The plans of Ecuador’s presidential candidates include advocating for electoral reforms and enhancing efficiency and equity in the judicial and police systems.

On October 15th, Ecuadorians will participate in an election to choose their upcoming President. This newly elected President will serve the remainder of the term left vacant by President Guillermo Lasso, who is resigning due to his call for “muerte cruzada” (cross death).

The election features two main candidates: Luisa González, a left-wing populist associated with the Citizen Revolution movement (Correístas), and Daniel Noboa, a center-right candidate representing the National Democratic Action (ADN) ticket. Both candidates have presented their respective government plans for public evaluation.

Outlined below are the key points from these plans, summarized for clarity.

Luisa González’s Plan

Outlined below are the key components of her government plan:

• Reforming the Judiciary and Prosecutor’s Office: González aims to restore the independence, impartiality, and adherence to the Law and Constitution of the Judiciary and Prosecutor’s Office. The goal is to ensure that their function focuses on punishing crimes rather than individuals. Measures will be introduced to prevent justice from being exploited for political persecution and to curtail the misuse of the legal system for political purposes.
• Curbing Interference: González proposes enacting laws to prevent interference from external powers, including economic and media entities, in the administration of justice. The objective is to guarantee impartiality in judicial decisions.
• Judicial Independence: The plan seeks to establish internal independence for the Judiciary while maintaining a balance between the sanctioning authority of the Council of the Judiciary and the jurisdictional power of judges.
• Strengthening Judicial Function: González aims to enhance the institutional capabilities of the Council of the Judiciary to ensure transparent and meritocratic processes for selecting, evaluating, and promoting judges and judicial staff.
• Anti-Corruption Measures: The plan advocates for an ethical pact across society, promoting anti-corruption policies, strengthening legal frameworks, and fostering transparency and accountability. González emphasizes the importance of investigating, prosecuting, and penalizing corruption cases effectively.
• Transparency and Accountability: The plan seeks to implement measures that increase transparency in both public and private sectors, including supervision, audits, and protection for corruption whistleblowers.
• Eradicating Systemic Corruption: González intends to eliminate systemic corruption within the public sphere through transparent and meritocratic selection, evaluation, and promotion of public servants.
• Ending Elected Officials’ Privileges: The plan aims to eliminate privileges for elected officials, both during and after their terms, ensuring their rights align with those of other workers.
• Collaborating Against Corruption: International cooperation and coordination are proposed to combat corruption and organized crime at the transnational level.
• Justice Awareness Campaigns: The plan suggests raising public awareness about the negative impacts of corruption and organized crime, promoting honesty, ethics, and reporting of such activities.

Justice Administration

• Reforming Ministry of Justice: González plans to reinstate the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.
• Improving Access to Justice: The plan advocates for legislative reforms to streamline access to justice by removing obstacles.
• Defending Individuals’ Rights: González aims to recognize the rights of those politically persecuted and implement rehabilitation programs that include life skills training and productive opportunities for those deprived of liberty.

Constitutional Framework

• Truth Commission: The plan proposes forming a Truth Commission with international standards to address violations of the Constitution and human rights.
• Re-constituent Process: González seeks a re-constituent process to reinstate the country after the unconstitutional referendum of Lenín Moreno and the arbitrary Trujillato.
• Protecting Sovereignty: The plan stands for defending national sovereignty and opposing extraterritorial law application, including Mutual Assistance Treaties and foreign military bases on Ecuadorian soil.

State Capabilities

• Decentralization: González intends to empower territories through a decentralized and deconcentrated State.
• Strategic Planning: The plan advocates for strategic planning to guide public investment effectively.
• Professionalization of Public Function: González seeks to professionalize the public function, ensuring equal opportunities, training, career growth, fair wages, and stability.
• Transparency in Fund Usage: Measures will be taken to ensure transparency and accountability in the use of public funds.

Participation and Deliberation

• Electoral Reform: González aims to reform electoral laws to prevent electoral fragmentation.
• Democratic Parties: The plan proposes incorporating gender parity into party leadership and mandating primaries for party leadership positions.
• Combating Fake News: The plan emphasizes responsible information sharing and critical citizenship, especially concerning fake news.

Daniel Noboa’s Plans

Noboa’s plan focuses on collaboration between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. Key points of his plan include:

• Economic and Institutional Axes: Noboa’s 76-page plan is organized into social, economic, institutional, and productive/environmental axes.
• Legislative Support: Noboa’s plan envisions close collaboration between the Executive and Legislative branches to develop laws and reports.
• Tax Evasion Measures: Noboa proposes stricter sanctions to deter tax evasion via tax havens, including potential imprisonment.
• Judicial Reforms: The plan seeks reforms in the judicial field, including changes to the Tourism Law, regulation of ecotourism zones, and improvements to renewable energy regulations.
• Renewable Energy and Transparency: Noboa plans to enhance regulations on renewable energies, ensure transparency in public debt management, and safeguard consumers through banking supervision.
• Regulatory Frameworks: Regulatory frameworks are deemed crucial for efficient management of strategic sectors.

Social Security

• Transparency and Accountability: Noboa’s plan emphasizes transparency and accountability in managing retirement funds to prevent fraud.
• Investment Policy Review: Retirement fund investment policies will be reviewed to align with retirees’ best interests and generate sustainable returns.
• Pension System Improvement: The plan targets pension system sustainability by adjusting retirement age, diversifying funding sources, and including more workers.

Security

• Judicial and Police Reform: Noboa seeks to enhance efficiency and equity in the judicial and police systems, including training for conflict resolution and rehabilitation programs for inmates.
• Transparency and Community Participation: Transparency, accountability, and citizen participation will be encouraged in security institutions.
• Education for Peace: Noboa plans to promote peace education in schools, focusing on conflict resolution and human rights.
• Urban Design for Crime Prevention: Security measures based on urban design will be implemented for crime prevention.

Prison System

• Judicial and Procedural Reform: Noboa aims to expedite legal proceedings, invest in prison infrastructure, and enhance rehabilitation programs for inmates.
• Staff Education: Prison staff will receive training in conflict resolution, human rights, and crisis management.
• Transparency and Accountability: Measures will be introduced for transparency, inmate grievances, and independent monitoring in the prison system.

Reform of Criminal Code

• Alternatives to Detention: Noboa proposes improving programs for alternative measures to pretrial detention.
• Alternative Penalties: For non-violent offenders, alternative penalties like community work and rehabilitation will be promoted.

These are the main highlights of the presidential candidates’ plans regarding various key issues facing Ecuador.