Ecuador's controversial referendum
Ecuadorians are voting tomorrow on a list of ten questions, proposed by left-of-center President Rafael Correa, having to do with possible legal and constitutional reforms. Polls indicate that while awareness of the questions is low, all of them will be approved.
Some, particularly those having to do with judicial independence and press freedom, are very controversial. Here is the English text of the ten questions.
1. Do you agree with amending Article 77, number 9 of the Constitution, incorporating a clause to prevent the expiration of preventive detentions when this expiration has been caused by the person on trial, and to punish unreasonable obstacles to justice placed by judges, prosecutors, experts or auxiliary judicial officials?
(If approved, this measure could keep criminals from being released prematurely. But it could also allow preventive detentions to drag on indefinitely for those “innocent until proven guilty.”)
2. Do you agree that alternatives to deprivation of liberty [imprisonment] should apply?
(If approved, this measure could regulate judges’ practice of giving condemned criminals alternative penalties like house arrest or probation.)
3. Do you agree with prohibiting private financial-system institutions, as well as private national media companies, their directors and principal shareholders, from owning or holding shares outside the financial or communication sectors, respectively?
(This is one of the more controversial questions. If approved, it would prevent the formation of large private media/entertainment conglomerates like Time-Warner or News Corporation in the United States. On the other hand, it would represent an important infringement on property rights. Critics of this question view it as a symptom of President Rafael Correa’s very poor relations with Ecuador’s major private media outlets.)
4. Do you agree with substituting the current Judiciary Council with a Transitional Judiciary Council, comprised of three members, one designated by the executive branch, one by the legislative branch and one by the transparency and social-control branch, so that within the time limit of 18 months, it may exercise the powers of the Judicial Council and restructure the judiciary?
(This is one of the more controversial questions. If approved, it would speed judicial reforms called for by the country’s new constitution. However, it would notably weaken checks and balances, as President Correa’s supporters would dominate the proposed Transitional Judiciary Council.)
5. Do you agree with modifying the composition of the Judiciary Council, amending the Constitution and reforming the Organic Code of the judicial branch? (Numerous changes are spelled out in a long annex to this question.)
(Supporters of this controversial question say that it will streamline judicial processes. Opponents argue that it will give President Correa effective control over the judicial branch, as judges and other officials will no longer be chosen by an independent commission, but by a commission including representatives of some branches of government dominated by Correa supporters.)
6. Do you agree that the National Assembly, without delay, within the period specified in the Organic Law of the legislative branch, after the publication of this plebiscite’s results, make “unjustified private enrichment” a crime within the penal code?
(This is a controversial question. Supporters claim it will give the government new tools to fight corruption. Opponents cite the vagueness of the “unjustified” term, which is not further defined but is clearly different from “illegal,” and worry that the President and his supporters may use it to pressure and silence political opponents.)
7. Do you agree that businesses dedicated to gambling, such as casinos and gaming rooms, should be prohibited in the country?
(This question has the support of many conservative Ecuadorians who do not otherwise back President Correa. However, banning gambling could eliminate several thousand jobs.)
8. Do you agree that spectacles that end with the killing of an animal [such as bullfights] should be banned in your county?
(It is still not clear whether this applies just to bullfights or to cockfights as well.)
9. Do you agree that the National Assembly, without delay, within the period specified in the Organic Law of the legislative branch, should issue a Communications Law creating a Regulation Council, which would regulate the diffusion of content on television, on the radio and in the written press that contain violent, sexually explicit or discriminatory messages, and that would establish criteria to hold communicators or broadcasters responsible?
(This is a very controversial question, again related to President Correa’s poor relations with Ecuador’s major private media outlets. The idea of a state body to regulate media content has alarmed press-freedom groups. Similar statutes to punish content considered violent, discriminatory, or otherwise harmful have been very controversial in Venezuela and Bolivia.)
10. Do you agree that the National Assembly, without delay, within the period specified in the Organic Law of the legislative branch, should after the publication of this plebiscite’s results, should make it a criminal offense not to include employees in the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute?
(As many as a million workers, in a country of 14 million people, are currently outside the social security system. Many are maids and childcare providers.)