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☆ Who Was Fernando Villavicencio?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Genevieve Glatsky | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As a journalist, Mr. Villavicencio obtained documents about a government surveillance program that he sent to WikiLeaks but eventually published himself. Some of his work led to death threats and charges that were widely criticized as politically motivated. There, he met with a friend from his undergraduate days at the Central University of Ecuador. But later that year, Mr. Correa left office, and Mr. Villavicencio returned home. For his presidential run, Mr. Villavicencio, 59, cast himself as the anticorruption candidate.

Persons: Villavicencio, “, ”, Grace Jaramillo, Correa, Guillermo Lasso, Lasso’s Organizations: WikiLeaks, Central University of Ecuador, University of British, National Assembly Locations: Peru, University of British Columbia, Ecuador

☆ Reaction to killing of Ecuador presidential candidate Villavicencio
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

QUITO, Aug 9 (Reuters) - The following are reactions to the assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio on Wednesday. Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio speaks during a campaign rally in Quito, Ecuador August 9, 2023. AMBASSADOR TO ECUADOR MIKE FITZPATRICK"I am deeply dismayed to learn of the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio, presidential candidate and fighter against the corruption and narco-criminals who have done so much damage to Ecuador." PARAGUAY'S PRESIDENT-ELECT SANTIAGO PENA"We repudiate and condemn the assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. HONDURAN PRESIDENT XIOMARA CASTRO"We strongly condemn the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.

Persons: Fernando Villavicencio, GUILLERMO LASSO, Mayor Intriago, Fernando, RAFAEL CORREA, LUISA GONZALEZ, DANIEL NOBOA AZIN, XAVIER HERVAS, Karen Toro, MIKE FITZPATRICK, SANTIAGO PENA, XIOMARA CASTRO, Alexandra Valencia, Isabel Woodford, Valentine Hilaire, Caroline Pulice, Lincoln Organizations: OF, AMERICAN STATES, REUTERS, U.S, AFFAIRS MINISTRY, Ecuadorian, MINISTRY OF, Thomson Locations: QUITO, OF ECUADOR, Ecuador, Quito, Government, Chile, Ecuadorian Government, Mexico City

☆ Assassination of presidential candidate shocks Ecuador
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

QUITO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - The assassination of Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio shocked the South American country, where rising drug-related violence is a major concern for voters, leading some of his rivals to suspend campaigning. Nine people, including a candidate for the legislature and two police officers, were injured, it added. "Ecuador has become a failed state," Correa, who now lives in Belgium, said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. [1/4]Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio speaks during a campaign rally in Quito, Ecuador August 9, 2023. Indigenous candidate Yaku Perez and law-and-order hopeful Jan Topic both suspended their campaigns, while businessman Otto Sonnenholzner begged the government to take action.

Persons: Ecuadorean, Fernando Villavicencio, Guillermo Lasso, Lasso, Rafael Correa, Villavicencio, Correa, Karen Toro, Luisa Gonzalez, Yaku Perez, Otto Sonnenholzner, Construye, Alexandra Valencia, Julia Symmes Cobb, Lincoln Organizations: REUTERS, Albanian, Manta, Thomson Locations: QUITO, American, Quito, Ecuador, Peru, Belgium

Quito, Ecuador CNN —A candidate in Ecuador’s upcoming presidential election, Fernando Villavicencio, was assassinated at a campaign event Wednesday, President Guillermo Lasso confirmed on social media, vowing the killing will not go unpunished. He was gunned down 10 days before the first round of the presidential election was set to take place on August 20. Ecuador’s Attorney General’s Office said the suspected gunman died in police custody following an exchange of fire with security personnel. Seven of the eight presidential candidates, including Villavicencio, were under police protection, Ecuador’s Interior Minister Juan Zapata said earlier this week, local media reported Tuesday. All the candidates in the country’s presidential election have pledged to rein in the escalation of violence.

