Supporters of presidential candidate Yaku Perez, representing the Indigenous party Pachakutik, take part in a campaign rally in Quito, Ecuador, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021.
Voters in Ecuador are heading to the polls to pick a new president amid a deepening economic crisis exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
(AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)QUITO โ Evidence of the crisis in Ecuador is everywhere: shuttered restaurants, soaring oxygen tank prices and countless โfor saleโ and โfor rentโ signs hanging from buildings.
Jaramillo said the top two challenges for Ecuadorโs next president go hand in hand: A proper vaccination campaign of the majority of the population will be necessary to start the countryโs economic recovery.
The pandemic paralyzed 70% of businesses last year and left 600,000 unemployed, bringing the countryโs unemployment rate to almost 68%.