36-year-old president goes on a crusade – Crimea

D las naroden – voice of god: the results of a national referendum support a crusade against crime.

The president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, polled his people with 11 questions and the majority of them supported measures to strengthen the role of the state in the fight against criminal groups.

Ecuadorians, however, did not support the economic reforms of President Noboa, reported the Spanish news agency EFE, quoted by BTA.

Citizens of the Latin nation of 18 million expressed broad support yesterday in a national referendum for the president’s proposals to strengthen the fight against organized crime, but turned their backs on his plans for economic reforms.

Of the 11 questions in the referendum, Ecuadorians with between 62 and 73% of the votes supported nine of them, related to measures to strengthen the role of the state in the fight against criminal groups. The “no” vote prevailed on the issue of international arbitration (65%) and the legalization of hourly employment contracts (69%).

The referendum also serves as a barometer of Noboa’s popularity since he became president less than five months ago and with elections in 2025 looming.

Noboa, who took power on November 23, was elected to complete the 18 months remaining in the term of his predecessor Guillermo Lasso after he decided to dissolve parliament to avoid an impeachment vote, triggering early elections.

Now 36, Noboa, the youngest president in Ecuador’s history, has declared a crusade against organized crime and earlier this year declared an “internal armed conflict” against gangs he has come to label terrorist groups and “non-state military actors”. .

With the referendum, however, his campaign promise to create jobs for young people hit a snag with the refusal to legalize hourly contracts.

Three of the issues voted in the affirmative take effect immediately after the official results are announced, as they relate to amendments to the 2008 constitution introduced during the presidency of Rafael Correa.

The first, with the highest positive vote (73%), refers to the armed forces joining the police in operations against organized crime.

With 65% yes, the extradition of Ecuadorians requested by the authorities of other countries will be implemented, and with 60% approval of the referendum, a system of courts on constitutional issues will be created.

The rest of the measures, where the “yes” vote prevailed, include bills that must go through parliament, such as giving the armed forces control over access to prisons, which are at the heart of the country’s security crisis.

The same path will follow the toughening of penalties for acts related to organized crime, as well as the abolition of sentences without parole.

Parliament must decide whether to criminalize the possession and carrying of weapons intended for the exclusive use of the police and armed forces, and to adopt mechanisms for them to be equipped with weapons seized from criminals and for the expropriation of illegal goods.

“We have protected the country, now we have more tools to fight crime and bring peace back to Ecuadorian families,” Noboa wrote on his Instagram account.

Ex-President Correa, who campaigned against the 11 proposals, considered the rejection of the two economic issues a victory for the people and a “clear defeat” for Noboa.

“The Ecuadorian people put an end to an ambitious dictator,” Correa said.

With more than 13.6 million Ecuadorians called to vote, the referendum had a 72 percent turnout and was marred by the assassination of the director of El Rodeo prison in the city of Portoviejo and an attempted prison riot in the city of Quevedo that left at least four injured.

The week before the vote was also marked by the murders of two mayors of towns where illegal mining activities are taking place, as well as a severe energy crisis that forced the government to impose blackouts to curb consumption.