Matías Abad: ¨In Turi we do not have PPLS groups in conflict¨

According to the surveys released by the INEC and private consultants in the last year, the great concerns of Ecuadorians are issues such as the economic situation, which implies employment and uncertainty for the future, now to a lesser extent health given the application of the plan vaccination, and another one is insecurity. This aspect has even become more relevant after what happened in the Turi prison in February and a few weeks ago in the Litoral Penitentiary. Landing that in the reality of Azuay, what diagnosis have you been able to make about the current situation of insecurity in Cuenca and Azuay after these weeks in office?  

First of all, we must bear in mind that we are coming from an atypical year, with levels of insecurity that were well below the historical average because obviously we all stayed inside our homes. Now, if we compare with the average or with an average prior to the pandemic, most of the indices that allow us to evaluate the levels of insecurity are below the historical one, and in total, more or less, we would have 26 percent fewer incidents. than at regular times. Of course, the comparison does not have to be with the past or with other provinces, because in fact Azuay is also a fairly secure province due to its population in relation to the other provinces of the country. The comparison must always be with what we have now in the future, and that forces us to take security measures, launch initiatives, coordinate actions and articulate the dependencies and levels of government to guarantee the security of the Azuayos.  

According to the Observatory of the Citizen Security Council, the most reported items in Cuenca between the months of January and June of this year were cases of domestic violence, which worsened during the pandemic, as well as traffic accidents, robbery and theft. What reading do you have of these data? 

All these items, as in the case of robbery and theft and others, remain below the historical average with the exception of motorcycle theft, which must be a consequence of the fact that the use of motorcycles increased significantly during the pandemic for the whole issue. of home deliveries. This has meant that, since there is a larger population of motorcycles, there is also an impact on the indicators, but the most important thing is what is indicated regarding domestic violence. Being overcrowded during a complex year undoubtedly accentuated the internal problems between families and of course the violence that occurs between its members and particularly towards women, as the statistics indicate. In this sense, as the Government of Azuay, a security plan has been launched that we are already beginning to develop and that includes prevention, dissuasion and control as a central objective. We do not only want to generate answers to the facts, but also build bases to alleviate the existing problems in a structural way.  

We would like to expand on the issue of gender violence. Although this has been shown with the pandemic, it is something that has always happened. What should the Ecuadorian State do to eradicate or at least reduce the numbers of something that has happened throughout life? 

During the pandemic, gender violence increased due to the forced coexistence we had. In homes it has been possible to register an increase in this type of crime, and in some cases with consequences in femicides. I believe that the logic of security is the same, it has to be prevented, dissuaded and controlled, and there also has to be backing and direct support from justice, from the Judiciary, so that there are the appropriate responses and guarantees to those who make the testimonies, and above all that there are timely sanctions, and from the State through the different secretariats that are in charge, it is possible to continue with processes of education, prevention, but it also has to be a coordinated work with the justice system, which is the one that imposes the penalties at the end of the day.  

How much does the presence of the Turi Prison influence the perception of insecurity in Cuenca, even more so taking into account the massacre last February that left 34 dead?  

Without a doubt, it is a negative element in our daily coexistence, we know that and there is no way to hide it. Actually we all know what the original spirit of CRS Turi was, we all have in mind, or at least that is the position that is in the city, that it was a regional prison. With time and its needs, the original purpose has mutated into what it is now, a prison that houses PPLs from all over the country and all levels of danger, there is no way to hide that. And even more, the negative perception towards this space is given by the relatively recent events of February and that caused commotion throughout the country and even internationally. The management has to go towards recovering that original spirit, without a doubt. At this time we are in a state of exception for penitentiary centers with the purpose of protecting and respecting the human rights of those deprived of liberty and guaranteeing the security of the inmate, and for this we are carrying out some actions. On the one hand, we have a double military and police fence around the CRS perimeter for any contingency. We are continuously carrying out drills of all kinds, searches at the CDP. The alerts are also activated at their maximum level and it has been possible to measure and evaluate the response times when the drills have been carried out, in what time it is possible to have all the police forces that are assigned for it, the response that the Police Forces have Armed, the response at the inmate level of the ASP (Prison Security Agents). We are also on high alert with the staff of the prison guides, the special operations group, in general, of the Order Maintenance Unit. 

And to what extent does the presence of the Turi prison influence the insecurity that exists in the streets of Cuenca? 

I have no empirical evidence that can show that this variable causes an increase in another variable. There is a lot of speculation about it. I listened the other day to a councilor who said that he had data, he has not sent it to me, it is not that there has been space, but it is an uncomfortable subject. Of course, everyone's aspiration is for its original spirit to be recovered, but for now, within this state of exception, I think it will be important to finally have a short- and long-term plan to carry out the improvements required by the penitentiary center  

The National Comprehensive Care Service for Adults Deprived of Liberty and Adolescent Offenders (SNAI), in the voice of its director Bolívar Garzón and President Lasso himself, recognized that the figure of at least 118 dead in the massacre of a few weeks ago in Guayaquil is the product of the struggle of criminal groups in search of internal power. We know that international drug trafficking is in Ecuador. Is there also this fight between criminal groups in the Turi prison, are these mafias there too? 

I can't go into much depth due to natural secrecy and prudence on the subject, but we don't have groups of PPLs in conflict in general. What has happened in other prisons, as he points out, different organized gangs fight to maintain or capture more shares of power within the same system. In this case in Turi we do not have groups that are in conflict, and on that side everything has also remained calm.  

How much could the elimination of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Interior and the El Oro School of Penitentiary Agents have influenced the prison crisis? 

I don't know the insider how the previous government worked, I've been here since President Lasso began, and in fact recently because of the transition that took place with the previous Governor. There are external voices that indicate that the Ministry of Justice should be recovered, others that do not. I believe that as long as the undersecretaries and the processes are well tuned, it will be possible to make good progress in meeting the objectives, and above all, waiting for the resources to exist.  

