Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso. Photo: AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez.
A politician who participated in the second round of the last presidential elections in Ecuador called for abstaining from creating “obstacles in the upcoming electoral process” after the muerte cruzada, or “mutual death,” invoked by Guillermo Lasso.
President Guillermo Lasso has decreed the muerte cruzada, or “mutual death,” a measure outlined in the Ecuadorian constitution that allows the dissolution of the National Assembly and specifies that, consequently, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must call for presidential and legislative elections within seven days of the decree being invoked.
In a conversation with Sputnik, Andrés Arauz, former presidential candidate who faced the current Ecuadorian president in the 2021 elections, shared that it is necessary to review the legality of the measure presented by Lasso “which is a parliamentary dissolution [being called] in the middle of an impeachment process.”
The former presidential aspirant states that although the Ecuadorian constitution allows the dissolution, “it does not speak of when an oversight action such as the impeachment trial is interrupted, so it is likely that the Constitutional Court will elaborate soon.”
The constitution establishes three grounds for the executive branch to activate the muerte cruzada mechanism:
- If the Assembly attributes functions to itself that are not legally within its competence.
- If the legislative branch repeatedly and unjustifiably obstructs the execution of a National Development Plan that establishes public policies.
- Due to a serious political crisis and internal commotion. This was the cause invoked by Lasso on May 17.
After having outlined these challenges, the economist emphasized that, in reference to early elections, “we are committed to this path and hope that Lasso does not hinder the upcoming electoral process.”
“That is the danger, that now, especially with the dissolution of the National Assembly, Lasso has free rein to make the decrees he wants as long as they are approved by the Court,” he said.
Arauz, who served as the Minister of Knowledge and Human Talent during the presidency of Rafael Correa (2007-2017), then explained that the Constitutional Court “becomes a kind of filter, but a negligible one, since the only thing that has to be evaluated [of those potential decrees] is if they encompass economic matters, if they are of urgent nature, and if they are unconstitutional or not in themselves. And the truth is that in economic matters, there is enough leeway to leave them open to interpretation in the constitutional sense.”
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The former presidential candidate maintains that the National Assembly has been the institution that has stopped President Lasso’s “ambitions to implement an openly neoliberal model.” Therefore, in the absence of a legislative counterweight, “the danger is greater,” he warned.
The electoral impetus of Revolución Ciudadana
In Ecuador’s last regional elections, the opposition won some crucial battles, namely in Quito and Guayaquil, two of Ecuador’s major cities.
Arauz stated that Revolución Ciudadana, the progressive space led by former President Correa, “is very well positioned to achieve an important victory in the national electoral process.”
“I think that Ecuador, which may have been confused two years ago faced by the legacy of Moreno, who betrayed us but sadly represented our ranks, has now discovered that Moreno had been governing with bankers like Guillermo Lasso. And now, it is clear what a progressive, leftist, nationalist line means, versus a neoliberal banking orientation,” he said.
The role of the indigenous movement in the upcoming elections
Arauz evaluated the possibility of an electoral agreement between Revolución Ciudadana and Pachakutik, the political arm of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), for the elections, something that was not possible in the 2021 presidential elections.
“[The indigenous groups] have a decisive force in the territories of the Amazon, that is, the Ecuadorian highlands, and have been a leading force in the protests during the governments of Moreno and Lasso,” he explained.
“We believe that a great programmatic agreement must be reached on the basic concerns facing our country. And at the end of this programmatic discussion, if these agreements, which are very desirable, are reached, some alliance can be discussed,” said the economist.
Social climate
For Ecuadorians, the muerte cruzada represents “the opportunity to assert themselves in the ballot box,” said Arauz. It is a measure that “actually fills them with hope” in view of the low approval rating of the current presidential figure.
However, “the risk is in the decrees that Lasso is allowed to issue, which are anti-democratic and have a plutocratic character,” Arauz continued.
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“[Lasso] threatens to privatize higher education by decree law; he threatens to reform the labor code by decree law; he has already proposed a tax reform, which preserves confidentiality regarding tax payments, by decree law; he is going to privatize social security by decree law,” Arauz enumerated.
“We will not allow him to implement an outdated neoliberal model, which has already proven to be a failure, through authoritarian measures such as decree laws, without going through the State parliaments,” Arauz stated.
(Sputnik)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/DD/KZ
bla 17:35 EST
