Ecuador’s parliament approves opening of impeachment proceedings against President Lasso

The plenary of the National Assembly of Ecuador approved on Tuesday (9) the opening of impeachment proceedings against President Guillermo Lasso.

There were 88 votes in favor, 23 against, and five abstentions.

The draft resolution was presented by MP Viviana Veloz from the leftist coalition Union for Hope (UNES).

The approved text accuses Lasso of responsibility for embezzlement in the state-owned oil transportation company Flopec EP because he and Hernán Luque Lecaro, former president of the Empresa Coordinadora de Empresas Públicas (Public Enterprise Coordination Company), would have determined “the continuity of oil transportation contracts in favor of third parties, aware that they represented losses for the State.”

“Consequently, the President of the Republic knew and was aware of the corruption structure in Flopec EP.”

According to El Universo, a report by the Ecuadorian Legislative Oversight Commission that recommended the case be dismissed for lack of evidence was not approved.

In June last year, Lasso was the target of large protests.

An impeachment process called by parliamentarians allied to former president Rafael Correa (2007-2017) and linked to indigenous movements did not go forward because it lacked only 12 votes.

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