Persons: Ecuador CNN —, Fernando Villavicencio, Guillermo Lasso, Villavicencio, Cristian Zurita, Rodrigo Figueroa, “, Lasso, ” Lasso, Juan Zapata, paz ”, Agustin Intriago, Ariana Chancay, CNN En, CNN En Español Conclusiones, ” Organizations: Ecuador CNN, Movimiento, CNN, Ecuador’s, General’s, Judicial, Fire Department, Ecuador Police, National, Lasso, paz, Security, CNN En Español Locations: Quito, Ecuador, Villavicencio, Peru, Colombia, South America, North America, Europe, Manta, Darien, United States

☆ Ecuador names new prisons director following July violence
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso walks on the day of his annual report to the nation, a week after dissolving the National Assembly and calling for early elections, in Quito, Ecuador, May 24, 2023. REUTERS/Karen Toro/File PhotoQUITO, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso on Tuesday named a new director for the country's prison agency, SNAI, following renewed violence in one of the nation's most violent prisons. Lasso has regularly declared states of emergency in prisons as he tries to tackle violence that has surged since 2021, claiming the lives of at least 400 prisoners. The latest 60-day emergency declaration began in late July, after violence at Guayaquil's Penitenciaria del Litoral. Luis Ordonez, a retired soldier and intelligence expert, will replace Guillermo Rodriguez as the prison head, Lasso's press office said in a statement.

Persons: Guillermo Lasso, Karen Toro, Lasso, Luis Ordonez, Guillermo Rodriguez, Rodriguez, Ordonez, Alexandra Valencia, Julia Symmes Cobb, Leslie Adler Organizations: National Assembly, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Quito, Ecuador, QUITO, Lasso's

☆ Ecuadorean votes could bar oil output in Amazon reserve, mining near Quito
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

But oil and mining guilds say their industries are needed to shore up Ecuador's battered economy and that bans would expose the areas to illegal mining and deforestation. Outgoing President Guillermo Lasso, who moved ahead elections after lawmakers attempted to oust him, has failed to raise oil production or attract more mining investment as violence and social problems have worsened. A "yes" vote in both referendums could complicate finances for his successor. State oil company Petroecuador says a "yes" on the Yasuni referendum would cost the country $13.8 billion in income over the next two decades. But residents say mining will threaten high altitude wetlands, water and animals like the spectacled bear.

Persons: Read, Ecuadoreans, Guillermo Lasso, Santiago Pérez, Ramon Correa, Correa, Rafael Correa, Pedro Bermeo, Bermeo, Petroecuador, Australia's SolGold, Maria Eulalia Silva, Morelia Fuentes, Alexandra Valencia, Tito Correa, Karen Toro, Julia Symmes Cobb, Marguerita Choy Organizations: ITT, Environmental, Reuters, Voters, of Mining, Mining, Thomson Locations: Orellana, Orellana province, Ecuador, QUITO, Quito, Choco, North America, State, Pastaza

CNN —At least 11 “complete bodies” and dozens of body parts, including human heads, were recovered on Wednesday from a major prison in Ecuador, after days of deadly prison clashes. The remains were collected at the Litoral Penitentiary in Guayaquil, Ecuador, where violence first erupted on Saturday. Some of the victims appeared to have been beheaded, the National Forensic Service of Ecuador told CNN en Español Wednesday. Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso has also signed a decree declaring a state of emergency across the country’s entire penitentiary system for the next 60 days. Over the past two years, Lasso has named five different directors of the prison service, but none have proven able to reduce the violence.

Persons: Cesar Munoz, Guillermo Lasso, Lasso Organizations: CNN, National Forensic Service, Wednesday, AP, Security, Twitter Locations: Ecuador, Litoral, Guayaquil

☆ Ecudor crisis: How gang warfare jumped from Ecuador's prisons to the open street
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Stefano Pozzebon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Frantic purchases of ammunition, the daylight assassination of a mayor, and a growing body count inside Ecuador’s prisons signal that the country’s roiling security crisis is going from bad to worse. Violence has been most pronounced on Ecuador’s Pacific coast as criminal groups battle to control and distribute narcotics, primarily cocaine. The country has also lost control of its prisons, which are often ruled by the criminal gangs. Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso speaks during a meeting in the Carondelet Palace in Quito on November 10, 2021. The crisis has also affected the security and justice system with allegations of corruption swirling around some in courts and police.

