For the October 2006 elections, RED entered into an alliance with the Democratic Left party, to support the candidacy of León Roldós and running mate Ramiro González, former Prefect of the Pichincha Province.
The alliance's presidential ticket came in fourth place with 14.8% of the votes, while RED won 5 of 100 seats in Congress.
She was considered one of the strongest left-wing contenders of President Rafael Correa whom she heavily criticized, but won only 4.3% of the votes.
Mario Unda, professor of sociology at the Central University of Ecuador criticized RED for a perceived drift to the right and links with business oligarchs.
[2] RED was joined by Mónica Chuji, a former member of Correa's government who had turned against him, accusing him of authoritarian tendencies and excessive economic focus on ecologically harmful extractive industries.