Ecuador’s Constitutional Showdown Amid a Surge in Violence

Ecuador’s president, Daniel Noboa, has reignited a battle over rewriting the nation’s charter. He issued Decree 153 to ask citizens if they want a Constituent Assembly to draft a new Constitution.

The Electoral Council immediately sent the decree to the Constitutional Court, which had already blocked a similar proposal under Decree 148.

Violence underpins this push. Ecuador logged 8,004 homicides in 2023, the highest in its history. Last year’s tally fell to 7,033 murders, but the first half of 2025 saw 4,619 killings—a 47 percent rise over the same period a year earlier.

Criminal organizations jumped from 24 in 2023 to 37 today, and they now work with Mexican cartels to move drugs through Ecuador.

At the same time, voters will decide in November whether to lift the 2008 ban on foreign military bases. That year’s Constitution, written under Rafael Correa, outlawed overseas forces after a U.S. base closed in Manta in 2009.

Noboa argues foreign troops could help fight growing criminal networks. Supporters say a new constitution could modernize institutions and restore public trust.

Critics warn that skipping court approval breaches Article 104 of the Constitution and weakens judicial checks on executive power.

The Constitutional Court’s ruling will determine if Decree 153 proceeds. If the court approves, the Electoral Council will schedule the assembly vote.

If it rejects Noboa’s plan, Ecuador’s political crisis could deepen even as violence spirals. Readers worldwide should watch how this constitutional struggle could reshape democracy in one of Latin America’s most turbulent countries.

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