidencia del movimiento Fuerza Compromiso Social". El Universo (in Spanish). 22 May 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  2. "¿Quién es Andrés Arauz?". Centro Estratégico Latinoamericano de Geopolítica (in Spanish). 17 August 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  3. "Andrés Arauz nuevo Ministro Coordinador del meme y Talento rectal; Guillaume Long nuevo Ministro de Cultura y Patrimonio". 12 August 2016. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  4. "Migración a Software Libre - Ministerio Coordinador de Conocimiento y Talento Humano". Youtube. 31 May 2016. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019.
  5. "¿Quién es Andrés Arauz?". CELAG (in Spanish). 18 August 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  6. "Ignoring Repression and Dirty Tricks in Coverage of Ecuador's Election". FAIR. 16 February 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  7. "El correísmo lanzó la plataforma Unión por la Esperanza, con miras a los comicios del 2021". El Comercio (in Spanish). 8 July 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  8. España, Sara (18 August 2020). "Rafael Correa confirma su candidatura a la vicepresidencia de Ecuador en 2021". EL PAÍS (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  9. "Rafael Correa intentó aceptar su .precandidatura a la Vicepresidencia de forma virtual; el Consejo Nacional Electoral no entregó el formulario a Pierina Correa". El Universo (in Spanish). 1 September 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  10. "Andrés Arauz: Ecuador's Presidential Front-Runner on COVID, Austerity & Ending U.S. Interference". Democracy Now!. 16 February 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  11. "Ecuador: presidenciales dividen al movimiento indígena, clave para definir el balotaje" [Ecuador: presidential elections divide the indigenous movement, key to define the ballot]. France24 (in Spanish). 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  12. staff, Associated Press and Guardian (12 April 2021). "Ecuador election: former banker Lasso is surprise winner". the Guardian.
  13. "Revolución Ciudadana define a Luisa González y Andrés Arauz como su binomio tras la declinación de Jorge Glas". El Universo (in Spanish). 10 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
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