February 14,2013
Latin America as well as the United States will closely be looking to Ecuador on the 17th of February 2013 when the country will hold its presidential elections.
After nine countries around the world, including countries very relevant to Ecuador not only in terms of politics, like the United States and Venezuela, have within the last four months held their presidential elections, it is now Ecuador that is about to start into a new election round. The first election round, in which the president, the vice president as well as 137 assembly members plus five representatives for the Andean Parliament will be elected, is carried out on 17th February 2013. As the news outlet Reuters stated in an article from the 8th of February, Prefiles, a pollster, has published forecasts in which Correa receives 62% of the votes whereas his closest pursuer Guillermo Lasso only receives 9% of the votes. Numerous other polls see Correa as well in the far lead, however with slightly different numbers.
Correa has supported and practiced socialist ideas like his close alley Hugo Chávez, the president of Venezuela and socialist movement leader of Latin America. The separation from the United States by minimizing cooperation and therefore the US' influence in Latin America has ever since been one of the main focuses of the socialist movement and its leaders, primary from Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia. The cooperation between Ecuador and its Latin American partners has on the other hand been of great importance to Correa. During the attendance at the United Nations Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development in New York in 2009, Correa said about the collaboration between Latin American countries that, œwe are friendly countries, sister countries. We coincide on many points of views. So why not take that step towards integration [¦]?
Rafael Correa has in his 6-year presidency initiated many projects like infrastructure and transportation upgrades which have made the country more accessible for tourism. Besides other infrastructure upgrades, some new flight routes of Ecuador's biggest airline TAME have recently been established between Ecuador and Latin American countries like Venezuela, Peru and Colombia. A direct flight route to Sao Paulo in Brazil is planned to be launched soon.
Now that all these developments towards more cooperation and liberation in many Latin American countries are happening, the Quito based adventure tour operator Gulliver Expeditions has seized the change to launch two cross-border products which combine Ecuador with either Peru or Colombia.
The tour that extends to Peru includes first the Avenue of Volcanoes in Ecuador's Andes, and then Lima and Cusco in Peru, where from the latter a tour to Peru's archeological and cultural heritage, the Machu Picchu, is undertaken. Colombia with its colonial heritage and white sandy beaches can, as another option, be combined with the beautiful Avenue of Volcanoes where Ecuador's highest volcanoes and high plains with its diverse flora and fauna can be found. Cities like Bogotá, the capital with its numerous heritage sites, Medellin in the valley of Aburra, and Cartagena on Colombia's north coast are part of this cross-border journey.
Finally, as during Correa's two presidential terms infrastructure and transportation developments in South America have made several countries more accessible for incoming tourists, it is now time to seize the chance to explore respectively two South American countries in only one tour by travelling with a safe and experienced tour operator, such as Gulliver Expeditions or other.
About Gulliver Expeditions
Gulliver Expeditions, Quito based tour operator and agency, specializes in adventure travel Ecuador, including climbing and hiking tours in the Avenue of the Volcanoes and the highlands. They also offer cultural sightseeing, biking tours, horseback riding, jungle trips and once-in-a-lifetime cruises to the Galapagos Islands, as well as tailor-made itineraries for trips across the whole country.
Every one of Gulliver's Ecuador tours intergrates high-quality, personalized service, competitive prices, high standards in safety procedures as well as professional, qualified guides.
For more information contact Gulliver on www.gulliver.com.ec , mail to info@gulliver.com.ec or call +593 (2) 2529297 or +1 (347) 535 066.
