(RSF/IFEX) – On the eve of the 26 November 2006 presidential run-off election between left-winger Rafael Correa and right-winger Alvaro Noboa, RSF has voiced concern that the threats and insults between the two candidates and their supporters that have marked the campaign could result in a witch-hunt against media outlets after the election. “We fear […]
(RSF/IFEX) – On the eve of the 26 November 2006 presidential run-off election between left-winger Rafael Correa and right-winger Alvaro Noboa, RSF has voiced concern that the threats and insults between the two candidates and their supporters that have marked the campaign could result in a witch-hunt against media outlets after the election.
“We fear the repercussions this campaign may have on Ecuador’s media,” the press freedom organisation said. “In the absence of real political debate, the exchanges between Correa and Noboa and their supporters were limited to insults, threats and dirty tricks, which the media reported, as it is their job to do. In such a tense climate, we hope the election results will be respected and that each candidate will keep his followers under control, and will refrain from any temptation to take revenge on media outlets that supposedly belong to the opposing camp. The last thing Ecuador now needs is a media war.”
In the first round on 15 October, banana magnate Noboa came first with 26 percent and left-wing economist Correa was runner-up with 23 percent. Noboa, who claims to be “God’s chosen” and wants to strengthen ties with the United States, criticises Correa for supporting Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez. Correa, in turn, criticises Noboa’s neoliberal views and authoritarian methods and accuses him of exploiting child workers on his banana plantations.
Throughout the six-week campaign, Noboa has accused Correa of being a “communist devil and terrorist”, while Correa said Noboa was “a far-right fundamentalist worthy of (former Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio) Somoza.”
Noboa is very suspicious of the media and on 6 November publicly accused television station Ecuavisión’s journalists of working for Correa and of participating in the “destruction of the country.” Ecuavisión responded by saying it would hold Noboa “responsible for the physical safety” of its personnel, according to Agence France-Presse.
