Ecuador News Round-Up No. 24: Noboa Cracks Down on Protests While Pushing to Rewrite the Constitution - Center for Economic and Policy Research
Executive Summary (very lightly edited by ISSE)
In mid-September, President Daniel Noboa announced the removal of Ecuador’s long-standing diesel subsidies. When a similar measure was previously attempted in 2019 and 2022, it sparked Indigenous-led protests that nearly toppled two governments. Noboa’s decision triggered mass demonstrations once again and a national strike, though this time on a more limited scale. The Noboa administration responded with violent repression, resulting in widespread human rights violations, the deaths of three protesters, and hundreds of arrests and injuries. International human rights organizations condemned the government’s actions, while CONAIE, Ecuador’s largest Indigenous organization which led the protests, ultimately ended the strike within a month, having secured no concessions and prompting debate over why this year’s protests failed when earlier demonstrations had succeeded.
Noboa next pushed a referendum (rejected by Ecuadorians during a November 16th vote taken subsequent to this report’s publication) which included a number of proposals, two of which were especially controversial. The first called for the convening of a popularly elected constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution. Noboa claimed that the proposal was essential for advancing his economic and security agenda, but opponents (like CONAIE, unions, and the left-leaning party Citizens’ Revolution) warned that it would erode fundamental rights enshrined in the current constitution. The second proposal sought to overturn the constitutional ban on foreign military bases, a measure Noboa insisted was vital for combating “narcoterrorists.” Critics, however, reject the idea of permitting foreign military bases (and potentially a US base in particular) in Ecuador, citing concerns over sovereignty, human rights, and the environment. The campaign was been marketly unequal, with Noboa’s side vastly outspending opponents and with the government offering subsidies to sway voters.
Meanwhile, Noboa’s militarized security policy has failed to improve public safety. With a projected 50 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, 2025 is on track to surpass 2023 as Ecuador’s deadliest year on record. Instead of reducing violence, the government’s approach has fueled an increasing number of reports of human rights abuses, with Amnesty International documenting numerous cases of enforced disappearance. Nevertheless, the US has backed Noboa’s security policies, while Noboa has, in turn, supported the Trump administration’s “war on narcoterror” and military strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific.
The full piece, written by Pedro Labayen Herrera, can be found here.
ISSE Comment: Since late 2024, Ecuador has been governed under recurring states of exception declared by President Daniel Noboa, reflecting a sustained reliance on emergency powers to confront what authorities describe as grave internal disturbance. These measures (triggered by escalating gang violence, organized crime, and threats to public security) have covered multiple provinces and key urban areas, and have been repeatedly renewed for fixed periods (often 30 or 60 days). Under Ecuador’s constitutional framework, states of exception permit the temporary suspension of certain fundamental rights, expanded police and military deployment, curfews, and enhanced search and seizure authorities. While framed as necessary to restore order amid an unprecedented security crisis, the persistence and normalization of emergency governance in Ecuador raise significant questions about proportionality, democratic oversight, and the long-term implications for rule of law.
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash.
