The campaign has been minimal on the part of the groups for and against the Noboa popular consultation and referendum on security, justice and employment.

President Daniel Noboa at an event in the south of Quito.
The campaign for the popular consultation called in Ecuador by President Daniel Noboa on security, justice and employment concluded this Thursday, April 18, 2024. This gives way to three days of silence marked by long blackouts of up to eight hours as a result of a serious energy crisis that the country is going through.
Since the period to promote ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to the eleven questions that make up this plebiscite began on April 7, the campaign has been minimal on both sides, with only some conferences by organizations against the approaches of this referendum.
In the streets the presence of advertising has been scarce, except for some bridges in the city of Guayaquil where numerous posters in favor of the Government were placed in the first days.
Security monopolizes the majority of the questions in the referendum, focused on giving the Government tools to strengthen the fight against organized crime, which Noboa declared at the beginning of the year as an ” internal armed conflict”, and began to consider its gangs as groups. terrorists and non-state belligerent actors.
In this sense, one of the most relevant questions is aimed at allowing the permanent support of the Armed Forces to the Police in operations against organized crime, without the need to decree states of exception.
Likewise, this referendum will put it in the hands of Ecuadorians to have the military control access to the country’s prisons, to prevent criminal gangs from rearming after large arsenals of rifles, pistols, grenades, explosives and knives.
The issue has also gained relevance to allow the extraditions of Ecuadorians who are required by the Justice of other countries.
Other questions are aimed at increasing the sentences for crimes linked to transnational organized crime and also at eliminating prison benefits for those convicted of some of these crimes, so that they are forced to serve the entire sentence in prison.
Likewise, it is intended to create a new crime of illegal carrying and possession of weapons for the exclusive use of the Police and Armed Forces and also allow weapons seized from criminal gangs and delinquents to be used to equip state forces.
On the other hand, the Government has also proposed expediting the expropriation of assets of illicit origin, as a way to hit the networks used by criminal organizations to launder money.
In terms of justice, the Executive seeks to recognize international arbitrations in any jurisdiction and not only in Latin America, as the Constitution currently establishes, as a method to encourage the arrival of investments. In addition, we ask about hourly work.
Another point of the consultation is aimed at creating courts in constitutional matters, specialized in hearing appeals for protection and habeas corpus.