The president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, achieved a clear victory on Sunday in most of the questions of a referendum called to confront the spiral of violence in the country. However, the young politician did not sweep. Through 11 issues, the president sought the approval of legal reforms in security, judicial and labor matters. And the answer was not positive in all of them: according to the official results of the rapid scrutiny of the Electoral Council, in nine questions he won the yes and in two he won the no. The two questions that were rejected are not related to insecurity, which is the main concern of Ecuadorians. The first was about international arbitration to resolve investment, contractual and commercial disputes. And the second questioned voters about hiring hourly work.
The question that has received resounding support is that of the militarization of security. Citizens have given their approval to modify the Constitution and allow the Armed Forces to carry out operations together with the Police without it being necessary to decree a state of emergency. It has also been approved to allow the extradition of Ecuadorians. The initiative has the condition of not applying the death penalty and other inhuman, cruel or degrading penalties. Nor will extradition be granted for political and related crimes, with the exclusion of terrorism, crimes against humanity and others established in international conventions.
The plebiscite, called by Noboa in the midst of a deep security crisis, a criticized management of the energy system that has caused long blackouts and the diplomatic conflict with Mexico over the assault on the Mexican Embassy, is one of those with the highest absenteeism. in the history of the country. Almost 30% of the voters did not come to vote, which means 10 points more than the average that has traditionally been had in these elections. The day was not free of violence. The director of the El Rodeo prison, which is located in the province of Manabí, seven hours from Quito, was murdered while having lunch with his family in a restaurant. The military also had to intervene in a new riot at the Los Ríos prison, where four prisoners were injured.
The president has followed the results from the Carondelet Palace in Quito and had planned a meeting with the press, but announced that he will speak this Monday. Finally, he decided to publish a photo on Instagram surrounded by his family with a short message: “We have defended the country, now we will have the tools to fight crime and restore peace to Ecuadorian families.” And then, another photograph in X with some of his ministers: “The winning team.”
One of the first to react to the results was former president Rafael Correa, leader of the Citizen Revolution movement and staunch opponent of the Government. “A brake has been put on it, but we cannot forget that 62 million dollars were spent on an unnecessary consultation,” Correa said in “We are facing a guy who has no limits or scruples. That he wanted to be like Bukele, who has had great successes but also great mistakes. But he is more like Caligula, the extremely young Roman emperor who lost his head, because he did not know how to handle power,” he added.
If these results are ratified when the ballots are 100% counted, Noboa’s great challenge will be to get the Assembly to approve the legal reforms that are required to execute the questions of the popular consultation that won the yes vote. The Legislative is the new opposition front that the president opened after ordering the assault on the Mexican Embassy. The Government reduced its room for maneuver in the Assembly by converting its opponents to the Citizen Revolution, which has control of 38% of Congress and the assembly members of Construye, of the former Government Minister María Paula Romo, who accuses the president of having He allegedly pressured the judge of the Contentious Electoral Tribunal to cancel the registration of his political party. In this way it is difficult for the Government to assemble a new majority in the Assembly.
Noboa has anticipated this dispute and has immediately made changes to his Cabinet. Through three decrees, he accepted the resignation of the Minister of Government, Mónica Palencia, whom he will leave in charge of the Ministry of the Interior alone; that is, in charge of the Police. In his replacement, he appointed Michele Sensi Contugi Ycaza, who served as director of the Strategic Intelligence Center, as the new representative in politics.
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