Ecuador’s president has proposed lifting the ban on foreign bases in the country. To do that, they have to go through the Constitutional Court and then ask for a referendum, which in Ecuador is called a Popular Consultation. In other words, they will need citizen support.
In order to modify or amend the Constitution, Article 100 of the Organic Law on the Guarantee of Jurisdiction and Constitutional Control requires first going through the Constitutional Court. From there, the next step will be assigned.
The main purpose of foreign military bases in Ecuador is to fight the drug trade, an international industry that causes violence on the streets and in Ecuadorian prisons. Since every prison center is dominated by gangs from Mexico to Brazil.
During more than a decade of socialism, Ecuador closed the Manta base. From there, Plan Colombia was implemented, a collaboration with the United States to fight drug trafficking. For socialist rhetoric, this is a sovereignist initiative. However, for the opposition, this is the beginning of the end of the oasis of peace that has existed in Ecuador for decades.
Due to its geographical position, Ecuador is between Peru and Colombia, both countries are oppressed by Marxist guerrillas that cause civil war, chaos, violence and above all the surrender of villagers to militias financed by the drug trade.
For decades, Ecuador has been an oasis of peace in the middle of the neighboring desert because of the extreme violence of the Marxists. But things changed and over the years, Ecuador surpassed both countries in violence and rose to the top of the most violent countries (and cities) in the world.
Historical context
It should be noted for readers from other countries that Ecuador, especially for readers from the US that has had the same Constitution since its establishment, this South American nation changed its Constitution in 2008 during the socialist era.
Every nation in the area affected by socialism has seen its Congress dissolved and replaced by a very typical figure of the French Revolution (remember that soviet also means assembly in Russian): the Assembly. Legislators cease to be members of Congress and become “members of the assembly.”
This happened in Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Ecuador. There are currently efforts in Chile to change the Constitution. However, there is resistance at the same time. That has so far prevented, despite the chaos of riots that occurred in 2019 (“Bolivarian wind” as Nicolás Maduro called it).
Although less known internationally, the riots took place in Ecuador. Ecuador’s Confederation of Indigenous Citizenship is leading what it calls a “social explosion”. Its leader, Leonidas Iza, wrote a book launched in Washington under the title “Outburst” and its conclusion “communism or Indo-American barbarism.”
Even less well known is how peace can be achieved. While in Chile churches were burned, both Catholic and Protestant, and in Colombia mobs invaded the Emeritus Cathedral of Bogotá with the proclamation of abortion, in Ecuador peace agreed thanks to the Episcopal Conference (the same thing happened again in 2022). FEINE, the Federation of Evangelical Indigenous Peoples, also participated. The Holy Mother Church calls her children. The only woman at the dialogue table was a nun. Indigenous groups do not bring women and feminists do not demand gender quotas. Because the fight is not against patriarchal culture if it is “color”.
However, the incident is a faithful example of how the church reaches where the State does not and how when the morality of society is still deep-rooted, violence stops, wherever it comes from. Damage exceeds 800 million dollars in Ecuador. However, peace can be achieved quickly and without harming other nations.
When do Ecuadorians vote?
Ecuador has consistently beaten socialism in the polls ever since. And will soon be able to deepen the process. On February 9, 2025, there will be a vote for the President of the Republic, the National Assembly and the Andean Parliament. If there is no winner in the first round, there will be a second round on April 13.
In that case, the National Electoral Council may include the question of the restoration of foreign military bases in the country. And, if the Constitutional Court decides, there will be deliberations in the National Assembly before.
So it didn’t take long. President Daniel Noboa, who was born in the US, is a supporter and wants to stay in power, as he has launched himself as a candidate. In the debate, we will see what the position of the other candidates is on the subject.
Mamela Fiallo Flor is a professor of lengua and history, columnist and conference. Plasma su amor por la libertad y pasión por la verdad en cada note.
Mamela Fiallo Flor is a language and history teacher, columnist, and speaker. He showed his love for freedom and passion for truth in every writing he wrote.