President Lasso said in July that there will be no respite from the mafias that control the prisons and there will be a heavy hand, but weeks later the Guayaquil massacre took place. I don't know if instead of putting up a heavy hand, control of the prisons got out of hand, perhaps because of what is happening on the political issue with the struggle between the Executive and the Legislative. Why those statements and after a few weeks this historic massacre that has remained in the annals of massacres inside South American prisons? 

As we know this is not something recent. What happened in the Guayaquil prison cannot in any case be something that was conceived in a few months, it is something that has been structuring for a long time. In previous governments key territories were handed over to drug trafficking, deliberately Manabí and Santa Elena territories. Both in the government of Correa and Moreno, the prisons were handed over to the mafias and from there began all the construction of these networks that are internal, either deliberately or simply by omission. Also in general, at the country level, we have ceased to be a drug transit country and now we are also consumers. Many children and young people, also as a result of these attitudes, are currently involved in this issue. But you have to find the ways, make tough decisions, but act intelligently to find a way out. It is not enough to lay the blame, but to draw up a plan that allows for short-term measures that guarantee security and prevent the conflict from escalating.  

There is a global debate on the legalization of the medicinal and recreational use of cannabis, as was done in Uruguay and Mexico, this country, as we well know, is severely punished for drug trafficking, as a way to combat organized crime and indeed violence. The world is debating the need to create profound and structural measures regarding the transformation of prison systems. What do you think of the possibility of progressively legalizing drugs or what other measures would you take to find a transformation of the penitentiary systems? 

A reform is going to be proposed to eliminate the table of drugs. The Government's initiative and position is to limit the illegal business of drug micro-trafficking or criminalize addictions by proposing a reform to eliminate this table of drug consumption. The Government's vision is to protect the future of children and young people. 

But what do you think about the possibility of legalizing cannabis in Ecuador as governments like Uruguay, Mexico and Canada have done? 

It is not the position of the Government of President Lasso. Rather, it is considered that the table of drug consumption has promoted micro-trafficking both in schools and colleges in Ecuador, and what is intended is to find other mechanisms to alleviate addictions through sports, access to education and the promotion of art and culture, of alternative spaces that allow children and young people to get away from drugs. 

The first step for economic reactivation was a success with the vaccination plan that has made it possible to generate employment, revitalize the economy, reactivate various sectors; however, the total consummation of this reactivation has stalled after the CAL made the resolution not to qualify for debate the Bill for the Creation of Opportunities. How much is the reactivation stalling the struggle between the Executive and the Legislative? 

Trust and freedom are the essential elements for reactivation to be generated, because only with a climate of trust can an entrepreneur invest in the long term and generate a new business, but without a doubt an important prop is the Creation Law project of opportunities. I believe that the CAL assumed competences that did not correspond to it when evaluating the constitutionality or not of the project and it was not the task that corresponded to it. And in fact, it has proved right in the long run, rather generating a kind of suggestions, of recommendations in a way in which, attended by the Government, the Executive will try to present this project in different normative bodies; On the one hand, there will be a tax dimension, a labor dimension and, in the future, the investment dimension. 

According to article 148 of the Constitution, the President can dissolve the Assembly for three reasons, and the one you refer to is one of them, as well as when there is repeated obstruction of the National Development Plan and if there is a serious political crisis or commotion at the national. All this has generated the debate and there has been much talk about the possibility of cross-death. How healthy would it be for democracy to go to this extreme point and apply cross-death? 

We have to see how the Assembly responds. The Government's intention is to ensure that those seven out of ten Ecuadorians who currently do not have adequate employment find an opportunity. The laws are there to be discussed, evaluated, fed, corrected, that is what is healthy. If something can be changed, great, but let's remember that governability is not only given by votes in the Assembly, but also in favorable, direct and positive interaction with the organized sectors of civil society, with the media, with the levels of government. If we want to pass a labor law at this time, we must also ask those who do not have a job (...) those who do not have a job must be part of the discussion. Of course, the organized sectors, the labor unions, the employers, the chambers, the federations, associations and others also have to be present, but all of them, and that the discussion be opened, and not only from the desk to say "it is not worth it" because simply I am in a position against the Government and I do not want to give way. If that discussion takes place, congratulations, and if not, there are also other mechanisms or other paths guaranteed in the Constitution, such as cross death. 

But would that be healthy for our democracy?  

The most direct, fastest way would be for there to be a positive discussion within the Assembly, to improve, fix, correct what needs to be corrected and finally come up with regulations that allow job opportunities, employment, but if not, other paths must be found that guarantee the Constitution. Beyond the political conspiracy, the Assembly must be given one more chance before reaching the death crusade. The head of state must act with tolerance in the face of intolerance. 

How much could the issue of the Pandora Papers and the elimination of certain fuel subsidies have affected the President's popularity? 

The Assembly seeks to discredit the President, it is a way that it has found to move the discourse towards another logic. Nothing has been said that already in this short period 200.000 new quality jobs have been generated in just four months. The only thing that has been proposed by the Assembly has been to seek impeachment. The citizens, the Ecuadorians, are tired of this old way of doing politics, of blackmail, "let yourself be dominated or I'll dismiss you", and that policy today is represented in the alliance of Iza, Nebot and Correa, who are united in a synchronized way against this proposed change. President Lasso has announced that he will submit to any commission of the National Assembly, he has even asked the Comptroller General of the State to review his wealth declarations. In the same way, the SRI information is public, it has paid more than 588 million dollars in taxes on a personal and business level during these 15 years. What is questionable is that politicians who earn what they earn do not pay more than the corresponding amount in taxes. (I)