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December 4, 2015

Protests Erupt in Ecuador Over Reforms Lifting Term Limits 
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In Ecuador, protests have erupted in Quito after the National Assembly
approved controversial constitutional reforms that permit the indefinite
re-election of public officials, including the president. The reforms
also grant the military increased power and strip away some collective
bargaining rights for unionized public workers. At the protest,
opposition lawmaker Ramiro Aguilar called for the measures to be put to
a national referendum.

Ramiro Aguilar: "The decision is not to validate – not with presence
nor with our votes – this spurious process that started in the
Constitutional Court, the Constitutional Court which is controlled by
the government. And so, we will stand firm, democratic, but in absolute
respect of the popular decision based on a referendum."

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has vowed not to seek re-election in
2017.

 

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