Opposition lawmakers in Ecuador have moved forward with a second attempt to impeach Guillermo Lasso, one of the few remaining market-friendly presidents in South America.
(Bloomberg) — Opposition lawmakers in Ecuador have moved forward with a second attempt to impeach Guillermo Lasso, one of the few remaining market-friendly presidents in South America.
In the filing backed by 59 signatures, they accuse the president of involvement in corruption at state-run companies, according to a copy of the document provided to Bloomberg by Ana Belen Cordero, a lawmaker for Lasso’s party.
Lasso “protected the ties of a criminal structure in public companies,” opposition lawmaker Viviana Veloz, one of the impeachment’s four main sponsors, told reporters in Quito.
The increased risk of Lasso’s early exit after he lost a referendum last month has weighed on the nation’s bonds, sending its dollar bonds plunging in recent weeks.
Lasso, a former banker, is popular with investors after he slashed the budget deficit and successfully completed an International Monetary Fund program. But bondholders are worried that his policies will be discontinued if he is forced out of office, especially if he is replaced by allies of leftist former-President Rafael Correa.
The president’s term is scheduled to end in 2025.
Lasso denies any personal wrongdoing or structural corruption among senior officials. The impeachment bid lacks any legal basis, and is an attempt to destabilize the government, the presidency said in a statement sent via text message.
Read more: Fitch Says Lasso’s Ecuador Referendum Defeat to Produce Gridlock
To proceed, the impeachment procedure must be ruled admissible by the Constitutional Court before it can be reviewed by the unicameral National Assembly. It could then be voted on by the plenary following a lengthy procedure that would likely take until early May.
The court is unlikely to agree with Lasso’s accusers that he is guilty “by omission” for failing to prevent crimes from taking place, said Ramiro Garcia, a criminal lawyer who sat on the committee that selects the court’s judges in 2019, speaking by phone.
In June 2022, Lasso survived a first impeachment attempt when the opposition obtained 80 votes, short of the 92 of 137 required to remove him from office.
Lasso can avoid impeachment by dissolving the congress and govern by executive decree in the interim, but this would trigger early general elections.
“Many opposition forces are reluctant to risk losing their positions in early elections,” said Eurasia Latin America Director Risa Grais-Targow in response to written questions. “But in the event that the constitutional court greenlights the request, those same forces will be under immense popular pressure to support” impeachment, she added.
Lasso suffered a major defeat in February when voters rejected several proposals he put to them in a referendum, and also handed victories in mayoral races to candidates of candidate from Correa’s Citizen Revolution.
(Adds comments from a criminal lawyer and analyst)
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