Xavier Neira Menéndez (born 25 July 1947) is an Ecuadorian

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

, politician, and member of the Social Christian Party (PSC). In August 1984, Neira was appointed Minister of Industry, a position he held for 33 months, when a scandal involving the Ecuahospital ended the government. In the aftermath, Neira moved to

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, to avoid an arrest warrant. He lived in the United States for three years until he was

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal means that the criminal prosecution has failed to prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charge presented. It certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an o ...

of all corruption charges by the Supreme Court of Ecuador. Neira joined the Social Christian Party (PSC) in 1993 and returned to politics. He was elected to the National Congress in 1994 and re-elected in 1998, ultimately serving in Congress from 1994 until 2002. Neira was the PSC nominee for

President of Ecuador The president of Ecuador (), officially called the constitutional president of the Republic of Ecuador (), serves as the head of state and head of government of Ecuador. It is the highest political office in the country as the head of the exec ...

in the 2002 presidential election. Neira picked Álvaro Pérez Intriago, a former Mayor of Quito, as his

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pre ...

of Vice President. Neira placed fifth in the first round of presidential election with 553,106 votes, or 12.1%. He did not advance to the presidential runoff, which was won by

Lucio Gutiérrez Lucio Edwin Gutiérrez Borbúa (born 23 March 1957) is an Ecuadorian politician and former military officer who served as the 43rd president of Ecuador from 2003 until his impeachment in 2005. In 2023, he was elected to the National Assembly. ...

References

Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Ecuadorian economists Government ministers of Ecuador Members of the National Congress (Ecuador) Social Christian Party (Ecuador) politicians Ecuadorian expatriates in the United States 20th-century Ecuadorian politicians 21st-century Ecuadorian politicians {{Ecuador-politician-stub