WASHINGTON-Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today released the following statement.
“I congratulate President Lenín Moreno and the Ecuadorean people on yesterday’s vote to overturn a 2015 constitutional amendment eliminating presidential term limits. Ecuadoreans overwhelmingly chose to turn the page on past efforts to perpetuate power and undermine the country’s democracy. Unfortunately, the Ecuadorean people have not been alone in confronting the issue of term limits, one of the more subtle challenges to the Inter-American Democratic Charter. From Venezuela and Bolivia to Honduras and Nicaragua, the elimination of presidential term limits has had a detrimental impact on democracy in Latin America. I hope that yesterday’s referendum in Ecuador will serve as a positive example to all OAS member states.".
