Ecuador's parliament on Tuesday began an impeachment trial against unpopular conservative President Guillermo Lasso, who claimed his "total, evident and indisputable innocence" in the face of deputies from a country plagued by political strife and violence.
In the presence of 109 of its 137 members, the unicameral parliament opened its session with the first arguments in favor of impeaching the president for alleged embezzlement.
The majority left sees in this procedure an opportunity to get rid of the right-wing government and regain strength after the fall of its leader, ex-president Rafael Correa (2007-2017), sentenced to eight years in prison by in absentia for corruption and in exile in Belgium.
Mr. Lasso, a 67-year-old former banker in power since 2021, is accused by his critics of embezzlement in the context of a state contract for the transport of crude oil.
"There is no relevant evidence or testimony. On the contrary, there is only information which proves my total, obvious and indisputable innocence", he said in front of the deputies who must gather 92 votes (2/3 of the 137 deputies) to be able to oust him from power.
He has three hours to present his defense in the hemicycle.
MPs previously tried to impeach him in June 2022, when Ecuador was plagued by violent protests over high prices, but ran into their own divisions.
This procedure raises the specter of the political instability experienced by the country between 1997 and 2005, a period during which three presidents were overthrown by popular revolts.
The difference this time is that Mr. Lasso would be deposed "according to institutional rules" and not by force, underlines Esteban Nichols, political scientist at the Andean University Simon Bolivar in Quito.
Only one impeachment trial has resulted in the country's history: that of President Juan de Dios Martinez, ousted from power in 1933.
If he manages to keep his chair, Mr. Lasso will have no choice but "to continue to witness the country's descent into hell", by governing with a Parliament where the opposition is in the majority and without any prospect of dialogue," constitutionalist Rafael Oyarte told AFP.
The supporters of Mr. Lasso and their allies have only 25 deputies, against 49 for the pro-Correa camp, to which are added the 25 of the Pachakutik, the powerful political arm of the indigenous movement.
Several hundred supporters of the government gathered peacefully around the Parliament, cordoned off by the police, to cries of "Long live democracy" and "Let's defend democracy and peace".
The opposition "is only interested in destabilization, and not in the stability and institutional strengthening that the country so badly needs", lamented to the press the Minister of the Interior Henry Cucalon.
Guillermo Lasso also has a serious asset up his sleeve: the constitutional mechanism known as "crossed death", which would allow him to dissolve Parliament and call early legislative elections while leaving power.
"This is where there could be a social problem, real instability," warns political scientist Esteban Nichols.
All in a country confronted for months with a wave of violence caused by a power struggle between gangs involved in drug trafficking.
The "cross death" mechanism was invented during the Correa era and has never been used before.
For Mr. Oyarte, triggering this mechanism would be a sign of "political irresponsibility" in Mr. Lasso because it would benefit pro-Correa.
"Even if it is not certain that they will obtain the presidency of the Republic, one thing is certain: their deputies, who are currently 49 out of 137, will win more seats", he maintains.
If dismissed, Mr. Lasso will be replaced by his vice-president Alfredo Borrero who will complete his four-year term.
05/16/2023 21:24:53 - Quito (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
