To understand the origins of the wave of violence that flooded Ecuador, one must look at the political and macroeconomic policies taken by those who governed the country until recently. They reveal that the neoliberalism comeback, in 2017, and its deepening since then are the main cause of organized crime spreading, according to Ecuadorian Irene León.
Since former President Lenín Moreno (2017-2021) was elected, with a neoliberal platform, Ecuador has been affected by an incursion of organized crime, which found many niches where to act, a process that had the participation of members of the country’s political elite, the sociologist explains.
“The incursion of these agents in illegal capitals and other sectors of organized crime is proportionately related to the dismantling of the state and the suspension of institutions such as the Ministry of Justice, in addition to the suppression of internal security policies that work as part of the neoliberal deepening process associated with the reduction of the state,” she says.
In the last six years of neoliberalism in Ecuador, the country fell from being the second safest in Latin America to becoming one of the most unsafe countries on the continent and in the world. According to León, this fact demonstrates that the logic of the market “solves nothing, at least nothing when talking about public security.”
“On the table now, there is the change of sovereign homeland security for a strategy that prioritizes the market, which means public security privatization. That’s a central part of the problem the country has been facing for a long time and has recently assumed a delicate shape,” she explains.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, who had declared a state of exception and curfew on Monday (8) – which restricts citizens’ rights – reinforced the decision on Tuesday (9) by declaring a national state of internal conflict and ordering the military forces to neutralize criminal groups. Therefore, Noboa ordered that 22 transnational organized crime groups be considered terrorist organizations and belligerent non-state actors.
Irene León draws attention to the fact that Ecuador’s government classified as “terrorism” organized crime and other crimes that generally fall within the criminal and non-political spheres. “There are concerns about the use of this term and the way it relates to the words “drug trafficking” and “narcopolitics”, which can confuse people in a country already affected by intensive lawfare [political persecution through judicial mechanisms] for six years.”
Geopolitics and sovereignty
The Ecuadoran sociologist also points out another crucial factor – one of geopolitical character – to understand the roots of the security crisis: the US project and their plan for the Andean region.
“Last year, the US and Ecuador signed a broader agreement on military cooperation, which includes the possible presence of US troops in Ecuador. Besides, in December 2022, a cooperation law was signed in the US. It included different aspects related to governance in Ecuador, such as internal security, but also topics related to foreign affairs,” León explained.
As signs of this strengthening of ties, she points out that, in recent years, Ecuadorian foreign policy has adopted positions “totally aligned” with US policy. “In recent days, the US government has offered immediate cooperation to solve what we are going through. Therefore, I wouldn’t be surprised by US cooperation on this issue, with troops or other things, violating not only the country’s Constitution but also the Latin American and Caribbean political tradition of being a zone of peace.”
Inequality and poverty
The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie, in Spanish), the most relevant Ecuadorian indigenous organization, also blames neoliberal policies for the crisis. In a statement, the entity says there is a structural problem “originated from the radicalization of neoliberal policies that have destroyed the state and its institutions, leaving them without the capacity to respond.”
“These policies have also caused more inequality and poverty, creating social conditions conducive to the recruitment of young people by criminal organizations,” reads Conaie’s statement. The Confederation headed the latest people’s uprisings against Lenín Moreno, in 2019, and Guilhermo Lasso, in 2022.
Edited by: Nicolau Soares