Persons: Agustin Intriago, Ariana Chancay, Agustin Intriago's, Dolores Ochoa, Guillermo Lasso, Vicente Gaibor del Pino, Coronel Mario Pazmiño, CRISTINA VEGA RHOR, Lasso, ” Lasso, ”, Fausto Salinas, Luisa Gonzalez, Otto Sonnenholzner, Yaku Perez Organizations: CNN, Manta, Security, Authorities, Reuters, Ecuadorian Army, Getty, Public Security Council, Ecuadorian Locations: Ecuador’s, Guayaquil, Manta, Ecuador, South America, North America, Europe, Peru, Colombia, America, Bolivia, Carondelet, Quito, AFP, Manabi

☆ Ecuador prison violence leaves at least 11 dead
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The forensic effort at the Penitenciaría del Litoral prison is continuing to determine the official death toll, Cesar Zapata, the police director of citizen security and public order told journalists. This week's latest surge of prison violence comes during campaigning for Aug. 20 elections, with some presidential candidates pledging prison reforms. More than 100 prison officers held in jails around the country were freed on Tuesday, and SNAI said prisoners had lifted hunger strikes held at some facilities. The 2,700 soldiers and police officers who entered the Penitenciaria del Litoral prison confiscated high-caliber weapons including grenade launchers, drugs, cell phones and bullet-proof vests. The disturbances led President Guillermo Lasso to declare a 60-day state of emergency for the country's prisons and allow the military to help retake control.

Persons: Cesar Zapata, Zapata, SNAI, Guillermo Lasso, Lasso, Alexandra Valencia, Julia Symmes Cobb, Sandra Maler Organizations: Thomson Locations: QUITO, Guayaquil, Esmeraldas

☆ Death toll from violent incidents in Ecuador's prisons hits 18
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Clashes between organized criminal gangs have taken place since Saturday at the prison, one of the most dangerous in Ecuador. In other prisons, inmates took nearly 100 guards hostage and prisoners in some jails began hunger strikes, without explaining why. Ecuador has long been plagued by prison violence. Military intervention in Ecuador's prisons will continue until control has been retaken and there is no threat to prisoners or officials, the government said. Lasso has regularly declared states of emergency in the country's prisons as he tries to tackle violence that has surged since 2021, claiming the lives of hundreds of prisoners.

Persons: Guillermo Lasso, Karen Toro, Lasso, Los Rios, Agustin Intriago, Alexandra Valencia, Oliver Griffin, Valentine Hilaire, William Maclean, Bill Berkrot Organizations: National Assembly, REUTERS, Ecuador, Duran, Sunday, Thomson Locations: Quito, Ecuador, QUITO, Guayaquil, Manabi, Los, Manta

☆ Ecuador declares state of emergency amid violent clashes
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Lasso declared the state of emergency in the provinces of Manabi and Los Rios and in the city of Duran, near Guayaquil, after Agustin Intriago, the mayor of coastal city Manta, was shot dead on Sunday. It also comes on the back of riots over the weekend in the prison Penitenciaria del Litoral, in Guayaquil, involving clashes between gangs inside the prison. Lasso has frequently resorted to declaring states of emergency as Ecuador struggles with prison riots and waves of violence throughout the country. The state of emergency will last for 60 days in the provinces, while the curfew will vary during that period, the government said. Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Writing by Carolina Pulice; Editing by Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Guillermo Lasso, Karen Toro, Lasso, Agustin Intriago, del, Prisoners, Alexandra Valencia, Carolina Pulice, Sonali Paul Organizations: National Assembly, REUTERS, Monday, Rios, United Nations, Inter, American, Human Rights, Thomson Locations: Quito, Ecuador, QUITO, Manabi, Duran, Guayaquil, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Napo

