The Ecuadorian Congress rejected President Guillermo Lasso’s request for impeachment

The Congress of Ecuador on Wednesday denied the request for impeachment of the president, Guillermo Lasso, which had been presented by the parliamentary caucus of the opposition Union for Hope (Unes), linked to former president Rafael Correa. The motion, which was discussed in Parliament since Saturday in a context of extreme violence in the streets, did not obtain the necessary votes to obtain approval.

12 votes were missing to remove the former right-wing banker from office, which he accepted in May 2021. To achieve this goal, the support of two-thirds of Congress was needed, equal to 92 of the 137 members of the assembly.

However, the result of the final vote was 80 in favor against 48 against and 9 abstentions, according to the results announced by Parliament’s secretary, Álvaro Salazar, in a virtual session broadcast on social networks.

“We defended democracy and now we must restore peace “Lasso said after the vote, which had invited parliamentarians to maintain the country’s institutionality. On Twitter he added: “Despite the coup attempts, today the country’s institutions have prevailed. It is clear who works for the political mafias. In the meantime, we continue to work for Ecuador.”

The motion was presented by the member of the assembly of Unes Fernando Cedeño, due to “serious political crisis and internal turmoil” and in the context of the protests against the government for the high cost of livingled by the indigenous and peasant movement.

The bloody demonstrations, which have lasted for 16 days, resulted in the six people died and about 400 injured.

On Tuesday, tense talks between the government and indigenous groups were frozen after an attack by demonstrators that resulted in the death of one soldier and 12 wounded soldiers while guarding a fuel convoy in the Amazon.

Lasso said on a radio and television network that his government cannot sit down and talk “to those who seek to hijack the peace of Ecuadorians”, alluding to the attack, and accused the highest indigenous leader Leonidas Iza of only defending ” its political interest and not its foundations ”.

“As long as the necessary guarantees are not in place, the dialogue process will not be able to continue”, he stressed.

The organization called for President Guillermo Lasso’s regime to meet 10 points, including lowering the price of fuel from $ 2.45 to $ 2.10 per gallon, plus education and health budgets, and pricing. of agricultural products. The right-wing president succumbed to a 10 cent reduction on the dollar.

In any case, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (CONAIE) rejected the provision, defining it insensitive and insufficient.

Violence and death on the streets of Ecuador

Ecuador has been undergoing a national strike for two weeks called by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities, against the high cost of living and above all the price of fuel. The government described this event as “a terrorist attack”.

The marches became violent. with the closure of the roads and bitter clashes between demonstrators – who came to Quito from different regions of the country – and the security forces.

The strike was also characterized by violent demonstrations and road closures, which they caused scarcity of food and fuel. In the city of Cuenca, 310 kilometers south of the capital, the hospital’s oxygen was running low, particularly in the Vicente Corral Moscoso regional hospital, which treats patients from several provinces in the south of the country, according to authorities.

They said the stock of that product went from 1,000 kilograms on Monday to 500 kilograms at that hospital, which means it is running out of oxygen for critically ill patients, who are in adult and pediatric intensive care, in neonatology, hospitalization. and trauma center.

The supply of oxygen has not arrived due to the protests that literally keep that city under siege, where there is also a shortage of food, the authorities add.

With information from EFE and AP.

IT