A year in the presidency of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso escaped an impeachment request on Tuesday night (28). Legislators proposed removing the president on the grounds that he had instigated a serious internal crisis by failing to negotiate with sectors of the indigenous movement protesting in the streets.
The motion to remove the president received 80 votes in favour, 12 less than what was needed to pass. 137 parliamentarians were present. Another 48 will vote against Lasso’s impeachment, and nine abstained in the last of three votes held during the session, after deputies allege fraud and system problems.
Lasso celebrated the vote as a victory for democracy. “Despite the coup attempts, the country’s institutionality prevailed,” the Ecuadorian wrote on Twitter. “We continue to work for Ecuador, and it is clear who are those who work for political mafias.”
Lasso’s victory in the legislature came shortly after he suspended negotiations with Conaie, the country’s largest indigenous organization, which the president accuses of leading street demonstrations against fuel prices to achieve political goals and oust him from power.
Thousands have been protesting on the country’s streets for more than two weeks against fuel and food prices, leading to the closure of businesses and scenes of clashes with police. Lasso even gave in and lowered diesel and gasoline prices, but the movement did not end the popular acts, which persist.
The president’s political survival also did not quell popular dissatisfaction with the economic effects of the blockades and protests. The latest survey by the Cedatos institute, published last Thursday (23), showed that 80% said they wanted an end to the demonstrations.
The Ecuadorian Energy Ministry says the country’s oil production fell by 1.8 million barrels during the protests as blockades prevented the transport of supplies from the production chain. “In 15 days, the State stopped receiving US$ 166.4 million [R$ 870 mi] in the oil sector,” the ministry said in a statement.
The government also claims that the situation in some health institutions, such as the Vicente Corral Moscoso Hospital in Cuenca, is critical due to the lack of oxygen, as the supply would have been impeded due to blockages on public roads.
So far, at least six people have died amid the protests and more than 600 have been injured — including protesters and security agents. About 150 were reportedly detained. Lasso announced the suspension of negotiations with indigenous leaders after an attack on the military left a soldier dead in the Ecuadorian Amazon region.
Human rights groups accused the government of adopting violent tactics of repression against protesters, with excessive use of force and arbitrary detentions, recalling scenes from October 2019, when a serious social crisis hit the country.
“To prevent history from repeating itself, the president must stop the crackdown and address the structural causes of the protests, including the economic crisis and the impact of his policies on the rights of groups most affected by the pandemic, such as indigenous peoples and the poorest. “, Amnesty International said in a statement.
The political whirlwind worries the president not only because of the continuity of the acts, but also because Ecuador has a history of removing rulers amid mobilizations led by indigenous people – three presidents were removed from office from 1997 to 2005 in similar movements.
The mobilizations of this sector helped, for example, to dehydrate the administration of former president LenÃn Moreno, Lasso’s predecessor. Thousands of indigenous people took to the streets, also for fuel-related reasons, and forced him to back down on various policies. The situation was worsened during the pandemic, and he did not even run for reelection.