CNN —More than 90 prison security agents are currently being held by inmates across five different prisons in Ecuador, according to the country’s penitentiary service SNAI, amid escalating violence in the country which saw the mayor of Ecuador’s sixth largest city killed over the weekend. Together with the National Police, SNAI said it was working to secure the agents’ release and return prisons to normal operations. Inmates at several prisons have begun hunger strikes as they demand better conditions in the cells. Hundreds of inmates have been killed in recent years in Ecuador as members of competing criminal organizations square off with each other inside the prisons, which are often self-ruled by the criminal organizations. A woman cries outside outside the Guayas 1 prison a day after a fight between rival gangs left six inmates dead in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on July 24, 2023.

Persons: SNAI, ’, Agustin Intriago, Juan Zapata, Marcos Pin, Ariana Chancay, Guillermo Lasso, “, ” Intriago, Lasso, Luisa Gonzalez, Otto Sonnenholzner, Yaku Perez, Intriago Organizations: CNN, National Police, Manta, Getty, Authorities, Twitter Locations: Ecuador, Ecuador’s, Guayaquil, AFP, Ecuadorian, South America, United States, Canada, Asia, Colombia

☆ Mayor of Ecuadorian city of Manta assassinated in brazen attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

QUITO, July 23 (Reuters) - The mayor of the Ecuadorian Pacific port city of Manta, Agustin Intriago, was assassinated on Sunday, authorities said, in a brazen attack that stunned the political establishment. Police said the 38-year-old Intriago, who was re-elected as mayor of Manta in February, had been inspecting public works in the city at the time of the attack. The municipal government of Manta said on its Twitter account that Intriago had been shot dead. He emerged unscathed from the attack, but a policeman was killed and several other people were wounded, media reported. Intriago belonged to a local political party in Manta, a city of well over 200,000 inhabitants.

Persons: Agustin Intriago, Juan Zapata, Manta, Intriago, Guillermo Lasso, Rafael Correa, Alexandra Valencia, Diane Craft, Sonali Paul Organizations: Police, Manta, Interior, Twitter, Duran, Thomson Locations: QUITO, Ecuadorian Pacific, Manta

☆ Nearly a sixth of Ecuador's prisoners held without sentence - census
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QUITO, July 10 (Reuters) - Nearly a sixth of the inmates in Ecuador's prisons have not been sentenced, a national census showed on Monday, as President Guillermo Lasso urged the judicial system to be speedier to help ease the burden on overcrowded jails. That figure is above the 30,134 prisoner capacity that prisons agency SNAI said the 36-prison system had in December 2022. Ecuador's prison system has faced structural problems for decades, amid overcrowding and precarious living conditions for inmates, but riots have become increasingly common, killing more than 400 prisoners since late 2020. The government has attributed prison violence to fighting between criminal groups for control of prisons and drug trafficking routes. Prisoners have complained about the quality of the basic services and supply of food, the census also showed.

Persons: Guillermo Lasso, Lasso, SNAI, Alexandra Valencia, Carolina Pulice, Jamie Freed Organizations: Inter, American, Human Rights, Thomson Locations: QUITO

☆ First debt swap Galapagos projects could be approved next year, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QUITO, June 30 (Reuters) - Conservation projects in the Galapagos Islands funded by so-called blue bonds will be approved from next year by an independent body, Ecuador's Environment Minister Jose Davalos said. The independent non-profit Galapagos Life Fund (GLF) will manage the funds, Davalos told Reuters on Thursday. "Next year the GLF could begin to receive projects, rate them and assign the first funds to finance them," Davalos said. "This is a private fund that will administer money that is given or donated for the conservation of the Galapagos." The fund could finance projects in fishing, tourism, environmental education and the management of the Galapagos ocean reserve, which was expanded last year.

