Ecuadorian voters rejected the four proposals presented by Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, included in the referendum and popular consultation held on Sunday in the Latin American country, by more than 95 percent of the votes.
According to data from the National Electoral Council (CNE), the majority of Ecuadorians took a position against the presence of foreign bases in the national territory (about 60.6 percent), the cessation of state funding for political parties (more than 58 percent), and the reduction of seats in the National Assembly (53.5 percent).
This was also the case for the referendum on calling a constituent assembly to rewrite the 2008 constitution, which about 62 percent of voters opposed.
In the case of the question about establishing foreign bases, the voters’ response completely contradicted the executive authority’s expectations of the possibility of the United States establishing two bases on its territory, in Manta and Salinas (west), after US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited them on separate tours accompanied by Noboa and prominent figures in her government.
Manta actually hosted a US military base – a forward operating center for Southern Command – for ten years, between 1999 and 2009, in a presence linked to complaints of human rights abuses. After this period, the Ecuadorian authorities assumed full control of the facilities located on the Pacific coast, while foreign military bases were banned by law in 2008, under Rafael Correa.
These results inflict a defeat on the Noboa government, which was “optimistic” about the elections in which it led the “Yes” campaign with its National Democratic Action Party, taking into account that the participation rate reached 80 percent of voters, as indicated on the social media network
In fact, the Ecuadorian president limited himself to saying, “These are the results. We consulted with the Ecuadorians and they spoke.” He defended the same platform, saying: “We respect the will of the Ecuadorian people,” with a brief message in which he stressed that “our commitment does not change; it is strengthened,” and promised to continue “fighting tirelessly for the country it deserves, with the tools at our disposal.”
At the forefront was the Citizens’ Revolution (RC), which denounced the spending of “a million dollars” by the Noboa executive in a consultation described as a “distraction” for the privatization of education and health. However, the main force in the opposition has argued that the current constitution “guarantees” and “generates” a rule of law that defends minorities.
The leader of the Corista formation and former presidential candidate, Luisa Gonzalez, celebrated the result on social networks, claiming that “this victory does not belong to political parties. Rather, Noboa’s resounding ‘no’ belongs to the Ecuadorians, who defeated the hatred that confronts a brotherly people and leaves us with pain and devastation.” He added, “The country has triumphed! Today faith and hope for better days have triumphed. May God bless Ecuador because today we begin to rewrite our history with peace and unity.”
The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAI) also expressed its opposition to the government consultations, along with other social organizations and unions, which announced at the end of October that they would redirect the confrontation with the Noboa executive into a “no” campaign after the end of the strike against the cancellation of diesel subsidies.
This vote comes amid an unprecedented escalation of violence in Ecuador, due to the increase in drug trafficking. The declaration of internal armed conflict – and the resulting state of emergency in a large part of the territory – and the classification of criminal groups as terrorist organizations and joint operations between the army and the police, which is one of the pillars of the crackdown in Quito, were not sufficient to reduce the murder rate.
The appointment to the ballot box is also the second of its kind called by Noboa, as in April 2024 he asked eleven questions about security and institutional reforms, and “Yes” won nine of them. This is the 15th direct democracy process at the national level since its establishment in 1978. Former President Rafael Correa (2007-2017) was the president who made the largest number of calls, with four.
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