In a major blow to the government's security strategy, voters chose national sovereignty over a controversial proposal to deepen military ties with Washington.
QUITO, Ecuador — Ecuadorian voters have decisively rejected a high-stakes referendum proposal that would have allowed the United States to re-establish a military base in the country, striking a powerful blow against the security policies of the current administration.
The "No" vote, which preliminary results show winning by a significant margin, is a clear assertion of national sovereignty and reflects a deep-seated public skepticism of foreign military intervention, even in the face of Ecuador's spiraling security crisis.
The government had championed the proposal as a "critical tool" in the war against powerful transnational drug cartels and escalating gang violence that has plagued the nation. The administration argued that a US "security and counter-narcotics operations" facility would provide advanced intelligence, training, and logistical support that Ecuador's own forces desperately need.
However, the plan ignited a political firestorm, uniting a broad coalition of opposition parties, indigenous movements, and constitutional activists against it.
The Ghost of Manta
The debate was haunted by the potent memory of the Manta Air Base, a coastal facility used by the US for counter-narcotics surveillance flights from 1999 until 2009.
That base was famously shuttered by former left-wing President Rafael Correa, who enshrined a new constitution in 2008 that explicitly bans the establishment of any foreign military bases or facilities on Ecuadorian soil.
Opponents of the referendum successfully framed the new proposal as a return to a "neo-colonial" era and a direct assault on the 2008 constitution.
"The people of Ecuador have a strong memory. We will not trade our sovereignty for false promises of security," said opposition lawmaker Leonidas Iza, a prominent indigenous leader, in a victory speech to supporters. "Ecuador's problems must be solved by Ecuadorians, not by foreign soldiers on our land."
A Gamble Lost
For the current government, the referendum's defeat is a significant political miscalculation. Having staked its political capital on a hard-line security platform, the administration now finds one of its key international strategies in tatters.
"This is a major embarrassment for the president," said Gabriela Rojas, a Quito-based political analyst. "The government underestimated how deeply the principles of sovereignty and anti-interventionism are embedded in the Ecuadorian psyche. They tried to use the very real fear of crime to pass a measure that, for many, crossed a constitutional and historical red line."
The US State Department has not yet commented on the result, which is undeniably a strategic setback for Washington's influence in a region seeing renewed geopolitical competition.
With the military base proposal now off the table, the government in Quito must return to the drawing board, facing the same daunting security crisis but with fewer options and a significantly weakened political mandate.