Esmeraldas is going through its third period of state of emergency since 2022. Just as I am writing the lines of this editorial, I read in parallel in the local digital media that they found a dismembered corpse in a jute sack in a sector of the city and that a few moments before that they had just shot a person who lay in one of the streets of the city. A total of 7 people died in the canton this weekend. I wonder with deep pain and regret, will we have more deaths today? Or will nothing else happen for 24 hours? We are literally in a state of emergency, with a total of 1,620 members of the Armed Forces deployed throughout the province, and yet this day is already tragic.

The tourism sector Emeraldas proposes to change the state of emergency to a state of emergency

The high authorities of the central government will surely read it as news tomorrow or see it in the statistical bulletin as a routine report and it will be another figure.

Let’s take a look back at the history of the three states of emergency in the province and the numbers of violent deaths.

In 2022, the first took place from April 29 to June 28, and the government conducted it for “facilitating the violence of organized crime.” The second was in effect from November 1 to December 15, and the reason, strangely enough, was “an increase in the violence of organized crime.” The last measure was issued on March 3, 2023 for 60 days, and guess what, dear readers, the reason was, well yes, it was “an increase in murder and crime.”

Three men were shot while drinking beer in an area known as Esmeraldas Chiquito

This fact is very worrying, because every time there is an increase in crime, the state condemns trade, tourism, and thus the already precarious economy of the city and the green province.

What does the Government expect from the transfer of the Ministry of the Interior to the province of Esmeraldas?

Without being an expert in law or security, I venture to ask: is there an effective way to conduct operations and raids without resorting to states of emergency?

According to the Ministry of the Interior, 70 murders were registered in Esmeraldas during the first 60 days of 2023. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC), Esmeraldas is one of the provinces with the highest number of unemployed in the country, as it had a rate of 9.1 % of unemployment in 2022, when it ended with 4.4% at the national level. Again, without being an expert in economics, I wonder: Is perhaps a better way to eliminate crime is to start lowering this rate, which is by itself the highest in the country?

2022 was the bloodiest year for Esmeraldas, as murders tripled compared to 2021 and seven times more than 2020. There were 511 violent deaths in 2022, compared to 151 in 2021. Since that date, what Govt. expected to transfer the Ministry of the Interior to the province of Esmeraldas? Or do you plan to continue in 2023 and 2024 by reading the report and taking action on the statistics?

Minister Juan Zapata, come to this province, we are also Ecuadorians and this is part of your obligation. Headquarters in Esmeraldas and live its reality. (OR)