Two surveys show Noboa lacks public support in his attack on the Constitutional Court

By a wide margin, Ecuadorians do not support President Daniel Noboa in his attack on the Constitutional Court. According to a survey conducted on four social media platforms, 63% of respondents described the president’s Tuesday protest march on the court as “unnecessary and inappropriate.”

On Tuesday, President Daniel Noboa led a protest march to the Constitutional Court building in Quito.

In a second survey by a University of San Francisco-Quito public opinion center, 71% of respondents said the march and government criticism of the court is a “distraction” from more pressing problems.

“The recent news of mass murders in coastal cities, babies dying in hospitals and corruption in energy contracts overshadows Noboa’s protest of the court rulings,” says sociologist and digital media expert Alondra Enríquez. “These are the issues the public is concerned about and why people believe the president’s attention is misplaced.”

Ecuadorians are not buying the government argument that the Constitutional Court is the “enemy of people,” Enríquez says. “They are not equating the rejection of his [Noboa’s] crime laws by the court with the rising murder rate. Although they supported them earlier, most people now believe the president’s emergency measures of the last 18 months have failed to reduce crime and they don’t blame the court for this.”

Xavier Iglesias of the University of San Francisco-Quito, says crime remains the top issue for most Ecuadorians, particularly those living in coastal provinces, but health care and government corruption rank close behind.

There is public anger toward the scandals in the electric utility sector and the possible return of blackouts, Iglesias said. “People worry about issues that affect them directly and they say the court is not one of them. For example, the recent firing of public health workers and the reduction of hospital budgets is mentioned repeatedly.”

In a 20-question survey, respondents ranked corruption within the National Police and armed forces fifth among the country’s biggest problems, Iglesias said. “The president is wrapping the police and army in the national flag and promoting them as saviors of society, while the headlines tell a different, more troubling story.”

Based on his social media surveys on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and X, Enríquez believes Noboa’s national referendum and consultation could be in trouble. “Given the perception that he is out of touch with the people, his questions could meet the same fate as [Guillermo] Lasso’s in 2022. He should worry that this could become a referendum on his presidency as it was in Lasso’s case.”

Despite the lack of support for his fight with high court, Enríquez says Noboa faces no serious opposition at this point. “The protests against the government mounted by [former Conaie president] Leonidas Iza were a complete flop and the Correistas are in disarray,” he says. “If the president is smart and recognizes his mistakes, he can make a recovery. In general, people continue to like him.”