Álvaro Noboa’s Interview at Cristal Radio Station



Álvaro Noboa: “We are snowballing. We’re already in the second round.”

In an interview in Radio Cristal, PRIAN List 7 candidate for President of the Republic,  Álvaro Noboa, highlighted that the campaign for President of the Republic had become polarized between his candidacy and that of Rafael Correa, and that was due to, among other factors, his proposal to eradicate poverty, combat crime and reactivate agriculture.

“We are snowballing, it’s incredible how the last weeks a snowball has formed in favor of Álvaro Noboa and today (Wednesday) I experienced in Riobamba one of the best welcomes that I have had in my life, since the year 1998 when I was on campaign. They threw rose petals from the houses, and thousands and thousands of people gathered around our cars. There were hundreds of cars, people walking. It was very, very emotional.”

He pointed out that in many provinces of the Sierra they hate the incumbent candidate, and are supporting Noboa. In some provinces, according to the polls, he is in first or second place with regard to Rafael Correa and the other hopefuls don’t appear with any significant numbers.

He attributed those results to the acceptance of his Noboa Plan that will reactivate the economy with reforms that will allow him to attract a thousand businesses, that will give jobs to two million people. That will generate wealth, lower unemployment and the number of those receiving the Human Development Voucher, “therefore, those who will remain unemployed, either because they are handicapped or can not work, will be a small number, and that small number will receive (a Voucher of) a hundred dollars.”

He spoke of fighting crime and insecurity, first by generating employment and second through professional action, for which he would bring in experts, like the former mayor of New York, Rudolph Giuliani, who rooted out violence in that city in the United States.

He repeated that he would lower taxes on agricultural supplies, among other measures, in order to reactivate the economy for farmers, at the same time that he promised that, from February 17, when he would be president, he would reinitiate the work of the New Humanity Crusade Foundation of supporting micro-enterprises in establishing their businesses and financing them, as it has done of the past 33 years.

TEXTUAL TRANSCRIPTION

Journalist:  Attorney Alvaro Noboa, regarding your campaign which is being processed these days and which are going to finalize, speak about your campaign proposals, and something else that’s interesting, which is this offer of raising the Voucher to $100 dollars.

Álvaro Noboa:  It’s simpler than you can imagine.  Once I move ahead towards reactivating the economy, attracting a thousand businesses who will give jobs to two million people, or if it were two thousand people per business, at this moment the two million unemployed who are now receiving the Voucher, the great majority will begin to earn $300, $600, $1,000 dollars, that which, according to their capacity they can receive, therefore, those who remain unemployed, or because of being handicapped can not work, will be a small number, and that small number will receive $100, because on neither $30 nor $50 is it possible to eat. They will receive $100 so that they can buy themselves a soup; some work can be found for them as well. I want to tell you that in Grupo Noboa, there are two companies: one has 2,000 employees, the other has between 8,000 and 10,000 families working for it. Whole families. Therefore, it is not unheard of if we convince a multi-national to come here to Ecuador, and they employ 2,000, 4,000, 5,000 people, because across the world, those companies have 50,000, 100,000 workers.

Journalist:   Counselor Álvaro Noboa, your proposal to raise the Voucher to $100 through your financing is very effective. One of the occurrences that has impacted Ecuadorians is what happened in Quinindé, Esmeraldas, where one person stabbed, killed two people and injured several others at a political rally. Counselor Álvaro Noboa.

Álvaro Noboa:   You reap what you sow. The incumbent candidate, as they call him, has spent his time sowing discord and now he’s reaping trouble. He has spent his time persecuting. I am one of the victims of his political persecution. He has spent his time opening doors to whomever, and today we have a huge number of traffickers living and doing business in the country. Besides that, there are the infamous murders. Besides that, there is hunger due to unemployment, because even if they get the Voucher, it doesn’t allow them to eat. The people go out to rob, they go out to kill, and for the first time (Rafael) Correa saw the devil, saw evil, on his own stage, and he looked at it face to face, and he saw in what world he’s got involved and he saw how insecure that world is for him and for all Ecuadorians who can’t even sleep in peace because they’re thinking that someone is going to break into their house and cause them harm.

Journalist:   Counselor Álvaro Noboa, in regards to this same issue, you speak about security that Ecuador requires. What are your proposals in regards to the area of crime?

Álvaro Noboa:  That’s simple. The very moment there is employment the people will stop going out to kill and to rob. That’s what happened in Japan, in Norway, in Sweden, where there is very little crime. There are people who are psychologically damaged, who are mafiosos, gangsters who prefer to live that life and die according to that horrible law. For them, one needs priests and doctors who cure them on an island in some part of Ecuador and who put them to work until they can be recuperated and until they can become part of society again. Mayor (Rudolph) Giuliani, from New York, dealt with the mafia; he cleaned them out with the police using modern methods. We’ll have to ask him to advise us in regards to this change as well.

Journalist:   Attorney Álvaro Noboa, tell us about your visit to Riobamba.

