Ecuadorian army blocking the access to the National Assembly after the controversial decision of President Lasso to dissolve it, May 17, 2023. Photo: Jose Jacome/EFE.
The president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, dissolved the National Assembly on Wednesday morning while the impeachment trial against him for corruption and money laundering was underway. The decision brings memories of a similar constitutional decision taken by Peruvian President Pedro Castillo a few months ago that ended very differently, with Castillo’s controversial arrest and harsh criticism by the White House and its regional pundits.
In a televised address to the nation on Wednesday, May 17, Lasso announced the application of the muerte cruzada or cross death mechanism and dissolved the parliament through Executive Decree 741. “I have decided to apply Article 148 of the Constitution of the Republic, which grants me the power to dissolve the National Assembly due to serious political crisis and internal commotion,” the Ecuadorian president said in a national radio and television broadcast at 7:00 a.m. local time.
Guillermo Lasso thus becomes the first president of Ecuador to apply the cross death mechanism.
He firmado el Decreto Ejecutivo 741, con el objetivo de disolver la Asamblea Nacional y solicitar al CNE se convoque a elecciones.
Ecuatorianas y ecuatorianos: esta es la mejor decisión para darle una salida constitucional a la crisis política y
conmoción interna que soporta…— Guillermo Lasso (@LassoGuillermo) May 17, 2023
Lasso issued the decree while the impeachment process against him was underway in the National Assembly, as he has been accused of embezzlement of public funds. According to many analysts, there was a probability that the National Assembly could reach the required 92 votes for Lasso’s removal. However, with the dissolution of the Assembly, the impeachment process gets automatically canceled.
In fact, in his speech, Lasso called the impeachment process a “destabilization attempt.” “It is not possible to move forward with an Assembly whose political project is to destabilize the government, democracy and the state,” he said.
“This [the cross death] is the best possible decision, which opens the way to recover hope and tranquility, and will allow the government to focus all its efforts on meeting the needs of the Ecuadorian people,” he added.
“This is a democratic decision, not only because it is constitutional, but also because it gives back to the Ecuadorian people, to you, the power to decide your future in the next elections,” Lasso continued. The muerte cruzada mechanism mandates the convocation of both legislative and presidential elections within six months of its declaration. The winners of these elections will complete the current presidential and legislative terms that will end in May 2025.
In this regard, the Ecuadorian president reported that he requested the National Electoral Council (CNE) “to immediately call for legislative and presidential elections for the rest of the respective terms.” The CNE has to make the announcement within seven days according to the cross death rule.
As Article 148 of the Constitution of Ecuador states, while the processes of holding new elections will continue, the president would govern by decree for six months with control of the Constitutional Court.
In fact, Lasso did not waste time to start governing by decree. After issuing Executive Decree 741 declaring the cross death, he issued Executive Decree 742 on the Organic Law for the Strengthening of the Family Economy, and sent it to the Constitutional Court for its opinion. The organic law is about tax reforms that Lasso had sent to the National Assembly last week.
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The case against Lasso
The impeachment process was related to a contract signed between the Ecuadorian state oil company Flota Petrolera Ecuatoriana (FLOPEC) and Amazonas Tanker Pool, an international company that operates oil transport vessels.
Although the case dates back to 2018, when Lenín Moreno was the president, Lasso is accused of having signed a new contract with Amazonas Tanker Pool last year, despite the State Comptroller General having issued a report in 2021 stating that the operations with Amazonas Tanker Pool caused financial damage to the Ecuadorian State and recommended evaluating “the convenience and relevance of continuing” the contract.
Losses suffered by FLOPEC are estimated at $6 million, as detailed by Assembly member Esteban Torres, one of the impeachment initiators, in the plenary session of National Assembly on Tuesday, May 16, when the impeachment trial began.
In that session, Viviana Veloz, another National Assembly member, presented a video in which Vice Admiral Johnny Estupiñán, former manager of FLOPEC, said that the Lasso government had extended the contracts with Amazonas Tanker Pool.
Despite the accusations, President Lasso claimed that no contracts were signed or extended during his government, in his appearance before the National Assembly on Tuesday. In fact, he did not address most of the accusations and instead tried to deflect the blame and responsibility.
On Wednesday, in his address to the nation, Lasso labeled the impeachment process as a “politically motivated trial,” claiming that it is not about “the truth or the fight against alleged corruption,” but that his accusers were trying to “take over the presidency of the Republic in this way to usurp all the powers of the State.”
“They claim that I am politically responsible for not having acted in an alleged case of corruption,” Lasso said. He added that the claimants “have been unable to find any evidence” against him, while disregarding witness testimonies and video evidence presented at the National Assembly on Tuesday.
