On May 7, 2022, Ecuadorians voted ‘yes’ in a referendum to reform various aspects of the country’s Constitution. The referendum sparked intense national debate and was regarded by government and public alike as a measure of support for President Rafael Correa’s leadership. (The Prisma memories)
Juan Galbete
Nearly 10.5 million Ecuadorians were called to the polls to answer the 10 questions. Five were for the referendum on amending areas of the Constitution that was passed in 2008 with the backing of President Rafael Correa and his Alianza País party, and five for the public consultation not connected to constitutional reform.
Ecuadorians were asked about issues including reform of the judicial system and the creation of a panel on media content, to regulate violent, sexually explicit or discriminatory material on television, radio and in the printed media, and make broadcasters and publishers liable. They were also consulted on whether to classify unjustified private enrichment as an autonomous offence, as well as the failure to register employees with the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute.
Some of these questions provoked considerable controversy in Ecuador and the opposition immediately accused the government of wanting to control the judicial system and restricting freedom of expression and press freedom with this referendum.
As part of the debate, The Prisma interviewed the then Consul of Ecuador in the UK, Fidel Narváez, to find out his views on the process of change in Ecuador that began when Rafael Correa took power in 2008.
How many Ecuadorians in the UK were called to vote?
There are currently 1,726 Ecuadorians registered in the UK, which is a 70% increase in less than a year. That’s a very significant rise and not the experience of many Ecuadorian consulates around the world. We’re not complacent, however. There are still many people who are not registered because it’s estimated that there are around 20,000 and 30,000 Ecuadorians in the UK as a whole, although the vast majority live in the capital. Then again, most people came to vote knowing that it was only compulsory in Ecuador, not for those living abroad, which shows that they were genuinely interested in taking part.
Of course, it’s true that some people voted because they thought it was compulsory for Ecuadorians resident abroad. This was partly due to a lack of information, either because it is new legislation or because we don’t have an adequate system for keeping the UK Ecuadorian community informed.
How many polling stations were open?
We opened four polling stations in the Ecuadorian Consulate in London (Uganda House, near Trafalgar Square). I don’t think we’ll hold a ballot of this kind in the Consulate again. I think it’s too small and we will look for a larger space next time.
Why is voting compulsory in Ecuador but voluntary abroad?
As part of the revolutionary process that Ecuador is involved in, we have wanted to pay particular attention to the most vulnerable members of society, including the migrant population. When voting used to be compulsory abroad as well, it made things very complicated for Ecuadorians living outside the country because when they wanted to return to Ecuador they would be asked to show their ballot paper.
Ifthey didn’t have one, then they had to pay a fine before they could come back in to the country. Many people lost their return tickets because they didn’t have a ballot paper. Of course, this was a serious inconvenience. That is one of the reasons why a number of concessions have been made for migrants, to compensate for what happened in the past and to encourage them to trust their country and their government.
Why do Ecuadorians in the UK fail to get registered?
There are many reasons for that. It might be because they are here illegally, because they are not informed, because they don’t want to register or because they don’t need any further contact with their government. On the other hand, many Ecuadorians in the UK already have dual nationality because they came here from other countries, such as Spain or Italy, where they had lived for a long time. I also think, to be honest, that previous consular representatives were not proactive enough in reaching out to the community. That was also due, in part, to insufficient resources in terms of staffing and infrastructure. Now we are much better resourced.
Historically, a large section of our community has lived in the shadows, and they still do. In their minds is the legacy of Ecuador’s political past, when they were forced to emigrate because of the country’s terrible economic situation and disastrous governments.
Consequently, they don’t believe that things can be done better or that public officials are there to help them rather than cause problems. Some people even think that because they don’t carry identity papers they will get into trouble if they come to the consulate. Fortunately, we’ve been able to reverse all this in recent years, although there is still a long way to go. Now, for instance, the electoral register is permanently open. Anyone can update their place of residence at any time, whereas before the register was only open at election time which didn’t give people long enough to register their details.
We also have Ecuadorian House, an information centre which reports to the National Migrant Secretariat (SENAMI), that is making a great effort to get in touch with the Ecuadorian community to engage and inform them.
Has the information campaign done enough to encourage Ecuadorians resident abroad to vote?
It has certainly been a more intensive campaign than ever before.
But some people didn’t know that the vote was voluntary, did they?
That’s true, but we’ve tried to improve the situation and most people who came to vote were very clued up about all aspects of the referendum.
Do you think that Ecuadorians in the UK are going to welcome the reforms proposed in the referendum?
