Who is Luisa González? The leftist politician who is again vying for Ecuador's presidency

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (AP) — A lawyer with limited political experience, Luisa González is vying for Ecuador’s presidency for a second time, but unlike the 15 other candidates on Sunday’s ballot, including incumbent Daniel Noboa, her quest has more to do with her anointer than herself.

The face and name of the leftist one-time lawmaker are on billboards, social media and television ads. Voters have no trouble distinguishing her from the only other female candidate even though they share last names. And yet, when Ecuadorians talk about “Luisa,” more often than not, her mentor former President Rafael Correa enters the conversation.

“The hard vote for Correa is safe, but the hard vote against Correa is very strong and President Noboa has figured out how to use it and capture it,” said Andrea Endara, coordinator of the political science program at Casa Grande University in the port city of Guayaquil.

Correa was among the leftist politicians who ruled across Latin America in the 2000s and whose populist policies were benefitted by a commodities boom as well as financial aid from China. He governed Ecuador from 2007 through 2017, grew increasingly authoritarian in the latter years of his presidency and was sentenced to prison in absentia in 2020 in a corruption scandal.

Now, the persisting divide he inspires among voters is likely to result in a repeat of the October 2023 runoff of a snap election, which González lost no Noboa. That vote triggered by the decision of then-President Guillermo Lasso to dissolve the National Assembly and shorten his own mandate as a result.

González, 47, was unknown to most voters until Correa’s party, the free-spending but socially conservative Citizen Revolution, picked her as its presidential candidate for a snap election in 2023. Up until then, her only experience in an elected position was her brief stint as a lawmaker, which she pursued after years in management positions at states agencies.

Last year, she became the president of Citizen Revolution. But much like during her first presidential race, her campaign this year has had to juggle how often and how far to distinguish her from Correa.

“Between the two great adversaries, the only candidate with the support of a political structure behind her is Luisa González,” said Franklin Ramirez, a political science research professor at the Latin American School of Social Sciences in Ecuador's capital, Quito. He explained that Citizen Revolution has several years of experience in government unlike Noboa's project, and crucially, has won elections since Correa left office.

“There is an organizational life beyond (Correa) that continues to produce cadres, and Luisa is part of that dynamic,” Ramirez said.

On the last day candidates were allowed to campaign, González promised thousands of cheering supporters gathered Thursday on a popular boardwalk in Guayaquil that she will put an end to the violent crime that has kept the country on edge for four years.

The spike in violence across the South American country is tied to the trafficking of cocaine produced in neighboring Colombia and Peru. Mexican, Colombian and Balkan cartels have set down roots in Ecuador and operate with assistance from local criminal gangs.

Under Noboa’s presidency, the homicide rate dropped from 8,237, or 46.18 per 100,000 people, in 2023 to 6,964, or 38.76 per 100,000 people, last year. Still, the rate remained far higher than the 1,188 homicides, or 6.85 per 100,000 people, in 2019.

González, guarded by military and security agents, told supporters she will “change the dark reality of the country,” where “no one feels safe.”

“We are going to exchange violence for peace,” she added, before blaming Noboa for not fulfilling his campaign promises in 2023, having increased taxes and raised the price of gasoline, and not preventing an electricity crisis that resulted in prolonged blackouts.

Associated Press writer Gabriela Molina contributed to this report from Quito, Ecuador.

Luisa Gonzalez, presidential candidate for the Citizen Revolution Movement, campaigns in Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

Luisa Gonzalez, presidential candidate for the Citizen Revolution Movement, campaigns in Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. The election is set for Feb. 9. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

Luisa Gonzalez, presidential candidate for the Citizen Revolution Movement, campaigns in Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. The election is set for Feb. 9. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.

Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.

“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.

"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.

Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.

Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.

Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.

At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.

Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.

Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.

After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.

“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”

Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.

Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.

His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.

“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”

Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.

FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)