Persons: Jose Davalos, Davalos, Charles Darwin's, Guillermo Lasso, Alexandra Valencia, Julia Symmes Cobb, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Life, Reuters, Resources, Thomson Locations: QUITO

☆ Candidates enter race for Ecuador's crowded early elections
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

QUITO, June 14 (Reuters) - Eight candidates have registered to run in Ecuador's presidential elections in August, the electoral court said on Wednesday, kicking off a campaign to fill the spot to be left early by current President Guillermo Lasso. Lasso, in May, dissolved the legislature and cut his term short to avoid impeachment proceedings against him. Those elected in August will hold office until May 2025, when regularly scheduled elections will take place. Indigenous leader Yaku Perez will represent a political coalition in his second run for the presidency. Former Vice President Otto Sonnenholzner, who resigned in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged Ecuadorean cities, will also run.

Persons: Guillermo Lasso, Ecuadoreans, Lasso, Rafael Correa's, Luisa Gonzalez, Yaku Perez, Perez, Otto Sonnenholzner, Alexandra Valencia, Kylie Madry, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Lasso, Constituent Assembly, Conservative Social Christian Party, PSC, Thomson Locations: QUITO

☆ Party backing Ecuador's Lasso will not field candidates in elections
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QUITO, June 6 (Reuters) - Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso's political movement Creating Opportunities will not field candidates for the country's early presidential or legislative elections, it said on Tuesday. Lasso, a conservative ex-banker, last week said he would not run as a candidate in presidential elections. Elected officials and the new president will only hold office until May 2025, when voting that had always been scheduled will take place. Members of Creating Opportunities can vote for whoever they like in the upcoming elections, but cannot support candidates who "do not respect the constitution and the law," Bernal said, without clarifying further. Reporting by Alexandra Valencia Writing by Oliver Griffin; editing by Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Guillermo Lasso's, Lasso, Ecuadoreans, Esteban Bernal, Bernal, Alexandra Valencia, Oliver Griffin, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Assembly, National Assembly, Thomson Locations: QUITO

A court in Ecuador sentenced Correa to eight years in prison in 2020 over accusations he broke campaign finance laws. His party, Citizen Revolution, was the biggest party in the assembly with 47 seats before Lasso dissolved it. The former lawmakers from Citizen Revolution will run in the snap election, Correa said, adding that he hopes the party wins at least 50 seats. Lasso - who has said he will not run in the upcoming elections - will rule by decree until the snap election, with laws subject to approval by the Constitutional Court. Any laws issued by decree - including an earlier move by Lasso to loosen gun controls - will be targeted following the election by Citizen Revolution politicians in government or the legislature, Correa said.

☆ Ecuador could hold early elections on Aug. 20: electoral court
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QUITO, May 18 (Reuters) - Ecuador could hold early legislative and presidential elections on Aug. 20, the electoral court said on Thursday, a day after President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly by decree and brought forward the vote scheduled for 2025. The embattled leader cited Ecuador's serious political crisis and domestic turmoil as reasons for making the move. Opposition lawmakers are hoping the Constitutional Court, Ecuador's highest court, will rule quickly to block Lasso's dissolution, which they have described as illegal. Lawmakers of the dissolved National Assembly said they will respect the court's decision, even if it upholds the president's actions. Lawmakers elected to power in the early elections would only serve until regularly scheduled elections are held in 2025.

☆ Ecuador president dissolves legislature, bringing elections forward
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso testifies at the National Assembly, as part of the impeachment process against him for alleged corruption, in Quito, Ecuador May 16, 2023. REUTERS/Karen ToroQUITO, May 17 (Reuters) - Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly in a decree on Wednesday, bringing forward legislative and presidential elections, a day after he presented his defense in an impeachment process against him. Ninety-two votes form the 137-member legislature would have been needed to remove Lasso from office. Those voted into power in the early elections would only serve until the regularly-scheduled 2025 elections take place. The impeachment process was the first against a Ecuadorean president in decades.

