Jaime Nebot - Presidential Runs

Presidential Runs

In 1992 Nebot ran for president for the first time. Almost all of Nebot's support came from the coastal provinces, Guayas included. He placed second in the first round of elections held in May, getting 26 percent of the vote. He lost the July runoff against Sixto Durán Ballén. Durán Ballén beat Nebot by a 13 point margin.

He ran for president a second time in 1996. Nebot ran on a privatization of public services platform. Opponents claimed that his business-friendly approach would enrich his friends in the Guayaquil business community. Nebot, supported by large agricultural businesses from the coast, spoke at home of more social services. Abroad, he spoke to investors of public payroll cuts. His campaign slogan was "People First."

After placing first in the first round held in May, Nebot ran against populist Abdalá Bucaram in the July runoff. Bucaram succeeded in portraying Nebot as a member of the ruling class, thereby denying him support from the working class. Bucaram's negative campaign struck a chord among many poor voters. For example, when a line in Bucaram's TV ads mentioned the "evil oligarchy," the ads also showed a photo of Nebot with the caption "well pampered rich kid." Nebot "evoked strong feelings of rejection in many who preferred any other candidate." Nebot, for his part, ran as calm figure, elegantly dressed and always smiling. Nebot was also harmed by an untimely remark from his party boss and political mentor, León Febres-Cordero, who said on TV that Bucaram "was the candidate of pimps, prostitutes, and marijuana users." This further alienated Nebot from some voters.

Bucaram won 54 percent of the vote, Nebot 45 percent. After losing the election, Nebot became active in the opposition against Bucaram. In January 1997, Nebot called for the removal of Bucaram from office, arguing that Bucaram was insane. The following month, after a two-day general strike led by the opposition, congress threw Bucaram out of office. Bucaram fled Ecuador and found asylum in Panama. After Bucaram's overthrow, Nebot, at the head of Social Christian Party slate, won a seat in an assembly that redrafted Ecuador's constitution. In the 1998 election, Nebot rejected the Social Christian Party's nomination for the presidency and ran for congress instead. He won a congressional seat and held it until 2000, when he ran for mayor of Guayaquil.