Next Sunday, April 21st, some 13.4 million Ecuadorians are called to the polls to answer 11 questions, five of which would involve changes to the Constitution and the remaining six would entail legal modifications without affecting the Constitution.

Noboa’s proposal seeks to reform current laws on the control of weapons and ammunition by the Armed Forces, as well as the classification of crimes for possession of weapons and increase penalties for terrorism or organized crime.

The two most controversial questions are those related to the possibility of recognizing international arbitration and the one that proposes hourly labor contracts. Other questions in the referendum are related to the elimination of the ban on extradition of Ecuadorian citizens and the incorporation of judiciaries specialized in constitutional matters.

The Network of Intellectuals and Artists in Defense of Humanity – Ecuador Chapter considers it unjustifiable to carry out the referendum. “With his back to the reality of the Ecuadorian people, immersed in an unprecedented crisis due to the anti-popular and repressive measures that his government applies, Noboa promotes a deceptive process that seeks to amend the Constitution and raises unnecessary questions,” it stated.

According to the National Electoral Council, the president is not allowed to campaign, however this Monday he called to vote Yes on all questions to “cleanse the country of mafias, narcoterrorism and their accomplices.”

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