☆ Explainer: Ecuador's Lasso dissolved the legislature. What comes next?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Police stand outside the National Assembly after it was dissolved in a decree by Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso, bringing forward legislative and presidential elections, a day after he... Read moreQUITO, May 17 (Reuters) - Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly by decree on Wednesday, bringing forward legislative and presidential elections, a day after he defended himself in an impeachment hearing. WHAT IS PRESIDENT LASSO ACCUSED OF? Lasso, a former banker who took power in 2021, has denied the charges and says they are politically motivated. Ecuador's National Assembly began an impeachment hearing against Lasso on Tuesday, following a vote on May 9 to move forward in the process against him, which was passed with 88 votes from the 116 legislators present. Lasso invoked the "two-way death" on Wednesday, citing Ecuador's grave political crisis.

☆ Ecuador’s President Dissolves Congress Amid Impeachment Trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Julie Turkewitz | Genevieve Glatsky | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Guillermo Lasso of Ecuador disbanded the country’s opposition-led National Assembly on Wednesday, a drastic move as the right-leaning leader faced impeachment proceedings over accusations of embezzlement. The constitutional measure, never before used, allows the president to rule by decree until new elections can be held, marking a moment of extraordinary political turbulence for a country of 18 million already in turmoil. Ecuador has long been a relatively safe haven in the region, but in recent years it has seen rising violence and a skyrocketing homicide rate as increasingly powerful narco-trafficking groups fight for territory. Opposition lawmakers accused Mr. Lasso of turning a blind eye to irregularities and embezzlement in a contract between a state-run shipping company and an oil tanker company that wasn’t delivering on its promises — allegations first made in media reports. The country’s constitutional court later approved a charge of embezzlement against the president but denied two charges of bribery.

CNN —Ecuador’s embattled President Guillermo Lasso, who is facing a looming impeachment vote, has triggered a constitutional clause to dissolve government, a politically fraught move that could spark protests with the country already tackling a fragile security situation. Lasso, who took office in 2021, is accused of interfering in the negotiation of a shipping contract related to the export of oil products. The president’s decision to instate muerte cruzada means his government will remain in office until a new general election takes place in around six months. But calls for his resignation have grown louder in recent months, as Ecuador’s opposition and influential federation of Indigenous organizations accused Lasso of negligence in a country engulfed by a cost-of-living crisis and high rates of criminal violence. Will Freeman, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the application of muerte cruzada “would absolutely cause instability.”“Lasso is too unpopular to benefit from the impression that he’s overriding checks and balances to finally get something done,” he told CNN, before the announcement on Wednesday.

This would see Lasso resign, triggering snap elections for both the presidency and the National Assembly, according to a clause in the Ecuador’s constitution. While Ricachon believes Ecuador’s president Lasso should complete his mandate, Zamora thinks the president’s time is up and that the country’s problems require a new leader. Once the president wraps up his defense on Tuesday and leaves the legislature, each of Ecuador’s 137 National Assembly members will be accorded ten minutes to speak. Then Saquicela, the National Assembly president, will set a date within five days for the impeachment vote. Members of unions and civil society groups demand that Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso leave office amid rising crime and insecurity, in Quito, Ecuador May 1, 2023.

☆ Ecuador assembly begins impeachment hearing against President Lasso
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

QUITO, May 16 (Reuters) - Ecuador's National Assembly on Tuesday began an impeachment hearing against President Guillermo Lasso, who could be removed from his post, though the process increases the likelihood he will dissolve the legislature to avoid a final vote. The opposition, including members of the party of ex-President Rafael Correa - himself accused of corruption - has been invigorated following the re-election of Virgilio Saquicela as president of the National Assembly on Sunday. "The Ecuadorean people want Guillermo Lasso (...) to go home," said opposition lawmaker Viviana Veloz while presenting a motion to vote on the censure and dismissal of the president. CONAIE, Ecuador's largest indigenous organization, backed the measure to remove Lasso in a statement, saying that "with Guillermo Lasso Ecuador doesn't have a future, only fear and uncertainty." The assembly voted to continue with the impeachment process last Tuesday with 88 votes in favor out of 116 legislators present.

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