Xavier Neira Menéndez (born ?) 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 ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

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

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...

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 ( es, Presidente del Ecuador), officially called the Constitutional President of the Republic of Ecuador ( es, Presidente Constitucional de la República del Ecuador), serves as both the head of state and head of govern ...

in the 2002 presidential election. Neira picked Álvaro Pérez Intriago, a former

Mayor of Quito The Metropolitan Mayor of Quito ( es, Alcalde Metropolitano de Quito) is the head of the executive branch of the Quito (canton), Metropolitan District of Quito, and is the highest-ranking official on the Council of the Metropolitan Municipal Di ...

, as his

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint Ticket (election), 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 ...

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 Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

, which was won by

Lucio Gutiérrez Lucio Edwin Gutiérrez Borbúa (born 23 March 1957 in Quito) served as 43rd President of Ecuador from 15 January 2003 to 20 April 2005. Early life Lucio Gutierrez, in full Lucio Edwin Gutiérrez Borbua, (born 23 March 1957, Quito, Ecuador), ...

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