(Quito) Ecuador’s new President Daniel Noboa won a resounding victory Sunday in a referendum he billed as a way to crack down on criminal gangs behind a wave of growing violence.
An official quick count showed Ecuadorians overwhelmingly voted “yes” to nine questions focused on strengthening security measures, rejecting only two proposals for more controversial economic measures.
The rapid count was announced by the president of the National Electoral Council, Diana Atamaint. He confirmed a private poll released hours earlier, which indicated a resounding victory and a sign of support for President Noboa.
Among the measures approved were Mr Noboa’s call to deploy the army in the fight against gangs, remove obstacles to the extradition of accused criminals and lengthen prison sentences for convicted drug traffickers.
Ecuador was traditionally one of the most peaceful countries in South America, but it has been rocked in recent years by a wave of violence, much of it originating in neighboring Colombia, the world’s largest producer of cocaine. . Last year, the country’s homicide rate reached 40 deaths per 100,000 people, one of the highest in the region.
President Noboa has gathered popular support by confronting the gangs head on. That task became even more urgent in January when masked gunmen, some on the orders of imprisoned drug traffickers, terrorized residents and took over a television station while it was live, in a display of unprecedented strength.
Following this rampage, the 36-year-old president declared an “internal armed conflict”, allowing him to use emergency powers to deploy the army in pursuit of around twenty gangs now classified as “terrorists”. “.
The referendum, in which 13 million Ecuadorians were called to vote, aimed to extend these powers and place them on a more solid legal basis.
Some of the approved measures involve changes to the Ecuadorian constitution, but since they have been previously approved by the Constitutional Court, Mr. Noboa only needs to publish them in the official gazette for them to come into force. Some of these initiatives are linked to the use of the army and extradition.
For changes that require modifying certain general laws, the president will have to send a reform proposal to the Assembly, which will have 60 days to process it.
Mr. Noboa, before the final count, celebrated the results. “We defended the country,” he wrote in a message posted on social networks. We will now have more tools to fight criminals and restore peace to Ecuadorian families. »
Mr Noboa’s law and order rhetoric is reminiscent of the policies of El Salvador’s popular President Nayib Bukele and could give him a political boost as he prepares to run for office next year. next.
Mr. Noboa, scion of a wealthy banana exporting family, is serving the final 18 months of a presidential term left vacant when fellow conservative Guillermo Lasso resigned amid a Congressional investigation into corruption allegations. Mr Noboa was elected after a shortened but bloody campaign in which one of his main rivals was brazenly murdered while campaigning.