Ecuador: Citizens reject reform of the Organic Code of Territorial Organization promoted by Noboa

Published at: 20/02/2026 04:30 PM

Last Thursday, approximately 10,000 people, made up of municipal workers and beneficiaries of social programs, led a march in the capital of Ecuador, which rejected a reform to the Organic Code of Territorial Organization, Autonomy and Decentralization (COOTAD).

The reform was sent by the president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, to the National Assembly as an urgent economic law, Telesur said on its website.

In this regard, the demonstrators denounced that the initiative violates the autonomy of the territories and jeopardizes the provision of essential basic services. The conflict focuses mainly on the obligation that the project imposes on Decentralized Autonomous Governments (GAD).

The reform establishes that mayors and prefectures must allocate 70 percent of their budget exclusively to infrastructure works, under the threat of reducing state transfers if this percentage is not met.

Mazo News Team