Back

Weekly Report - 21 October 2021 (WR-21-42)

Ecuador on verge of political crisis

Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso was always going to find it hard to govern. He was the first choice of fewer than one-fifth of eligible voters in the first round of presidential elections in February and was viewed as the lesser of two evils in his second-round triumph in April, while his right-of-centre Movimiento Creo won fewer than 10% of the 130 seats in the national assembly. In spite of this, Lasso made a positive start to his mandate, especially by delivering on a campaign promise to administer 9m doses of coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines within his first 100 days in power. However, Lasso’s presence in the leaked Pandora Papers, revealing how the rich and powerful have used offshore accounts to shield assets, has stirred the legislative opposition into action. Legislators have begun an investigation and have raised the possibility of impeaching Lasso, who has responded in combative fashion by threatening to dissolve the legislature.

End of preview - This article contains approximately 1765 words.

Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article

Not a Subscriber?

Choose from one of the following options

Back

Articles in this issue