FTS 12:30 11-04: Electoral silence begins in Ecuador

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11/04/2025 FTS 12.30  *China raises tariffs on the United States *Israeli forces release young Palestinian man after a decade of imprisonment

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00:00Hello, welcome to From the South. I'm Luis Alberto Matos from Terzo Studios in Caracas,

00:17Venezuela. We begin with the news. Stay with us.

00:30In Ecuador, the electoral silence began this Friday ahead of Sunday's April 13 presidential

00:42runoff. Over 13 million citizens are called to the polls to choose the exhibit for the

00:46next four years. The National Electoral Council reported that public organizations and citizens

00:52must observe the electoral silence that will be maintained until 5 p.m. local time on Sunday,

00:58April 13. Electoral authorities also ratified the beginning of the trial law as from noon

01:02to Friday. Let us remember that this electoral process takes place amidst an economic crisis

01:07and high levels of insecurity, which according to different analysts will be decisive factors

01:13in the results of the presidential runoff.

01:28Also on Friday, assisted voting moves forward in Ecuador for people with disabilities within

01:33the process of the presidential runoff. The Ecuadorian National Electoral Council deployed

01:37174 voting stations and 110 routes in the country. The operation has the logistical and security

01:44support of the national police, the army and traffic agents. This program is aimed at people

01:51over 50 years of age with a physical disability equal to or greater than 75% and benefits 662 people.

02:21And as we are heading into Sunday's electoral ballot in Ecuador, we are going live with our special

02:30envoy Jorge Gestoso, who is in Ecuador, to have more details as everything is preparing as we are

02:36getting closer to the electoral day. Welcome, Gestoso. Welcome to From the South. What can you tell us from there?

02:41Thank you very much. We are here in our studios in Quito. We are just about 48 hours away from the

02:54clear moment of the runoff in the presidential elections and we have the privilege to have with us

03:03the political analyst David Martinez to put in perspective. We have seen each other

03:11before. Before, we're talking about two months ago. David, what has changed in the political arena

03:20regarding this runoff compared to two months ago with the first round? Well, Jorge, what we have seen is that

03:29polls have tightened. It's been a very tight race from the beginning, but within the last few

03:37weeks or so the polls have shown that optimism and certain support from social organizations and social

03:47bases have widened Luisa Gonzalez's opportunities. She is right now three or four points ahead in all

03:56serious polls and some showing at least five points of advantage. So there is a slight possibility that she is

04:06heading forward towards Sunday. Well, for the audience who watch us and they are not familiarized with the

04:14situation in Ecuador, first round, technical, whatever. It was a virtual tie. Virtual tie, 44% each of them.

04:25Third person in the in the first round, we're talking about Leonidas Isa, who represents an indigenous

04:32movement, movement, movement, movement called Pachacuti with 5.3%. So if you add up 44% plus the 5% of Pachacuti,

04:42we're talking about simple arithmetic, we're reaching close to 50%. And Pachacuti has given the endorsement

04:51to Luisa Gonzalez, plus another candidate that was eliminated before. We're talking about Jan Topic.

04:57talking about Jan Topic. Jan Topic. So basically, she is arriving to this runoff with more support,

05:05political support than in the first round. Very much so. We have seen not only Conalle, which is the

05:11largest indigenous group, but other smaller organizations, but other smaller organizations,

05:16and center-right candidates such as Jan Topic, who initially were supposed to support the right wing,

05:27but have shown their support for Luisa Gonzalez in the final stages.

05:32We have detected in the first round that all the time, all the voices in different parts of the country

05:42repeats, this is an election where the field is not level. It's not level in favor of the president

05:51candidate, because he was president candidate against the constitution, Daniel Novoa. For this runoff,

05:59the field is still not leveled? The field is still not leveled, and it hasn't been for the past eight

06:05years. We have to understand that this election is a referendum, finally, of neoliberal policies

06:12that have been in place for the last three governments, with Lenin Moreno, with Guillermo Lazo,

06:19and now 18 months with Daniel Novoa. People have not seen really any betterment in their lives,

06:31in their economic situation, in the violence. This has been the most violent trimester in the history

06:39of Ecuador with 2,500 homicides up until February. So people have not seen the results of these neoliberal

06:50policies. But what we have seen as well is an abuse of power from these elites, oligarchic elites in

07:01Ecuador that have taken over the judicial system, the electoral system. And now we see that they have full

07:10support from mainstream media, in private media in Ecuador, which has given them a certain advantage

07:18towards leading a discourse and engaging in illegal activity, really towards the elections. We have

07:29to remember that Daniel Novoa, as a candidate, had to request permission to be a candidate to the

07:37National Assembly, and he did not do so. And so he has not been respectful of the institutions and the

07:44electoral law. And this has shown that he is willing to break anything towards winning.

07:52And David, finally, we're saying that at 5 p.m. the polls closed. And in this country,

08:01polls closed, meaning this is the end of it. At that moment, if there's someone on the line,

08:07too bad should be arriving earlier. But at that moment, the telling starts to count.

