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The Presidential Palace in Ecuador
Photo: RODRIGO BUENDIA / AFP
Political stalemate: In the midst of impeachment proceedings against Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso for alleged embezzlement, the head of state has dissolved parliament. The electoral office should set a date for elections within seven days, it said in a message published on Wednesday (local time) by the presidential office. The conservative president can now rule by decree for up to six months.
The figure of the so-called "muerte cruzada" (approximately: mutual destruction), with which the president can dissolve the National Assembly under certain conditions, has been enshrined in the constitution of the South American country since 2008. So far, however, it has never been used.
"It is impossible to solve the challenges with a parliament whose goal is to destabilize the country," Lasso said in a televised speech. "I have to give an answer to the political crisis. Ecuador needs a new political and social pact that will allow us to overcome the crisis, which unfortunately is getting worse every day."
The parliament had recently initiated impeachment proceedings against Lasso. On Tuesday, the head of state rejected the allegations of embezzlement made against him in the National Assembly. Lasso is accused of knowing about unfavorable contracts between the state-owned oil transport company Flota Petrolera Ecuatoriana and the private shipping company Amazonas Tankers, but not terminating them after taking office. This is said to have cost the Ecuadorian state several million US dollars.
Deputies Yeseña Guamaní Vásquez and Esteban Torres appealed to the Constitutional Court against the dissolution of Parliament. The legal requirements for the dissolution of the National Assembly are not met, Torres said. Lasso had only used the instrument to evade impeachment proceedings.
Lasso accused parliament of trying to seize the institutions of the state and prepare for the return from exile of ex-president Rafael Correa, who was convicted of corruption.
Ecuador is in the throes of a serious political crisis. Only 17 percent of citizens support Lasso's governance, and just 20 percent rate the work of parliament as good. The once peaceful South American country is also currently suffering from a wave of violence. The murder rate of 25 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants last year was the highest in the country's history, even exceeding that of Mexico and Brazil. The government blames drug traffickers for the violence.
dop/dpa