Legitimación y aplicación de las penas en el estado ecuatoriano

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to study the legitimization and application of penalties in the Ecuadorian State, since during the last years several changes have been made to the Organic Integral Penal Code, which was issued in 2014. From the time of its issuance until the present year most of the reforms that have been made to the norm have consisted of increasing the penalties and making them stricter, justifying them with the ideology of "the greater the penalty, the lesser the crime". This paper compiles relevant information on punishment and its theories, penal guaranty, and penal populism in order to identify important concepts that lead to the establishment of penalties in Ecuador. In addition, an in-depth analysis of the reforms of five criminal offenses; sexual abuse, sexual harassment, bribery, hired assassination and illicit trafficking of controlled substances, so that they can obtain a clear contrast of the changes that have had these rules since 2014 to the present year. In addition to this, the rates that these five crimes have had during 2014 until 2024 are also presented and where the effectiveness of the increase in penalties could be evidenced, i.e., if the rates of these crimes have really decreased with the reforms made.