08:15When are we going to get the results? Well, Diana Tamayin from the electoral council has said that

08:24results should be expected around 9.30 in the evening. On Sunday, on Sunday evening. And this is if it is

08:33possible to collect the entire percentage of the votes during that time. But we now know that if

08:45the elections are very close, we don't know what the response will be either from the Consejo Nacional

08:53Electoral or the candidates. We can expect anything,

08:58really. Anything is bound to happen. Both sides have a lot at stake with this election. And there will be

09:07people that are not happy with the results either way.

09:12So would you would you guess who will win?

09:19I don't dare to guess, but I can say that with the advantage that Lisa has, she probably has more

09:27opportunity of winning right now. The last few weeks have shown that she has broader support.

09:33And a few scandals that Norboa has had within the past few weeks have really affected his public image.

09:42And again, I say most of this is perception. Most of this is public perception and optimism.

09:49And what we have seen is a lot more optimism coming from the Lisa side.

09:54David Martinez, thanks very much for joining us.

09:55Thank you for having me.

09:57We were precisely having the honor to have with us David Martinez, a political analyst.

10:02We are discussing the scenarios facing the runoff on Sunday here in Quito, Ecuador.

10:11Continue reporting for you throughout the day. And we get back to you now.

10:15Thank you for this latest information. Of course, thank you for your special guest for all his

10:22inputs hearing from the south. Let's now take a short break and we'll be right back. So don't go away.

10:45Welcome back. In Venezuela, a flight arrived this Friday from the United States with 191

10:56repatriated migrants returning to the country through the Back to the Homeland plan. The flight

11:01arrived at the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiketia with 16 women and 175 men. Out of the 191,

11:09two are citizens with international arrest warrants from Interpol. In the year 2025, 13 flights

11:15with Venezuelan nationals have arrived in the country, of which 10 were Venezuelan airline

11:21Conviasa airplanes and three were US-based airplanes. The Venezuelan Minister of Transportation,

11:26Ramón Velázquez, pointed out that a total of 2,557 repatriated migrants have so far arrived in

11:33Venezuela in 2025. In our news in Chile, two young football fans, one of them a minor, were killed by

11:44policemen before the match between Colo Colo and Fortaleza in Group E of the Libertadores Cup.

11:50According to local media, a 13-year-old boy and an 18-year-old girl, both Colo Colo fans, died after

11:56being run over by a police car in the vicinity of the Monumental Stadium in Santiago de Chile.

12:02The match between Colo Colo and Fortaleza started a schedule, but it was stopped in the 76th minute.

12:08According to the Chief of the West Son of Santiago, General Alex Bajamondes, the driver of the car

12:13responsible for the incident has been charged but was not arrested. It is not the first time that

12:18Chilean policemen have repressed and killed football supporters in the vicinity of the Stadium Monumental.

12:31And the US government toughens migration controls by requiring mandatory registration

12:36of undocumented migrants with federal authorities. The decision will allow the Trump administration

12:41to proceed with the requirement, which had been challenged in court. In light of this,

12:45officials from the Department of Homeland Security warned that this Friday is the deadline for people

12:50who have been in the country for at least 30 days to register. On January 20th, President Donald Trump

12:56signed Executive Order 14159, which hardens the country's immigration policy, establishing

13:02harsher penalties for migrants. And China raises tariffs on US goods from 84% to 125%

13:13in response to the tariff war unleashed by Donald Trump's administration.

13:18Additional tariffs on goods imported from the United States will be revised as of April 12th.

13:23This latest 41-point increase is another Beijing response to the so-called reciprocal tariffs imposed

13:29by President Donald Trump. Chinese authorities have reiterated that the imposition of the United

13:33States of abnormally high tariffs on the country violates international trade rules and runs counter to

13:39basic economic laws and common sense.

14:01And Israeli occupation forces have been dropping overnight shillings on the gas strip as a result of

14:0612 Palestinians lost their lives, including seven minors. The Genosidal Army airstrook a house in

14:12Hanjuni city, southern Gaza, in which 10 family members did not survive such bombings. Israeli forces

14:19targeted the Al-Atatra northwestern Beit La Haya city, so they hit to death two other Gazans. In this context,

14:26a UN briefing detailed that from March 18th to April 9th, 2025, Israeli forces had mounted 224

14:33aggressions toward residential buildings and even the displaced tents. And 36 of these attacks targeted

14:40only women and children.

14:49Is this how my father was? Is this what he has become? He wasn't like this. This isn't the father

14:53that we know. This isn't the father that they took away. My father lived through famine, through a difficult

14:57life. He lived under bombardment. He got out from under the rubble twice. My father was shaken while he was

15:01injured. His pelvis was broken and he had fractured in his spine. He had just left the hospital and he

15:06could barely walk. Why did they take him to talk to him? From November 6th until today, 156 days

15:12have ascended. We were in agony. We were tortured and we were in pain. There was no rest or sleep for

15:17us there. We were tortured every day and every day they oppressed and humiliated us. We thank God we came out

15:22safe.

15:35For TeleSchool English, I'm Luis Alberto Matos.

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