President of Ecuador Guillermo Lasso. Photo: file.
In Ecuador, four cabinet ministers from the Guillermo Lasso administration have presented their resignation. The latest minister to resign was been Health Minister Ximena Garzón, who quit after an emergency declaration on healthcare was decreed during the national strike.
Garzón’s resignation letter to Lasso states: “I submit, for your consideration, my resignation as minister of public health for Ecuador. I deeply appreciate the opportunity given to serve my country, and I am proud to have contributed with you to the control of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The declaration of a healthcare state of emergency was issued by Lasso as a response to the petition of 10 demands issued by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), a measure that Garzón apparently did not consider necessary.
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Other ministers who have resigned include Economy and Finance Minister Simón Cuevas, Transport and Public Works Minister Marcelo Cabrera, and Secretary of Higher Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation Alejandro Ribadeneira.
According to a July 5 statement, Lasso has accepted the resignation of the cabinet ministers and thanked them for their loyalty and for their services rendered. Moreover, Lasso headed a ceremony to swear in new cabinet ministers.
The national strike in Ecuador has left Lasso with great losses, given the fact that the demonstrations affected different state sectors, such as the oil sector, which has suffered about one billion dollars in losses.
The manager of the Central Bank of Ecuador, Guillermo Avellán stated: “the losses, in the oil sector, amount to one billion; 775 million correspond to the private sector and 225 million correspond to losses in the state sector.”
(RedRadioVE) by Ana Perdigón
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
