The president of Ecuador, the conservative William Lassodecreed this Wednesday in the middle of the political trial against him the so-called “cross death”, which dissolves the National Assembly (Parliament), with an opposition majority, and summons elections anticipated generals, so he will rule by decree until his successor takes office.
In a message to the nation, Lasso announced this measure contemplated in the ecuadorian constitution from 2008 by “serious internal and political upheaval”after having appeared before the Assembly on Tuesday to make his defense argument against the accusation made by the opposition for an alleged crime of embezzlement.
The president resorted to the “cross death” before the start of the second day of debate that was to take place in the Chamber to later vote on the motion of no confidence, in which 92 votes are required to remove him, equivalent to two thirds of the chamber.
“SERIOUS POLITICAL CRISIS”
“Ecuador needs a new political and social pact that will allow it to get out of the grave crisis politics in which it finds itself and which, unfortunately, deepens every day,” Lasso said at the beginning of his message.
He noted that the solution should put an end to “an irrational and useless confrontation” and pointed out that it is not possible to move forward and face the deep challenges “to which insecurity and terrorism submit us with an Assembly that has as its political project the destabilization of the Government, of democracy and of the State”.
He commented that in the last two years, “a sector of the policy has attempted to overthrow the democratically elected government.”
Lasso added that the destabilizing project “raised a level with the blockade of the initiatives presented by the Executive” and “all the efforts of the legislature are focused on destabilizing the Government with a political trial unfounded“.
“They promote an assumption crime of embezzlement by omission that does not exist in our legislation, with which they want to ensure that I am politically responsible for not having acted in an alleged case of corruption”he said about the accusation of the opposition.
For the ruler, it is “a process without evidence, contradictory, confusing, illegal and illegitimate, it is the mechanism to remove the president”.
“The accusers have become obsessed with ending my government driven by a superhuman rancor. However, they have been unable to find proof any against me because there is nothing to find absolutely nothing ”, he stressed.
The ruler pointed out that he has made an effort “so that the political dialogue be the tool that guarantees governability (…) but the attack on the management of this Government has no limits”.
As an example, he said that the opposition has activated 14 trials politicians to ministers “to generate instability in the cabinet and hinder the work of the Government”,
He considered that this is “a constant obstruction that has generated a serious political crisis and internal commotion, which is reflected in the almost null confidence of Ecuadorian society in the Assembly”.
DECREE SIGNATURE
Lasso assured that “to give a constitutional way out” decided to apply article 148 of the Constitution of the Republic, which grants it the power to dissolve the National Assembly “due to a serious political crisis and internal commotion.”
In addition, he requested the National Council Electoral The immediate call for legislative and presidential elections for the rest of the respective periods.
“This is one decision democratic, not only because it is constitutional, but because it returns to the Ecuadorian people the power to decide their future in the next election,” he added, indicating that this allows the Government focus all their efforts on meeting the needs of the Ecuadorian family.
“Starting today, without blockades, the national government will issue a series of decrees law that they will comply with the sovereignly expressed mandate”, he said when advancing that he has already signed the first decree law of economic urgency to reduce taxes and strengthen the economy.
Lasso stressed that public services will attend normally, that the Armed forces and the National Police continue to guarantee security and that the private sector “has all the guarantees to carry out its activities and continue contributing to the growth and development of the country.”