4/11/23, 12:14 PM Impeachment trial begins against Ecuador's President Lasso | The World from PRX

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Conflict & Justice

Impeachment trial
begins against
Ecuador's President
Lasso
​Ecuador’s National Assembly is debating the future of
President Guillermo Lasso. If it votes to remove Lasso,
it would be the first impeachment of an Ecuadorian
president since the country’s return to democracy in
1979.

The World
April 3, 2023 · 5:45 PM EDT
By Michael Fox

Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso is surrounded by security as he exits the Metropolitan

Cultural Center, located next to the presidential palace in Quito, Ecuador, March 30, 2023.
Ecuador's Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday the opposition-dominated National
Assembly can take up the question of whether to impeach Lasso over allegations of crimes
against state security and corruption.
Credit: Dolores Ochoa/AP

Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso is facing the political battle of

his life.

After Ecuador’s top court authorized an impeachment trial against

him for acts of corruption last week, the proceedings began on
Monday.

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4/11/23, 12:14 PM Impeachment trial begins against Ecuador's President Lasso | The World from PRX

Lasso is a conservative, former banker who won office in 2021 and is

nearly halfway through his term.

He's accused of allowing embezzlement to continue under his watch

in Ecuador’s oil shipping company, Flopec. According to evidence, he
was advised of the corruption even before taking the presidency, but
did not move to stop it. This is one of several accusations against
him, including bribery and abuse of power.

The Ecuadorian outlet La Posta has recently accused Lasso's brother-

in-law and business associate Danilo Carrera of being at the center of
a web of corruption, including involvement in false energy contracts
and a cash-for-appointment bribery scheme.

However, the embezzlement charge was the only one approved by

the Constitutional Court to be considered for the National
Assembly's impeachment proceedings.

“I am innocent,” Lasso said during a televised address to the nation

the day after the court ruling. “In my personal, professional and
public life, I have always acted with clear intention. And that’s why I
denounce this impeachment trial, which smells very bad.”

He accused the National Assembly of trying to remove him in a bid

for power.

But Ismael Quintana, a lawyer and professor of constitutional rights,

said that Lasso and those who defend his government “haven’t ever
sufficiently responded to the facts.”

“They are serious, and they implicate the president in political

responsibility in this and other cases of corruption,” he said.

For Lasso to be impeached, two-thirds of the 137-member

opposition-controlled National Assembly must vote in favor. The
decision is due in one month. The president of the special
impeachment commission, Viviana Veloz, said they have more than
enough votes.

“The majority of the caucuses and the legislators have said that they
will vote to proceed with censoring and removing President Lasso,”
she told the Ecuadorian talk show, EnClave Política.

“And with the eight independent lawmakers, we have 104 votes.”

They will need support from 92 National Assembly members to

impeach.

But Lasso is looking to shore up his support ahead of the vote.

Over the weekend, he authorized the civilian use of guns in self-

defense. In a televised address, Lasso said the decree expands
current gun laws and allows civilians to openly carry in public.

“Ecuadorians, we have a common enemy: crime, drug trafficking,

and organized crime. We are going to fight it with these new urgent
measures.”

Homicides have spiked to historic levels in Ecuador over the last year.
Meanwhile, Lasso’s approval has plummeted to less than 13%,
according to recent polls.

In February, he lost a referendum package, and his allies were

trounced in regional elections.

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4/11/23, 12:14 PM Impeachment trial begins against Ecuador's President Lasso | The World from PRX

Meanwhile, Ecuador’s powerful Indigenous movements have been

gaining political ground. And they've been a vocal opposition to
Lasso’s government.

Last week, they marched to demand that the Constitutional Court

authorize the National Assembly to proceed with the impeachment
trial.

“We are demanding that the judicial laws be carried out,” said
Floresmilo Simbaña, a former leader of the country’s largest
Indigenous confederation CONAIE. “There are indications of
irregularities in Lasso’s administration. According to the evidence,
Lasso is clearly implicated in these acts of corruption and therefore,
must be removed.”

The National Assembly has 30 days to reject or approve Lasso’s

impeachment. If he is removed, his vice president, Alfredo Borrero,
would take over. He’s a former neurosurgeon and a political novice.

Lasso may also try to implement what Ecuador’s Constitution calls a

“cross death” that would dissolve both the National Assembly and
his presidency, and call for new elections.

The future is uncertain. But Lasso is now hanging on for his political
life.

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