Luisa González

Luisa Magdalena González Alcivar (born 22 November 1977) is an Ecuadorian politician and lawyer who ran for President of Ecuador in the 2023 general election. She was elected to the National Assembly in the 2021 legislative elections representing the Province of Manabi.

González served in various positions in the government of Rafael Correa from 2007 to 2017. She worked as the Ecuadorian general counsel in Spain prior to entering politics and briefly was the Secretary of Public Administration under the Rafael Correa administration from January to May 2017. She also served various positions in the Tourism Ministry in the Correa government.

In June 2023, González announced her candidacy for president in the 2023 election, one month after her tenure at the National Assembly ended when the incumbent president, Guillermo Lasso, invoked a measure from Ecuador's constitution known as muerte cruzada. She advanced to the October run-off election after coming in first place in the first round of voting, losing to Daniel Noboa in the runoff election.

Early life
González was born in Quito, Pichincha Province. She was raised in Chone Canton, Manabí Province. She graduated from María Angélica Idrobo School before studying to become a lawyer at the International University of Ecuador. She received her master's degree from the Institute of Higher National Studies in Ecuador. González also received a master's degree in economics from Complutense University of Madrid in Spain.

Between 2002 and 2003, she worked at UniBanco, a bank in Quito.

González was a research assistant at the International University of Ecuador in 2005. She served in various positions in the government of Rafael Correa from 2007 to 2017. In 2007 before working for Correa, she was a member of the right-wing Social Christian Party.

Political career
In 2007, she was a candidate for the National Congress to represent the Pichincha Province for the right-wing Social Christian Party (PSC). In 2008, she worked as an advisor to the Secretariat of Communication and Information of Ecuador, and that same year she became General Coordinator of Human Resources, Institutional Development and Training of the Superintendence of Companies.

In 2010, she assumed the role of General Coordinator of the Presidential Strategic Agenda. Then in 2011, she was appointed as Vice Consul of Ecuador in Madrid. In 2014, González was promoted to Vice Minister of Tourism Management in the Ministry of Tourism. In 2015, she was appointed Undersecretary in charge of the Presidential Agenda and, later, Secretary General of the Presidential Office. That same year, González also held the position of Consul General of Ecuador in Madrid. In 2016, she assumed the role of Deputy Secretary General of Public Administration. In 2017, she held different positions, such as advisor in the company Correos del Ecuador, National Secretary of Public Administration, Minister of Labor in charge, Secretary General of the Quito Companies Intendancy in the Superintendence of Companies, and Consul General of Ecuador in Alicante.

In 2018, she became the national secretary for the Andean Parliament and in 2019, became the parliamentary advisor.

National Assembly (2021–2023)
González was elected as member of the National Assembly in the 2021 legislative elections, representing the Manabí Province for the first district, for the Union for Hope alliance. In February 2022, during a debate in the National Assembly on the decriminalization of abortion in cases of rape, she controversially took a pro-life stance and denied abortion as a right. González also objected to the Menstrual Health and Hygiene bill that, among various things, proposed the free distribution of menstrual pads. On 17 May 2023, when President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly through the decree muerte cruzada, González's tenure as an assemblywoman ended.

Illicit use of presidential aircraft
In 2019, a examination showed González used presidential aircraft to travel to various countries when she was a member of the government, without making a request to the President of the Republic. The Comptroller's Office found her liable for a total of $880,473 for the irregular use of the presidential plane to travel to tax havens.

2023 presidential campaign
On 10 June 2023, González was designated as the presidential candidate for the Citizen Revolution Movement to participate in the 2023 general election, after former Vice President Jorge Glas declined the nomination. 2021 presidential candidate Andrés Arauz was nominated as her running mate. Had González been elected president, she would have been the first female elected president in the country's history. On 13 June, while González was about to register her presidential candidacy with the National Electoral Council with her supporters and president of the Citizen Revolution movement, Marcela Aguiñaga, they were attacked with pepper spray and tear gas by the National Police. González was treated at a Quito medical center after flushing her eyes from the pepper spray. The National Police claimed to have used chemical agents to protect security and public order because of the hostile behavior of González's supporters. González was able to register her candidacy at the end of the day.

On 16 June, the National Electoral Council (CNE) denied González's candidacy because the party had not presented the corresponding documents. The CNE provided a period of 48 hours for González to correct the issue for her to participate in the elections. However, the next day, the Citizen Revolution Movement stated that the missing requirement was being corrected, and on 20 June the registration was accepted.

During her campaign, González had vowed to make former President Rafael Correa a central figure in her administration such as a "principal advisor". A poll conducted on 9 July, showed González as the front-runner with nearly 34% and former Vice President Otto Sonnenholzner in second place with 17.5%. Two polls conducted on 9 August, the day of Fernando Villavicencio's assassination, found González in first place at 35.4% and 24% with Villavicencio in second place at 18.4% and 12.5% respectively. On 12 August, a poll found her narrowly ahead of right-wing businessman Jan Topić for first place with 24.9% to Topić's 21.7%.

In the first round of the election, González advanced to the run-off election set for October 15, after winning 33% of the vote. She faced businessman and former Assembly member Daniel Noboa of the National Democratic Action. She lost the run-off election to Noboa on 15 October, after winning 47% of the vote. Had she been elected, she could have been the first woman elected to the presidency in Ecuador's history, and the second female president after Rosalía Arteaga, who briefly served as president for two days in February 1997.

Political positions
González has been widely described as a protege of former President Rafael Correa. She has been critical of President Guillermo Lasso and vowed to review all presidential decrees and executive actions done by Lasso in the aftermath of muerte cruzada. Her political ideology has been seen as left-wing and supportive of socialist ideas.

González said that she would treat the United States equally as she would to other countries. She also insisted that the United States should respect the country's "self-determination". She was described herself as an "animal rights defender" and has repeatedly invoked Correa's political positions and administration on the campaign trail. She has promised to re-introduce social and welfare programs that Correa had implemented during his presidency. González has also vowed to use $2.5 billion from international reserves to address the economy and invest in public infrastructure. González has denied that she would pardon Correa's corruption conviction, should she be elected.

During the 2023 referendum, González supported the measure that would have allowed oil exploitation in the Yasuní National Park, citing that it would benefit financial budgets aimed at education and the economy.

When she was a member of the National Assembly, González took a pro-life stance on the issue of abortion, rejecting the idea of abortion being a right. Prior to working in the Correa administration, González had right-wing ideologies and was a member of the Social Christian Party.

In 2023, as a presidential candidate, González argued that "Venezuela has better living conditions than Ecuador".

Personal life
González married at the age of 15 and divorced when she was 22 years old. She has one son from the marriage. González said that she is an Evangelical.