Ecuador’s Interior Minister resigns due to disagreements with President Lasso

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Minister of Government (Interior) of Ecuador, Alexandra Vela, resigned on March 29 from her position due to disagreements with President Guillermo Lasso regarding the possibility of calling for a “cross death” to the National Assembly (Parliament), of opposition majority.

“As I do not agree with the political line established by President Guillermo Lasso to face the crisis aggravated by the Assembly of Ecuador, I submitted my resignation,” Vela wrote in his Twitter profile.

Likewise, he ratified that “preserving democracy to transform the country requires applying the mechanism of cross death”, dissolving the Parliament, governing by decree, and calling for early elections, added Vela in his message.

Lasso, also through the same channel, thanked Vela for having accompanied him but remarked that his government would continue to work on the protection of democracy and the creation of opportunities for Ecuadorians.

“I thank you for your management,” ratified the president and pointed out that the government he leads “will continue working permanently for the welfare of citizens, the protection of democracy, and the creation of a country of opportunities and security for all”.

In her resignation letter, which she accompanied in her Twitter message, Vela assured that the “cross death” mechanism is for her a “risky path, but at the same time unavoidable, if the deep transformations that Ecuador requires in the social, political and economic fields, according to the program offered to Ecuadorians, are to be carried out”.

The “cross death” is a mechanism contemplated in the Constitution of Ecuador with which the president can dissolve the Assembly and, in exchange, govern by decrees until new early elections are held, from which a new Legislative will emerge that will have to ratify or repeal the eventual decrees issued by the head of state.

The resigned minister accepted that her position could cause discomfort to other government collaborators and President Lasso himself. Still, she ratified: “I did not come to his Government to always agree, but to objectively examine the political reality, to mention possible mistakes, and to promote correct decisions”.

Vela’s resignation came shortly after Carlos Jijón, the government’s counselor and spokesman, resigned from his post.

“I have resigned as Government Counselor. I believe President Lasso is a patriot, and I have witnessed his tireless work for the poorest. I am sure he will succeed. May God bless Ecuador,” Jijón said in a Twitter message.

Although the government has not yet confirmed the changes in the portfolio, it is expected that two people could replace Vela: Francisco Jiménez, director of the ruling CREO movement in the city of Guayaquil, who would be in charge of the political facet; and Hernán Carrillo, a former police chief, would assume the Interior.

Vela’s resignation came after she filed the same day before the Constitutional Court a claim of illegality to the decision of the National Assembly (Parliament) to grant amnesties to 268 people, most of them prosecuted for participating in social protests since October 2018.

Likewise, the situation follows the hard political setback suffered by the Executive in the Assembly, which denied and shelved a draft Investment Law, which figured as the government’s flagship to steer the economy and generate employment.

With this law, Lasso intended to attract some US$ 30 billion in investments to projects of his administration and to generate some 2 million jobs.

This law met with resistance from trade unions, indigenous peoples, and left-wing groups that warned of alleged privatization efforts by the government.

With information from EFE