By Dr Aprajita Kashyap
Ecuador has turned out to be the latest country in Latin America to witness clashes between constitutional powers. It has witnessed an escalation of political tensions ever since Guillermo Lasso’s election as president in 2021. There have been frequent clashes with the strong Opposition in the Assembly over corruption, an increase in drug-related violence and several massacres in prisons over the past two years. On the corruption aspect, President Guillermo Lasso is accused of being aware of the irregularities in the contract between the state-owned oil transport company Flota Petrolera Ecuatoriana and the private entity Amazonas Tanker which could lead to losses worth millions to the state.
Lasso on 16 May dismissed corruption accusations in an impeachment trial held by the national assembly. He admitted that he made changes to the contract that was signed years before he took office on the advice of Ecuador’s comptroller only to benefit the state. A legislative session that extended to nearly two days brought out arguments from Lasso’s supporters as well as his detractors. Most lawmakers backed a resolution on impeachment for the corrupt contract to continue, despite the congressional oversight committee hearing testimony from opposition lawmakers, officials and Lasso’s lawyer not recommending impeachment…Ninety-two votes from the 137-member legislature following a motion of debate would have been needed to remove Lasso from office. Before the votes could be used as the deciding criterion, the National Assembly was dissolved by President Lasso through a decree on 17 May, a day after he presented his defence in an impeachment process against him. The grounds specified for the dissolution of the Assembly were internal commotion and political crises. This was the second time the Opposition had tried to impeach Lasso, but even the last time the votes were insufficient to remove him.
Lasso chose to dissolve the Assembly, leading to ushering in the legislative and presidential elections. “This is a democratic decision, not only because it is constitutional, but because it returns the power to the Ecuadorian people … to decide their future in the next elections,” Lasso stated in a video broadcast. According to CNN, the Ecuadorian leader has invoked a procedure known as la muerte cruzada (the crossed death), whereby the opposition-led National Assembly is dissolved to hold snap elections. The president appears to have the support of the armed forces but has faced opposition from the indigenous Ecuadorians. Even the pro-Rafael Correa political elites, including the left-wing Citizens’ Revolution party(RC), are stumbling blocks in his presidency. Ecuador’s military and police “have and will hold their absolute respect for the constitution and law,” said Nelson Proano, commander of Ecuador’s armed forces, in a video statement. He also opined that Lasso’s decision to dissolve the assembly was intra vires under the constitution. Police and military members stood guard outside the National Assembly building, preventing any outside entry. Ecuador’s largest confederation of indigenous groups, CONAIE, had threatened to go on mass demonstrations if Lasso would dissolve the National Assembly by asserting that “with Guillermo Lasso, Ecuador has no future, only fear and uncertainty.”
Constitutional Position
The option to disband the Assembly and rule temporarily by decree is entrenched in Ecuador’s constitution in 2008 to avoid protracted periods of political paralysis. By invoking Constitution’s Article 148, Lasso can govern for upto six months by decree under the scrutiny of Ecuador’s Constitutional Court. The president can only address economic and administrative matters which would ultimately be requiring the Constitutional Court’s approval.All his acts can be appealed against in the Constitutional Court. It would be pertinent to note here that this court has traditionally prolonged the resolution of petitions brought before it. Constitutional lawyers have asserted that decrees are not laws but are operational norms that allow the implementation of what the law establishes whose issuance is subject to control by the Constitutional Court. Also, the next elected National Assembly and the president would review all the decree-acts that Lasso would issue in these three months. After the review, the decrees issued by the pro-tem president can also be repealed. The only exception is the ‘Urgent Economic Decree-Act’ taking advantage of which Lasso has already brought in a tax reform that would lower taxes for Ecuadoreans.
The National Electoral Council has to notify within seven days the dates of the presidential and legislative elections that need to be held within 90 days. The terms of those elected through this election would end in May 2025. Interestingly, amidst the fragile security situation created since late 2020 due to the fragmentation of criminal gangs and narco-trafficking issues, Lasso can choose to contest the elections. Ecuador’s democratic institutions and processes are being questioned as quite a few of the legal experts interpret Lasso’s action as self-coup. The role of civil society and citizens in ensuring peace and restoration of democratic processes has become crucial. Reviewing some hasty and reckless decrees may get murky if Lasso is re-elected. With the low approval rating of his regime, ex-president Correa’s RC may return to power. Besides, his contentious relationship with the CONAIE may not see him as the suitable contender to finish the final two years of his term. It has been a proven trend within Latin America that those presidents who could manage to steer through the process of impeachment have a weakened position compared to the opposition. Chances are high that President Lasso will be no exception to this tendency.
The author is faculty of Latin American studies at CCUS&LAS, School of International Studies, JNU. Can be reached at: aprajitakash@gmail.com
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