Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly on Wednesday by decree, one day after it started impeachment trials that appeared to be on track to remove him from office.
The decree was announced at 7 a.m. on Wednesday. Lasso applied Article 148 of the Ecuadorian Constitution to institute a tool known as “cross death,” which dissolves the country’s parliament and requires new elections for both the National Assembly and the president to be held within 90 days.
The National Assembly looked poised to impeach Guillermo on corruption and misappropriation of public fund charges. Lawmakers held votes on Sunday to choose the authorities of the Assembly and demonstrated the unity of the opposition alliance, a sign it had enough votes to impeach Lasso. Just 92 votes would have been needed to impeach him; during the Sunday session, every motion received between 94 and 100 votes, a sign officials had enough votes to remove Lasso.
On Tuesday, Lasso appeared in front of the Assembly to defend himself as the impeachment trial began.
“You are anti-legislators,” he said in a speech on the floor of the National Assembly. “I accuse you of trying not only to take down the credibility of the presidency, but that of democracy.”
The vote on his impeachment and censure was expected to go forward this weekend, but the decree dissolving the Assembly has ended those proceedings. Lasso previously threatened to dissolve the chamber if it went forward with the impeachment; that it still went forward signals the opposition feels confident they will perform well in the cross-death elections.
The accusations against Lasso stem from a contract between the state-owned Ecuadorian Oil Fleet (FLOPEC) and the privately owned Amazonas Tanker Pool company. Lasso noted in his defense the contract was signed in 2018, three years before he took office. He also pointed to a non-binding report for a government oversight committee that found him guilty of no wrongdoing.
Lasso further claimed he made adjustments to the contract at the recommendation of the Comptroller General’s Office, which he says made the contract more profitable for Ecuador. However, the opposition claims he turned a blind eye to the alleged embezzlement tied to the contract and continued it while knowing the deal “represented a loss for the state.”
The opposition alliance included the Union of Hope (UNES) party, which is still controlled by former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, the Christian Social Party (PCS); the Indigenous party Pachakutik; and the social-democratic party Democratic Left (ID). Eight independent congressional members also joined with the opposition.
Last year, the National Assembly impeached the President of the Assembly, Guadalupe Llori, but only achieved 81 votes, which would not have been enough to impeach Lasso. Llori was replaced by Viviana Veloz, who put forth the motion to impeach on Tuesday.
Some members of the National Assembly have said they will not accept the decree; however, the military has backed Lasso.
In a video statement, Nelson Proano, the commander of the Ecuadorian Armed Forces, noted the decree was constitutional. Multiple reports have indicated that forces closed down the National Assembly building and are not granting entry to anyone, including the former lawmakers.
Ecuador has been dealing with economic issues and high crime for several years. Austerity measures implemented as part of a deal with the International Monetary Fund failed to reverse the country’s economic woes and caused deadly unrest under former Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno.
Under Correa’s administration, Ecuador became one of the safest countries in South America, with crime falling during his last eight years in office, dropping to record lows. Crime has risen every year since Correa left office and the country saw a record-high murder rate in 2022, with 25.5 homicides per 100,000 residents. The South American country is on track to break the record again in 2023.
Lasso has blamed drug cartels for the increase in crime and violence. He declared states of emergency in some provinces twice due to the violence - once in October 2021 and again in April 2022.
Correa has called the decree to dissolve the National Assembly “illegal,” but said in a tweet that it was an opportunity to “recover the homeland” from Lasso.
“What Lasso has done is illegal. Obviously, there is no ‘internal commotion.’ He just couldn't buy enough assemblymen to save himself,” a translation of his tweet reads. “In any case, it is a GREAT opportunity to get rid of Lasso, his government and his rented assembly members, and recover the Homeland.”