Bloomberg Línea — At 35, Daniel Noboa Azín achieved the dream his wealthy father couldn’t in five attempts: to attain the highest office an Ecuadorian can aspire to, the Presidency of the Republic. Moreover, he will become the youngest president in the country’s history.
Born in Guayaquil, Noboa completed his secondary education at the German Humboldt School in that city before heading to New York to study Business Administration at the Stern School of Business.
As he shares on his own website, he leveraged his American experience to specialize in public service. In recent years, he pursued three master’s degrees: in 2019 in Business Administration and Public Administration at the Kellogg School of Management; in 2020 at Harvard University, and in 2022, he completed his master’s in Political Communication and Strategic Governance at The George Washington University.
Professional Career
At 18, Daniel Noboa founded DNA Entertainment Group, an event organizing company, of which he still held the CEO position. Years later, he joined the family business, Corporación Noboa, where he became the maritime director. He served as the commercial director until June 2018, overseeing global sales strategy for all food products and managing the company.
Political career
In 2021, he ran in the legislative elections representing the province of Santa Elena for the Ecuatoriano Unido movement. He was elected to the position and served until May 17, 2023, when the Assembly was dissolved due to Guillermo Lasso’s decision to enact the ‘muerte cruzada’ (crossed death).
In May 2023, he ran for the presidential elections for the Acción Democrática Nacional (ADN) political movement, backed by the Pueblo, Igualdad y Democracia (PID) and MOVER movements.
What does Daniel Noboa propose?
- Encourage the creation of small and medium-sized businesses, with policies that reduce bureaucracy and facilitate credit access.
- To invigorate the economy, he suggests tax incentives for the productive sector that promote sustainability and tax exemptions for new companies during their early years.
- Update and apply the minimum wage to reflect living costs and economic conditions. Noboa advocates for wage equality through policies addressing wage discrimination, implying a review and adjustment of the minimum wage.
- A zero-base budget policy, meaning entities justify their expenses annually instead of basing allocations on the previous year’s budget.
- Militarize the country’s ports and borders to curb drug trafficking.
- A plan for construction and maintenance of state infrastructure for transportation, energy, water, and sanitation.
In the first round, Noboa garnered 23% of the votes, emerging as the outsider of the day, as he initially ranked sixth out of eight candidates in the polls.
His father’s story as a candidate
His father, Álvaro Noboa, ran for the presidency five times and made it to the runoff in 1998, 2002, and 2006 but never clinched the top spot. He was defeated by Jamil Mahuad, Lucio Gutiérrez, and Rafael Correa.