Jaime Nebot

His father, Jaime Nebot Velasco (1921-2001), of Catalan backgrounds, was a government minister during the administration of President José María Velasco Ibarra (1968–1972).

His mother is Sulema Saadi, the daughter of a Lebanese immigrant who came to Ecuador after living in Brazil.

Nebot was educated in various Catholic schools, including Colegio Cristóbal Colón in Guayaquil and Colegio San Gabriel in Quito.

He has a law degree from Católica Santiago de Guayaquil.

Jaime José Nebot Saadi (born October 22, 1946) is an Ecuadorian lawyer and politician.

He formerly served as mayor of Guayaquil, which is Ecuador's largest city.

He is affiliated with the Social Christian Party (PSC) and the Madera de Guerrero Civic Movement.

He lost the July runoff against Sixto Durán Ballén (one of the co-founders of the PSC back in 1951).

Durán Ballén beat Nebot by a 13 point margin.

He entered politics in 1984, when he was appointed governor of Guayas province (the district encompassing Guayaquil) by then-president León Febres-Cordero.

During his tenure as governor he sent police on a three-day operation to evict more than 700 families who were squatting on private land in Guayaquil.

During the incident in Taura when President Febres-Cordero was kidnapped by some military officials led by Vargas Passo, Nebot played an important role in the negotiations for his freedom.

He was governor until 1988, when Febres-Cordero's administration ended.

In 1990 Nebot ran for congress on the PSC slate and won a seat representing Guayas province.

On August 31 of that year, while a parliamentary session was being broadcast on TV, Nebot, visibly agitated, began shrieking hysterically at a fellow congressman, Víctor Granda of the Socialist Party.

"Come here so I can urinate on you, you insect son of a Bitch" Nebot shouted at Granda.

"I can't just hit you. I have to urinate on you."

Police had to stop Nebot from physically assaulting his opponent.

The disagreement stemmed from Granda's alleged backroom dealings with members of other parties.

Nebot ran twice for president of Ecuador, in 1992 losing against Sixto Duran-Ballén, and in 1996 losing against Abdalá Bucaram.

Nebot was born to a prominent Guayaquil family.

In 1992 Nebot ran for president for the first time.

Almost all of Nebot's support came from the coastal provinces, Guayas included.

He placed second in the first round of elections held in May, getting 26 percent of the vote.

He ran for president a second time in 1996.

Nebot ran on a privatization of public services platform.

Opponents claimed that his business-friendly approach would enrich his friends in the Guayaquil business community.

Nebot, supported by large agricultural businesses from the coast, spoke at home of more social services.

Abroad, he spoke to investors of public payroll cuts.

His campaign slogan was "People First."

After placing first in the first round held in May, Nebot ran against populist Abdalá Bucaram in the July runoff.

Bucaram succeeded in portraying Nebot as a member of the ruling class, thereby denying him support from the working class.

Bucaram's negative campaign struck a chord among many poor voters.

For example, when a line in Bucaram's TV ads mentioned the "evil oligarchy," the ads also showed a photo of Nebot with the caption "well pampered rich kid."

Nebot "evoked strong feelings of rejection in many who preferred any other candidate."

Nebot, for his part, ran as calm figure, elegantly dressed and always smiling.

Nebot was also harmed by an untimely remark from his party boss and political mentor, León Febres-Cordero, who said on TV that Bucaram "was the candidate of pimps, prostitutes, and marijuana users."

This further alienated Nebot from some voters.

Bucaram won 54 percent of the vote, Nebot 45 percent.

After losing the election, Nebot became active in the opposition against Bucaram.