Álvaro Noboa:  We’re like a snowball. It’s incredible how this snowball in support of Álvaro Noboa has formed in support of Álvaro Noboa, and today in Riobamba I experienced one of the best welcomes in my life, since 1998 when I was on campaign. They threw rose petals from the houses. Thousands and thousands of people piled up around our parade. There were hundreds of cars; people walking. It was very, very exciting. For me, seeing that in a city of the Sierra, I would never have expected it. But they hate (Rafael) Correa now in the Sierra. You go to Loja, they hate him; you go to Tungurahua, they hate him; you go to Chimborazo, they hate him; and that’s where (a few years ago) the “No” won. So there’s been a very big political change in those provinces. Today, I even have Pichincha itself, thanks to the work of my wife, Dr. Annabella Azín; our ticket has the same acceptance as it has in Guayas, which is very impressive. Ecuador has been completely polarized:  the candidates are Noboa and Correa. The people don’t speak of anyone else.

Journalist:   Counselor Álvaro Noboa, I was just going to turn to the issue of the polls. How do the polls look, Counselor Álvaro Noboa?

Álvaro Noboa:  What we have is 35% to 26%, but we also have polls, there is a team of people who are working, every time that we arrive, for example to Lojas, day before yesterday, today to Chimbarazo, and in many of them we are already tied, Correa and I, and in others, I am in second place. Either I am winning, or I’m in second. So, don’t be surprised if the snowball continues, that the phenomenon of 2006 happens where (Rafael) Correa says that he was going to win in only one round, and he ended up in second place after me.

Journalist:   Counselor Álvaro Noboa, let’s continue with the tour of this interview. You have had a warning and a sanction from the Electoral Dispute Tribunal.

Álvaro Noboa:  Yes. From here until February 17, even though I will be President of the Republic, I can not donate what they call gifts. What the New Humanity Crusade Foundation has done, is what it has done for the last 33 years, which is to help the sick with Medical Brigades, giving students computers, helping unemployed people with micro-enterprises, and that is what we have done. We have helped handicapped people; we have helped with operations. So now, in all the parades, in light of this warning, I have at least 10 cases of people who approach me. One was blind and asked if I would give him the money to buy cards for cell phones that he could resell, like a business. The other person wanted to set up a restaurant, that with $1,500 he would be able to do so. The other wanted a canoe for fishing here on the Daule River, that could also be bought for $1,500. So, every time a blind person, a deaf person, a mute person, a handicapped person approaches me, I tell him that I am prohibited from helping them, because I am a candidate for President, and I take their name and number so that after February 17, I can help them, when I am President.

Journalist:   Counselor Álvaro Noboa, one of the affected sectors is agriculture.

Álvaro Noboa:  I have said that the farmers, among them the Grupo Noboa which has a very large agricultural area where we have nearly 10,000 families working, and that group of companies has not earned a profit in the last six years because the prices aren’t enough to cover the national costs, because the greater part of supplies has risen enormously due to the amount of taxes that are put on them. There are farmers who have been losing money every year and every time they are in greater debt with the Development Bank, and what is the result?  That they owe as much as the value of their farm. Therefore the farms are going to be taken over by the State and they’ll become non-productive areas, and whole families will be left unemployed. So that’s not going to happen under my government. I am going to lower the amount of taxes that affect the cost of agricultural supplies so that farmers are left with a reasonable profit margin and can continue producing high quality food at a fair price.

Journalist:   Attorney Álvaro Noboa, now in the final part of this very interesting interview that we have had. Among the incentives and within the opening of Ecuador towards the world, there are free trade agreements with Europe and the United States.

Álvaro Noboa:  I hope to establish agreements with a hundred, two hundred countries, like Chile has done, like Colombia and Peru are doing, bringing to an end the contraband from Colombia and Peru, which allows contraband good to enter those countries and the exit of dollars from Ecuador to Colombia and Peru. Because they have agreements with the United States and Europe, a refrigerator costs $200 dollars, while here, because of the taxes, the refrigerator costs $400, $500, $600. We’re going to end that soon. During my Presidency, there will be free trade agreement with the whole world. ’re going to end that soon. During my Presidency, there will be free trade agreement with the whole world.

Journalist:   Counselor Noboa, you speak of the reduction of taxes, but some of the government directives say that that is impossible at the current time, that the new President is not able to reduce taxes.

Álvaro Noboa:  It’s impossible of for the current President because nobody wants to come and invest in Ecuador. But when a thousand companies will come here, that will generate millions and millions in profit. With the 10% tax rate that we will charge, it will be enough so that the fiscal coffers will be much richer than under the incumbent candidate who is heading for poverty like in Fidel Castro’s Cuba, whereas I want to take the road to riches, like the United States, or the very same China, where 300 million poor people were transformed into a middle class.

Journalist:   We thank you for your presence here in this interview, and we wish you a good campaign on the way to February 17.

Álvaro Noboa:  Thank you very much and blessings to all Ecuadorians, and for all radio stations. Thank you very much to all of Ecuador.