Ecuador's President Dissolves National Assembly Triggering Early Elections

EPISODE: Ecuador’s President Dissolves
National Assembly Triggering Early Elections


GUEST: Author and Journalist Joe
Emersgerger. You can find his work published
at CounterPunch, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR),
MintPressNews and more. Also, be sure to read his book
Extraordinary Threat: The US Empire, the Media and Twenty
Years of Coup Attempts in Venezuela


BACKGROUND:


Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National
Assembly by decree on May 17 bringing forward legislative and
presidential elections and heading off an attempt by opposition
politicians to impeach him.


Opposition politicians wanted to impeach Lasso over accusations
he disregarded warnings of embezzlement related to a contract at
state-owned oil transportation company Flopec, charges the
president denies.


A majority of lawmakers had backed a resolution accusing Lasso of
allowing the corrupt contract to continue after taking office in
2021, although a congressional oversight committee, which heard
testimony from opposition lawmakers, officials, and Lasso's
lawyer, said in its report it did not recommend impeachment.


Lasso says the impeachment process - the first against an
Ecuadorian president in decades - is politically motivated and
has sparked a grave crisis that has threatened democracy. The
dissolution was necessary, he said.


Citing the crisis and inability to govern, Lasso invoked the
constitution's so-called "two-way death" (Muerte Cruzada)
provision, which allows the president to call elections for both
his post and the assembly under certain circumstances, including
if actions by the legislature are blocking the functioning of
government.


According to the constitution, he will now remain in office and
rule by decree.


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ADDITIONAL LINKS:


Ecuador’s “Democratic Backsliding” Has Been Ongoing Since 2017,
With US Support


Elections in Ecuador Unmask Western Media Dishonesty


WTF is Going on in Latin America & the
Caribbean: Ecuador Erupts against Neoliberalism


WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean: The
Lasso Government Post-National Strike


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