Presidential Race starts in Equador

Ecuador kicked off its election campaign Tuesday ahead of the Feb. 19 vote that will determine whether President Rafael Correa’s progressive policies and so-called “Citizen’s Revolution” will continue in the South American country for another four years.

The election comes as President Correa and his Alianza Pais party wrap up 10 years in government championing social and economic policies that have lifted 1.5 million people out of poverty since 2007, tripled tax collection through more efficient processes, expanded universal health care and education, and made advances in controlling unemployment.

As the campaign officially gets underway, Alianza Pais’ Lenin Moreno — Correa’s vice president from 2007 to 2013 and former U.N. Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility — holds the favored spot in the polls with 28.6 percent of the popular vote, according to a recent Market survey.

Trailing behind the frontrunner, the Social Christian Party’s Cynthia Viteri polled at 19.3 percent, CREO’s Guillermo Lasso at 17.7 percent and the National Agreement for Change coalition’s Paco Moncayo at 14.8 percent.