The current President’s spontaneous decision does not take into account the evidence of recent years.
(Photo: elcomercio.ec)
Quito, January 12 (Prensa Latina) Analysts and Ecuadorian citizens today described President Guillermo Lasso’s decision to cut taxes on arms imports as inconsistent amid rising violence in the country.
Political scientist and security expert Carolina Andrade said the tariff cuts announced this week on purchases of “firearms, sporting arms and ammunition” mean ignoring previous measures that have had an impact.
As the analyst warned on her Twitter account, in 2022 86 percent of homicides in Ecuador were due to the use of such devices, a 17 percent increase from 2021.
The expert showed a chart showing how this number started declining since 2010 and started an ascending and progressive process in 2018.
The expert cited a report on the impact of firearms, parts and ammunition control policies that provides quantitative and qualitative evidence of measures implemented between 2007 and 2014 during the tenure of former President Rafael Correa.
At that time, it was decided to restrict the free sale of weapons, banning their importation and carrying for civilian use, and raising the tax on these deadly devices to 300 percent, a tax that Lasso has now reduced to 3.0 percent.
These and other measures have resulted in a significant drop in gun deaths from 1,766 in 2010 to 690 in 2014.
The current President’s spontaneous decision does not take into account the evidence of recent years, claimed Andrade, who believed that the measure would aim to facilitate private access to weapons, but without offering effective answers to the security crisis.
The political scientist emphasized that contrary to these demagogic announcements in the context of the election, a comprehensive policy with measures of prevention (education), control is expected and that it is also necessary to bring order to the election campaign weapons register.
President Lasso justified the reduction of various taxes with an alleged economic prosperity, but according to observers wants to distract from the allegations of corruption against his government.
Lawyer Mauro Andino does not believe that the rulers planned the tax cut technically. “His response is electoral, so as not to exhaust himself in the face of the February 5 referendum and divert attention from the corruption of the Great Godfather,” he said, referring to the conspiracy of his brother-in-law, Danilo Carrera.
Lawmaker Mireya Pazmiño of the indigenous organization Pachakutik stated that the measure, which relates to guns, favors those who finance organized crime and, in turn, sends the message that since he cannot do anything about the insecurity, he “should defend themselves and kill each other”. (Source: PL)