Caracas, April 3rd 2017 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro congratulated Alianza Pais presidential candidate Lenin Moreno on his win in Ecuadorian elections this past Sunday.

In an official communiqué released following the announcement of official results Sunday evening, Maduro lauded the election as a major triumph for progressive forces across the continent.

“[C]onscious of the importance of the historic moment…The Ecuadorian people has dealt a strategic, continent-wide blow to the powers that be, led by the [US] State Department, which have once again failed in their obsessive attempt to destabilize the progressive governments in the region,” the statement reads.

In particular, the Venezuelan head of state hailed the victory as a guarantee for the continuity of regional integration efforts such as the CELAC, UNASUR, and ALBA, in which Ecuador has played a vital role.

Moreno, the successor to left-leaning two-term President Rafael Correa, was declared the winner of Sunday’s elections with 51 percent of the vote in comparison to former banker Guillermo Lasso’s 48.93 percent.

The victory – together with Nicaragun President Daniel Ortega’s reelection in November – follows a string of setbacks for regional progressive forces over the previous year and a half, which have seen right-wing neoliberal administrations come to power in Argentina and Brazil.