In Ecuador, the public have had constant exposure to the debate surrounding the questions, the propaganda and the media, but this has been much less the case abroad. People who want to keep up to date with what is happening in Ecuador from abroad have turned to the internet. This also gives them access to radio stations and TV channels and has become virtually the only medium available to them. Despite the internet, they have access to less information. Generally speaking, I think that the vast majority saw the referendum as a barometer, a measure of support for the Ecuadorian government, and in my opinion the government viewed it the same way.
It’s not how many people went to vote at the Consulate which matters most but the fact that they did so because they were told about the referendum, and because we made sure that information was available to them about what was in the consultation. Those who voted last Saturday were largely well informed, although to a lesser extent than people in Ecuador.
Are Ecuadorians living overseas taking on board the reforms that began when President Correa took power?
Yes. They know that the country is living through different times. And it’s not only because they see improvements in consular services abroad but because everyone has at least one family member living out of the country. Those relations stay informed and connected to Ecuador through feedback from people back home.
Which other countries provided polling stations for Ecuadorian migrants?
Spain and Italy have a much larger Ecuadorian community than the UK. In Spain alone, around 100,000 Ecuadorian citizens are registered to vote.
To what extent do you believe that these reforms are necessary and how are they going to help the Ecuadorian people?
The reforms are intended to tackle those areas in which the process of change has had less of an impact, and I think people are aware of this. Most of the changes have been made in vital sectors such as health and education. However, issues of justice and security, both related to Ecuador’s inadequate judicial system, have not been given the same priority. These reforms try to restore that balance and speed up the pace of change. Many reforms would have happen anyway, with or without the referendum, but the timescales and mechanisms would have been much slower and perhaps less radical. We want to take a more direct, more straightforward and more radical route with this consultation.
What do you think of the criticism of these reforms?
The opposition is diffuse. On the one hand you’ve got those who are always going to oppose whatever the government suggests because they were previously in power and are now losing the privileges they once enjoyed. Their reaction is always to oppose any process of change. And then you’ve got an opposition that is not radically against the government or the reforms but who don’t agree with the way the government tabled the referendum. They think that the reforms could have been instituted without the consultation and that the government is sidestepping constitutional channels in order to give the government and president more power. Anyway, thanks to the referendum it’s the people in the end who will decide whether change happens or not.
What is the aim of this referendum for the government?
The aim is to speed up change in areas where it has not been possible to give the level or rate of attention that the process of change needs, as with the reform to the judicial and security systems, for example. There are also other areas of national interest in which a referendum will give greater weight to government proposals, such as the creation of a regulatory body for the media, a ban on gambling, or a ban on blood sports.
Would it not have been better to open up a broader debate and try to reach an agreement with the government’s most critical opponents, even if that would mean delaying the changes?
That’s one way of looking at it. The government’s position, in my opinion, is that we are going through a process of change which involves rapid, radical reform. We must give the public clear signals that we are continuing with that process, otherwise if people see that some areas are changing while others stay the same they will start to lose faith in the process. The issue of security, the country’s high crime rate which is hard to tackle because the justice system doesn’t work, these lead to a high degree of impunity, which creates a vicious circle. The opposition and the anti-reform media have latched on to this particular issue and they’ve exploited it dreadfully, trying to blow it up out of all proportion and giving it a bad name so that people lose faith in the process.
Do you think that there has been a constructive debate in Ecuador throughout the referendum process?
There has been a very intense debate ever since the referendum and public consultation proposal were approved. One opposition view is that the proposals should have been debated before the two consultations were passed. Some people think we lost the opportunity to put what they believe to be more urgent issues on the table, but the referendum campaign was already launched. I think only a small minority of responsible opposition members really have the interests of the country at heart. I think, unfortunately, that most of the opposition are simply against the government because they always oppose any government initiative or proposal.
Of course, it’s healthy to have a debate and a discussion to seek consensus but I think that because the change process has had such a short trajectory so far there is a great risk of stalling, and that could cause frustration. If we come to a standstill because we’re continually debating then that will wear people down and opportunities for improvement will be lost.
In what way have the Ecuadorian people taken on board the values of the process of change which began when Rafael Correa came to power?
The country is making progress and continues to do so. Nothing’s perfect and mistakes have been made, but it’s undeniable that today we have a stable government that has already completed a four-year term, whereas not so long ago Ecuador was unstable and ungovernable and the country had seven or eight presidents in the space of 10 years. People have regained their faith and their hope that things can be done differently. (The Prisma memories)
(Translated by Susan Hubbard – Email: susanjhubbard@gmail.com) –
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