Ecuador’s president dissolves Congress to avoid impeachment
Guillermo Lasso faces a backlash for wielding the previously untried rule
On May 17th Guillermo Lasso, Ecuador’s conservative president, used a previously untried constitutional rule known as muerte cruzada (“mutual death”) to dissolve the National Assembly, after it looked poised to impeach him. “I am obliged to respond to the political crisis in which the country is mired,” he said in a nationwide address. He accused the National Assembly of having a “political project to destabilise the government, democracy and the state”. Snap presidential and parliamentary elections will follow within 97 days. Until then Mr Lasso will rule by executive decree. The president started off by signing an order which lowered income taxes. He said this would help around half a million families.
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “A desperate measure”
From the May 20th 2023 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from The Americas
Can Brazil’s left survive without Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva?
Brazil’s current president, a titan of the Latin American left, has no apparent heirs
Donald Trump is targeting Mexico like no other country
The United States’ southern neighbour is bracing for a wave of deportees and trapped migrants
The race to lead Canada’s Liberal Party hinges on handling Trump
Mark Carney and Chrystia Freeland are the front-runners
Canada has adopted assisted dying faster than anywhere on Earth
The province of Quebec now allows those with deteriorating illnesses to request an assisted death in advance
Tether’s move to El Salvador is a win for President Nayib Bukele
Why the stablecoin firm has picked the Central American country for its headquarters
From Greenland to Panama and Mexico, leaders are in shock
As Donald Trump eyes fine new pieces of real estate in the Americas and beyond