Peruvian President Pedro Castillo (right) and Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso (left). Photo: CNN/File photo.
In less than six months, Latin America has witnessed two congressional closures, in the nations of Ecuador and Perú. However, the treatment by international media of the measures taken by Pedro Castillo and Guillermo Lasso is entirely hypocritical.
The inconsistency of media such as El Clarín and Infobae in reviewing the dissolution of Congress by the president of Perú, Pedro Castillo, and the president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, was evident this Wednesday, May 17, when Lasso announced the dissolution of the Ecuadorian National Assembly.
In international media, Castillo’s actions were described as a self-coup, while Lasso’s activation of the cross-death mechanism was depicted as an institutional procedure.
🇵🇪Presidente de Perú disuelve el congreso.
-Clarín e Infobae: ¡Autogolpe, dictador!🇪🇨Presidente de Ecuador disuelve el congreso.
-Clarín e Infobae: Bueno, es un procedimiento institucional… pic.twitter.com/30GtC8yxeg— Periodistán (@periodistan_) May 17, 2023
On Tuesday night, Lasso signed decree 741 that establishes the dissolution of the National Assembly and the calling of general elections. The decision was made in the middle of a parliamentary impeachment against him, which seeks his dismissal for corruption.
A similar procedure happened in Perú in December, when Pedro Castillo applied a similar measure to dissolve Congress, that was about to pass an impeachment trial against him. At that time, the Peruvian president dissolved Congress, announced early elections, and that he would rule by decree.
President of Ecuador Dissolves National Assembly Amid Impeachment Trial
The former Peruvian president also supported his decision in the Constitution, which empowers the president to dissolve Congress “if it has censured or denied its confidence to two councils of ministers.”
As expected, international media serves as propaganda for the right in Latin America and provides a hypocritical discourse on what happened in Ecuador and Perú.
‼️Encuentre usted las cinco diferencias entre el comunicado de #EEUU con respecto a la disolución del #Congreso en #Peru y la de #Ecuador‼️#MuerteCruzadaEc pic.twitter.com/Mc0ueTcdx6
— Orlando Pérez (@OrlandoPerezEC) May 18, 2023
At the time, the United States rejected Castillo’s actions and urged him to reverse his decision. But because Lasso’s decision serves imperial interests, Washington stated that they respect the internal constitutional processes.
Given what happened, the scenarios in both countries are very different. Pedro Castillo is currently in prison for his decision after he was accused of committing a coup, while Lasso continues to be president of the nation while general elections are called.
(RedRadioVE) by Ana Perdigón, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/AU
