Ecuador's Health Minister Juan Carlos Zevallos resigned on Friday, implicated in a scandal related to the vaccination of non-priority people against Covid-19, including members of his family.
To read also: Ecuador: the indigenous referees of the poll
“
There are those who only remember mistakes.
I prefer to remember the Minister who accepted the difficult task of leading the country's health in the worst health crisis for Ecuador and the world, and who with his work and his sacrifices helped save hundreds of thousands of lives
” , President Lenin Moreno said on Twitter announcing that he had accepted the resignation of his minister.
In his letter of resignation made public, Juan Carlos Zevallos says he is stepping down from the post he held for eleven months "
given the current political situation and in order to allow the continuity
" of the vaccination campaign started in January.
Targeted by an investigation, the former minister admitted that his 87-year-old mother and "
several
" of his relatives had been administered the vaccine, while the first 42,000 doses received were intended to immunize medical staff and those of retirement homes.
Like the scandals of people improperly vaccinated in Peru or Argentina, academics, politicians, journalists and sports leaders have also obtained privileges in Ecuador.
A social security official was fired for being among the first to be vaccinated.
Lenin Moreno meanwhile made it clear that his relatives "
have NOT received the vaccine
".
Ecuador, a country of 17.4 million people, has 281,169 reported cases of Covid-19 and 15,669 dead.
The government of Lenin Moreno, which will end on May 24, claims to have negotiated the purchase of 20 million doses of vaccines.
Ecuador is in the midst of an electoral campaign for the second round of the presidential election which will oppose socialist Andrés Arauz, 36, on April 11, the colt of ex-president Rafael Correa (2007-2017), who came first with 32, 72%, to the former right-wing banker Guillermo Lasso, 65 (19.74%).
An indigenous candidate, Yaku Perez, 51, came third (19.39%), but he disputes the validity of the results and demands a new count of his votes.
