The country’s largest Indigenous federation, a powerful movement credited with toppling three previous Ecuadoran presidents, has vowed to launch mass protests in response. As of Wednesday morning, legislators were unable to enter the National Assembly, which was blocked by the military and police.
Lasso is applying a constitutional mechanism known as a muerte cruzada — roughly, “mutual death” — due to the “grave political crisis and social unrest” in the country, he wrote in a decree.
It’s a drastic step, allowing him to shut down the legislature while setting him on a path to give up office in about six months. He can, however, run as a candidate in the election.
“A political crisis is being faced, as there is uncertainty about the ability of state bodies to perform their functions properly,” he said in a statement.
The move, a presidential order, is effective immediately and does not require court approval. The decree, issued just days before lawmakers were expected to vote on whether to remove him, gives Lasso a final political lifeline. He had said he would apply the muerte cruzada if the votes appeared to be stacked against him.
Lasso, a 67-year-old former banker, was elected in April 2021 on a free-market platform. He defeated a protege of leftist leader Rafael Correa, Ecuador’s longest-serving democratically elected president and still a powerful force in the country’s politics. But when Lasso took office, the country was struggling to recover economically from the pandemic and drug traffickers were gaining control in many cities.
Ecuadoran gangs, many working with Mexican cartels, have unleashed a wave of violent crime in the country’s streets and prisons, wreaking havoc never before seen in the historically peaceful country. Neighborhoods in Esmeraldas and Guayaquil have been terrorized by car bombs, explosives and killings.
On Monday, the mayor of Durán, a town outside Guayaquil, was apparently targeted for assassination. Unknown gunmen opened fire on his motorcade; three people were killed and three wounded.
Lasso is seen by many here as out of touch with the population; his approval ratings have dropped in recent months to the teens. He has also struggled with frequent illness and has been unable to push forward much of his legislation in a national assembly dominated by his opponents. Of the seven bills he has introduced, only three have been approved.
Lasso was the first president to face an impeachment trial since the country’s return to democracy in 1979. The proceedings opened on Tuesday. He denied wrongdoing; he accused opponents of inventing unfounded allegations against him for political reasons.
Four lawmakers had filed a petition for impeachment with Ecuador’s constitutional court, accusing the president of improperly handling state contracts for oil transportation with a private company. They say his decisions led to the loss of millions of dollars in public funds, and that he was aware of it.
A legislative oversight commission concluded last week that there was no evidence to show that Lasso knew about the contracts and that he did not promote signing a new deal with the private company. The commission recommended against impeaching him.
Schmidt reported from Bogotá, Colombia. Diana Durán in Bogotá contributed to this report.
Arturo Torres, Samantha Schmidt
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