The most violent district of Guayaquil voted with security, “that there be elections every day to have police patrolling”, asked citizens

The anxiety with which the inhabitants of the most violent district of Guayaquil live daily was not felt during election day yesterday, Sunday, February 5, 2023.

The deployment of security given by the Police and the Armed Forces allowed the elections to be held until after one in the afternoon without the hit men, explosions or attacks that frighten the residents of district 2, made up of 29 zones, including Prosperina, Nueva Prosperina, Juan Montalvo, Monte Sinai, Popular Bastion, Bastion Flower, Flower Paradise, Sergio Toral, Balerio Estacio, Much Lot, Orchids, Los Vergeles, Florida or Lomas de Florida.

Violent deaths grew 92% in the first days of 2023 compared to the same period last year

The Police estimate that at least 35% of violent deaths occur in these northern areas of Guayaquil.

These events were not recorded yesterday. The Police only reported the arrests to people who had arrest warrants, 29 in Zone 8, which includes Guayaquil, Durán and Samborondón. Of these, seven corresponded to the Florida area.

Outside the educational establishments that functioned as electoral precincts, between four and seven policemen were observed, while inside one military officer was assigned for each polling station, that is, some 20 or more uniformed officers per school or college.

“That there are elections every day, would be good, to have police patrolling; We are already tired of crime, ”said Lucía Donoso, who despite the presence of the uniformed officers, maintained the precautionary measures that she applies daily when she leaves her home, located in block 9 of Bastión Popular.

“No jewelry, watches or cell phone, I don’t even carry a wallet, just a mask, loose money for the bus and the voter ID, so I’m not scared on the street,” said this mother of a family who went to the Monsignor educational unit Leonidas Proaño, from Bastión Popular, where he was supposed to vote in these 2023 elections.

Petita Mosquera, 77, also felt safe during the journey from block 8 to this facility. “The telephones attract attention, I have seen that old women are even dragged for stealing from them, I left the telephone at home,” Mosquera commented after voting, around noon.

She took the line 70 bus to get from block 8 to Pascuales. “I am not afraid, you have to gain courage and face the situation, there are people who are too fearful. What you have to do is not engage in bad things and trust in God,” recommended Mosquera, who is dedicated to taking care of her grandchildren and asks that the patrols be increased starting at six in the afternoon in block 8, where they violent deaths have been recorded.

At the San Jacinto de Loyola Educational Unit, in Monte Sinai, the lines in the streets were about 300 meters long, while those registered waited to enter the electoral precinct without much complaint other than the delay in the opening of two polling stations that had not yet received the ballot boxes to deposit the ballots.

Everything has been calm, without news, sure, the only thing is that the line does not advance ”

Reynaldo Quiñónez who from the Sergio Toral cooperative moved to that campus to exercise his right to vote.

Although fearful, Manuel Aguirre arrived with his daughter and granddaughter to the Enrique Gil Calderón public school, in the Lomas de Florida cooperative, because a few weeks ago he was a victim of crime.

The 65-year-old man was robbed at gunpoint by motorcycle subjects. They stole his bicycle, wallet and a suitcase that he brought from a trip he had made to the Peninsula.

“I cannot think that today they are not going to steal, today they are capable and they steal more because they see more people. That’s why I came with nothing and I’m blown out of here to my house,” said Aguirre, who questioned the idea of ​​voting for fear of the recent event.

For this Sunday, he took only his ID and a pen, took off his watch, gold chain and ring that he usually wears every day.

In another District 2 campus, at the Carlos Julio Arosemena school, in Pascuales, Marisol Bayona, 50, waited for two of her daughters to vote before returning to her home in the La Joya de los Sachas sector.

“Yes, everything has been normal, but they have to do something to stop so much ‘vaccination’, here they want to ‘vaccinate’ all those who have set up an undertaking,” says Bayona, who sells used clothing on weekends outside the Pascuales stadium.

A department that within the Prosecutor’s Office deals with extortion cases, the request of merchants from Bastión Popular to fight against ‘vaccines’

“At my house, they wanted to vaccinate a neighbor who opened a pharmacy, some countrymen were asking for $500. If you don’t pay, they kill you, and if you lend money, too,” this resident complained.

Data from the National Police show that in 2021, 337 extortion crimes were reported, while in 2022, up to September, the number increased to 460. The underreporting of those affected would be greater because few residents file complaints while others agree to pay the vaccine.

In various areas of this district there have been violent deaths of people who did not agree to pay for the vaccines. In the so-called entrance to 8, for example, explosive devices and grenades have been found outside commercial premises.

However, the Police have also reported 29 arrests made of extortionist gangs in 2021 and 20 in 2022, up to September.

Claims for delay of three hours on election day, in two meetings of Mount Sinai

At the San Jacinto de Loyola Educational Unit, in Monte Sinai, the lines in the streets were about 300 meters long, while those registered waited to enter the electoral precinct without much complaint other than the delay in the opening of two polling stations (JRV) that they had not yet received the ballot boxes to deposit the ballots.

“Everything has been calm, without incident, sure, the only thing is that the line is not advancing,” said Reynaldo Quiñónez, who from the coop. Sergio Toral went to the campus to exercise his right to vote.

Until 09:30 yesterday, almost three hours after the election day had been inaugurated, the women’s boards number 2 and 3 of this precinct had not been installed, which caused shouts and claims from users.

Police and military guard precincts in the north and northwest of Guayaquil; in a compound on Mount Sinai until 09:30 the JRVs had not yet been installed

From 07:00, according to the voters, officials from the National Electoral Council (CNE) were contacted to find out what was the reason that delayed the arrival of the material to this point in the northwest, one of the most conflictive and violent in the city. where voters ask for a broader deployment of police and military personnel.

The uniformed, as in the north, are located inside and in front of the enclosures.

Mount Sinai is part of Pascuales, which is home to 225,904 voters. Areas such as Bastión Popular, Paraíso de la Flor, Flor de Bastión, Balerio Estacio, Sergio Toral, Ciudad de Dios and many other neighboring cooperatives are located in that parish. (YO)