Constitutional amendment that modified the special Galapagos regime did not pass in the National Assembly

With 116 votes against, the National Assembly denied the request for a constitutional amendment that sought to modify the special Galapagos regime regarding the election of the President of the Government Council and the regulation of residence, internal migration and the right to work in the province. .

The report of the Amendments Commission, which processed the project presented by former legislator Washington Paredes, recommended filing it because it is inadmissible, because it can affect the special regime of government that the province has by provision of the Constitution.

National Assembly debates the amendment file that modifies the special Galapagos regime

It is also noted that, by providing that the president of the Galapagos Governing Council be elected by popular vote and modifying the government system of the islands, the nature of the special regime that the Insular region has could be ignored.

That the special Galapagos regime was designed with the aim of finding a balance between human life and a protected natural area. The Constitution details this special regime, through a Government Council, chaired by a representative of the President of the Republic and whose objective is the balance between state responsibility and the powers of the decentralized autonomous governments of Galapagos, since the preservation of the archipelago is an obligation of the State as a whole and not exclusively of a decentralized government.

The legislators also took into consideration that with the proclamation by Unesco of the archipelago as a Natural Heritage of Humanity, in 1978, the Ecuadorian State began to provide the islands with a stronger institutional framework. And in that context, it established the conservation criterion that currently governs the Insular region.

Therefore, if the amendment is approved, the nature of the special regime of the Galapagos province could be altered, which maintains the particularities of a decentralized autonomous government and, in turn, the powers of the representative of the Executive function in insular territory.

In addition, the report pointed out that having political representation implies the right to elect and be elected; However, when a special regime such as that of the Galapagos already has, for conservationist, environmental, social and economic reasons, a popular representation that is combined with the presence of the Executive, attempting to alter it for the purpose of constituting a political platform could be a serious risk. for the balance of the whole system.

Finally, the Amendments Committee pointed out that from the different presentations made at this table, as well as from the explanatory statement presented by former Assemblyman Washington Paredes, no technical and legal grounds were identified to support the proposal to reform article 258 of the Constitution, in relation to the election by popular vote of the president of the Government Council of the Special Regime of the province of Galapagos. Therefore, it would be a regressive action in environmental matters. (I)