Ecuador goes to the polls amid a spike in violence. Image: file
by Maria Josefina Arce
Ecuador will hold general elections next Sunday to elect the country's president, among other posts, amid a spike in violence that already claimed more than 700 lives in January.
After 2023 and 2024 with a high number of criminal acts, this year has not started well for Ecuadorians in terms of security.
According to official sources, last month was one of the most violent in the history of the Andean nation, with an average of 25 homicides per day nationwide.
The provinces with the highest crime rates are Guayas, Manabí, El Oro, Santa Elena, Sucumbíos and Tungurahua.
According to experts quoted by Prensa Latina, the Phoenix Plan, a strategy of President Daniel Noboa, who is running for re-election, has failed, since criminal groups continue to operate despite the state of emergency and the militarization of streets and prisons.
In addition, there have been constant complaints of human rights violations during police and army operations.
The high level of insecurity is one of the main concerns of citizens, a situation that has affected the stability of the nation and the daily lives of Ecuadorians.
Today, according to statistics, Ecuador is one of the three most violent countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
For this reason, it has been one of the issues in the campaign of the 16 presidential candidates, whose proposals range from the cleansing of the public forces, to more forceful actions, to the improvement of the technical equipment of the police officers.
The proposals of Luisa González of the Movimiento Revolucion Ciudadana stand out for their emphasis on social programs, human rights and social reintegration.
These are aspects that experts have insisted on and that they consider necessary to close the door to criminality.
Ecuadorians will go to the polls next Sunday amidst a less than encouraging panorama, as the measures taken by the Noboa government to curb violence have not produced the expected results.
