QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuadorians go to the polls Sunday, in a referendum praised by the country’s young leader as a way to crack down on criminal gangs behind a rising wave of violence.
Most of the 11 questions asked of voters focus on strengthening security measures. Proposals include deploying the army in the fight against gangs, loosening obstacles to the extradition of accused criminals and lengthening prison sentences for convicted drug traffickers.
Ecuador, traditionally one of the most peaceful countries in South America, has been rocked in recent years by a wave of violence, much of it coming from neighboring Colombia, the world’s largest cocaine producer. Last year, the country’s homicide rate soared to 40 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the highest in the region.
President Daniel Noboa rallied popular support by confronting gangs head-on. That task became more urgent in January when masked gunmen, some on the orders of imprisoned drug traffickers, terrorized residents and took control of a TV station while airborne in an unprecedented show of force.
Following the violence, the 36-year-old leader declared an “internal armed conflict”, allowing him to use emergency powers to mobilize the army in pursuit of around 20 gangs now classified as “terrorists”.
The referendum seeks to expand these powers and place them on a more solid legal basis.
But recalling the law and order policies of El Salvador’s wildly popular President Nayib Bukele, a fellow millennial, could also boost Noboa politically as he prepares to run for re-election next year.
Noboa, the descendant 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 an investigation into alleged corruption by Congress. He was elected after a short but bloody campaign that saw one of his main rivals shamelessly murdered during the campaign.
