Ecuador

Monthly Event Reports GSOD Indices

Ecuador exhibits mid-range performance across all categories of the Global State of Democracy framework. It is amongst the top 25 per cent of countries in the world with regard to Freedom of Religion, Local Democracy and Electoral Participation. Over the past five years, it has experienced advances in several factors of Representation, Rights, Rule of Law and Participation. It has not experienced any significant declines in this period. Ecuador is a middle income country, with an economy highly dependent on petroleum and thus vulnerable to international economic crashes.

In 2000, the country adopted the US dollar as its national currency in order to control hyperinflation, which led to a loss of control over monetary policy. Although the measure stabilized the economy, the cost of living increased and a significant percentage of the population lives in poverty. Economic problems have had political consequences, including multiple military coup attempts and successful coups; the armed forces have long played a political role, either ruling the country directly or supporting dictatorships throughout the 1960s and 1970s. High party fragmentation and volatility in voter allegiance have also brought about political instability, epitomized by ten presidents between 1997 and 2007. Between 1996 and 2021, only two democratically elected presidents finished their terms. Corruption and a considerable increase in drug trafficking and criminal violence are concerning and reveal the weakness of institutions such as the police. This situation has led to increased militarization to counter organized crime.

The population of Ecuador is multicultural: over two thirds of the population is mestiza (mixed White and Amerindian), and there are minorities of Montubio, Amerindian, White, Afroecuadorian, Mulatto, and Black groups. Persistent economic and social discrimination and the process of acculturation have led Indigenous persons to adopt a mestizo identity, rather than risk exclusion. "Mestizaje” represents a racial divide in Ecuadorian society; a surface level mestizo identity belies the exclusion of Afroecuadorians as well as the portion of indigenous people who refuse to be accultured. Additionally, Ecuador has become one of the region’s main recipients of refugees, especially from Colombia and Venezuela.

Income inequality is also a cause for social divide in Ecuador. In the 2000s and 2010s social spending to combat inequality increased as a result of the petroleum boom. Nevertheless, the decline in the price of oil has led income inequality to rise again.

Ecuador performs in the mid-range with regard to Gender Equality. In 2020, a reform to the Elections and Policial Organizations Organic Law was passed to strengthen political gender equality through temporary special measures. Women’s representation in Congress surpassed 38 per cent after the 2021 elections, placing the country among the top 50 countries globally on this measure. Numerous barriers to women’s development persist, including high rates of intimate partner violence, domestic violence, femicide and other forms of gender-based violence. Other challenges include early and adolescent pregnancy and discrimination based on gender stereotypes. Despite a Constitutional Court ruling on the decriminalization of abortion in cases of rape, restrictions to access this service and post-abortion health care continue.

In the coming years, it will be important to watch Ecuador’s performance in Rights and Rule of Law, especially in light of the government’s increasing use of emergency powers and the military to contain violent crime. Representation will also be an important category to observe, given the potential impact of the 2023 dissolution of Congress and early legislative elections.

August 2023 | Ecuadorians vote to end oil drilling in Amazon national park

In a referendum held on 20 August, over 58 per cent of voters chose to stop oil extraction in the Yasuni National Park, a UN protected biosphere located in the Amazon. In a second referendum, Ecuadorians also voted to ban all extraction activities in the Choco Andino tropical rainforest, near Quito, with around 68 per cent of support. Efforts to contain oil production in the Amazon had been spearheaded by Indigenous Peoples and environmental activists, many of them young people, for years. Officials across several administrations and the state’s oil company, Petroecuador, had argued that an end to oil development in Yasuni, would lead to austerity measures with a negative impact on the economy. Petroecuador will have to dismantle its oil processing facilities and provide for reparations. According to Human Rights Watch, the vote on the Yasuni is the first time a referendum had resulted in a ban on new and pre-existing fossil fuel exploration. Turnout for this referendum neared 83 per cent. Notably, the decision will benefit the Taromenane, Tagaeri and Dugakaeri peoples, who choose to live in isolation in the region, as the drilling activities impacted the quality of their water and resources. Environmental activists have organized to demand the government’s compliance with the referendum as, following the results, officials, including incumbent president Lasso, as well as the candidate currently leading in polls to succeed him, have expressed reservations about the government’s ability to implement the results in the given timeline.

July 2023 | State of emergency imposed on country’s prisons

On 25 July a state of emergency was imposed for 60 days in Ecuador’s prisons after 31 persons deprived of their liberty were killed and more were injured during riots in the Guayas 1 prison in the city of Guayaquil. Violence reportedly broke out between rival gangs, who had also taken officers hostage, leading the government to order the military’s intervention. After the state of emergency decree was issued, violence was also reported in the province of Esmeralda, were a local prison and police unit were attacked, and prison staff taken hostage. The decree establishing the state of emergency covers the entire Social Rehabilitation System and will enable the armed forces to, in collaboration with National Police, take measures to reestablish control of all detention centres.

State of Emergency Gang Violence

May 2023 | President Lasso dissolves Congress

In a move to prevent his separation from office in impeachment proceedings that were scheduled for 16 May, President Guillermo Lasso dissolved Congress by invoking a constitutional provision known as “cross-death”. It means that the electoral authority will have to call for both congressional and presidential elections, which effectively suspends the impeachment proceedings against Lasso with regard to corruption allegations. Weeks later, on 2 June, Lasso stated that he will not run for reelection in the special presidential elections that will be held in August.

Guillermo Lasso Impeachment

April 2023 | Civilians authorized to carry guns for personal protection

President Guillermo Lasso’s government has announced that, given the increased violence from gangs and organized crime, adults over 25 years of age can carry guns, subject to several requirements, including obtaining a permit after psychological and toxicological evaluation. Previously, the use of guns was mostly restricted to police and military personnel. Members of academia, civil society and Indigenous leaders have criticized this policy, arguing that it transfers the responsibility of personal safety to civilians, fails to address the underlying causes of violence, and undermines Ecuador’s commitment to the elimination of domestic and gender-based violence. Critics have also expressed worry that civilian use of guns could exacerbate harassment of social activists. A group of human rights lawyers has challenged the executive policy before Ecuador’s Constitutional Court, arguing that due to the implications on the right to life and personal integrity, civilian gun ownership is a matter that should be formally and substantially regulated in legislation

Guillermo Lasso