Armed forces announce support for Lasso
After Lasso declared the dissolution of the National Assembly, police and military forces surrounded the National Assembly building and prevented the staff and the assembly members from entering the building. The National Assembly was prepared to continue with the session on Wednesday morning to debate the impeachment of the president.
The military also put up fences surrounding the National Assembly headquarters, while inside the building and at the main entrance, members of special units of the police and riot police have taken up positions.
The Armed Forces and the National Police issued a statement supporting President Lasso and his application of the cross death mechanism, calling it a “constitutional norm.”
“The Armed Forces and the National Police announce their unalterable position of absolute respect for the Constitution and the laws,” said Nelson Proaño, head of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces.
Mensaje de las Fuerzas Armadas y la Policía Nacional a los ecuatorianos.#ElPuebloDecide https://t.co/IydBd1KO1z
— Presidencia Ecuador 🇪🇨 (@Presidencia_Ec) May 17, 2023
“Therefore, it [cross death] is subject to a constitutional norm and must be fully and completely respected by all citizens,” added Proaño, claiming that the Armed Forces and the National Police are “obedient and non-deliberative institutions.”
He also warned that the security forces will act “firmly” against any sort of violence, “to protect the life, rights and guarantees of all Ecuadorians.”
“We call for the unity of Ecuadorians, to maintain a climate of respect for the law, without confrontations, without violence, which will allow us to have a peaceful Ecuador,” he stressed.
Similarly, Fausto Salinas, commander general of the Ecuadorian National Police, said that “the Police are prepared at the national level and are monitoring the events, and we hope that there will be no violence or any call for violence from any leader of any organization.”
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Transit Agency (AMT) of Quito announced that the National Police and the Armed Forces closed part of the avenues 6 de Diciembre, Gran Colombia, Juan Montalvo, Yaguachi, and Piedrahita, which are near the National Assembly building.
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Reactions of politicians
The former president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, criticized the dissolution of the National Assembly, branding it a “coup.”
“What Lasso is doing is illegal,” Correa wrote in a tweet. “Obviously there is no ‘internal commotion.’ He just could not buy off enough assembly members to save himself.”
Lo que Lasso hace es ilegal. Obviamente no hay ninguna «conmoción interna». Tan solo no pudo comprar suficientes asambleístas para salvarse.
En todo caso, es la GRAN oportunidad para librarnos de Lasso, de su Gobierno y de sus asambleístas de alquiler, y recuperar la Patria✊🏽 pic.twitter.com/5KETxMyN6x— Rafael Correa (@MashiRafael) May 17, 2023
In another social media post, Correa called the announcement of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces and Police to declare Lasso’s decree constitutional a “sad democratic setback,” since the decision on the constitutionality of the mechanism pertains to the Constitutional Court.
The correista legislative coalition Union for Hope (UNES) called Lasso’s decision “unconstitutional,” but announced that the party would not call for protests in the street and would wait for the call for elections.
UNES National Assembly members held a press conference outside the legislative headquarters, where Marcela Olguín, vice-president of the National Assembly, commented that Lasso implemented the cross death to “prevent the impeachment vote,” but his action implies the “triumph of the Citizens’ Revolution” which had promoted the impeachment trial.
The president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), Leonidas Iza, called Lasso’s action a “self-coup.”
Al no contar con los votos necesarios para salvarse de su inminente destitución Lasso da un cobarde autogolpe de Estado con ayuda de Policía y FFAA, sin apoyo ciudadano, convirtiendose en una inminente dictadura.
Nos reuniremos en un consejo ampliado con nuestras bases. https://t.co/dekqw9ehZR— Leonidas Iza Salazar Oficial (@LeonidasIzaSal1) May 17, 2023
“Since he did not have the necessary votes to save himself from his imminent dismissal, Lasso carried out a cowardly self-coup with the help of the Police and the Armed Forces, without citizen support, leading to an imminent dictatorship,” he commented on social media.
CONAIE, which led huge protests against Lasso’s administration in June last year, announced that they will convene a special council to analyze the situation and make collective decisions.
The Social Christian Party (PSC), which supported Lasso in the presidential elections of 2021, but which later distanced itself from the president, announced that it will file a complaint of unconstitutionality before the Constitutional Court against the presidential decree of cross death.
The Constitutional Court is yet to make a statement. The National Electoral Council, on the other hand, called a press conference for Wednesday afternoon to make announcements about possible early elections that could elect a new president and National Assembly members by November this year.
Orinoco Tribune special by Saheli Chowdhury
OT/SC/BLA
Saheli Chowdhury
Saheli Chowdhury is from West Bengal, India, studying physics for a profession, but with a passion for writing. She is interested in history and popular movements around the world, especially in the Global South. She is a contributor and works for Orinoco Tribune.
