Development: On 7 March Fabricio Correa, President Rafael Correa’s elder brother, announced that he had the 250,000 signatures needed to register a new political party to contest Ecuador’s 2013 presidential and congressional elections.
Significance: Fabricio, a businessman, has accused Rafael of dissembling in claiming that he did not know about Fabricio’s controversial (US$167m) contracts with his government. The president said that he cancelled all the deals with his brother’s companies when they became public.
Key points:
• Fabricio, 53, delivered the 250,000 signatures to the Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE), registering his movement, Equidad, Progreso i Orden (Equipo). He wants to run in the 2013 presidential contest.
• Fabricio’s main business is construction. He is on bad terms with his brother and has not met him since 2009.
• The CNE requires 158,000 signatures to register a new political movement for electoral purposes. The other movements already registered for the 2013 elections are: Movimiento Popular Democrático (MPD), a left-wing opposition movement; Sociedad Patriótica, which is led by a former president, Lucio Gutiérrez (2003-2005), whom Rafael Correa defeated in 2009; Movimiento CREO, another opposition party; and Partido Roldosista Ecuatoriano, headed by another former president, Abdalá Bucaram (1996/7); and finally, the ruling Movimiento Alianza País.
• The CNE is currently vetting the signatures presented by the indigenous movement, Pachakutik.
• Rafael Correa has yet to confirm whether he will stand for re-election in 2013.
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