Ecuador is gearing up for a wide-ranging referendum on Feb. 5 that includes allowing the military to support the police in fighting drug trafficking, shrinking the size of the legislature and creating a water protection system.
The referendum is made up of eight questions, ranging from security and party registration to transparency and environmental protection. Among the proposals is to extradite Ecuadorians who are accused of international organized crime. Citizens can vote to approve or reject the eight proposals and any changes will amend the national constitution.
President Guillermo Lasso, a conservative former banker and leader of the center-right CREO party, took office in 2021.
“I ask you to use your democratic power through a citizen consultation which will confront problems that Ecuador has not been able to solve in the past,” said Lasso during an event in the capital Quito.
The government has struggled to control escalating gang violence in recent years. The murder rate has spiked from 5.8 per 100,000 in 2016 to 19.6 in 2022 — the highest ever recorded in Ecuador. Police attribute the majority of murders to clashes between criminal gangs fighting for control over the distribution and export of drugs.
Despite broad support for the referendum, there is deep discontent at the Lasso administration. The president’s approval rating has slid to 15% since social unrest swept the country in June 2022, triggered by increasing food and fuel prices. It was led by CONAIE, the country’s largest indigenous rights organization and later joined by students and labor unions.
Lasso labelled protests an attempted coup and declared a national state of emergency. Violent clashes between protesters and the police led to many injuries and arrests. Human Rights Watch documented 500 injuries, including 300 civilians, and six deaths, including one victim who was hit by a tear gas cannister.
The government believes that the reforms laid out in the referendum will create a pathway out of the current security and institutional crisis and better protect the environment.
