Ecuador's Constitutional Court on Wednesday authorized the opening of an impeachment trial for embezzlement against right-wing President Guillermo Lasso, requested by the opposition-dominated parliament.
By a majority of six votes to three, the Court validated the request for a dismissal trial for embezzlement requested by the National Assembly, while rejecting another request for "
embezzlement
".
Defense before Parliament
Mr. Lasso, 67, will have to present his defense before the unicameral Parliament, where his detractors will have to obtain a two-thirds majority - or 92 votes out of 137 - to obtain his dismissal.
Opponents of Mr. Lasso are calling for his departure after a website revealed the existence of an alleged corruption scheme set up within public companies by a brother-in-law of the president, Danilo Carrera.
The opposition in Parliament considered that Mr. Lasso had been warned of the existence of this device and that he had not acted to stop it.
A former representative of the presidency in the body responsible for administering public companies, Hernan Luque, as well as the businessman Rubén Cherres, a close friend of Mr. Carrera under investigation for drug trafficking, are also implicated in this case.
“Destabilize the government”
Guillermo Lasso, who has ruled Ecuador since 2021, denies these accusations and accuses parliamentarians of wanting to "
destabilize
" his government.
The executive said it disagreed with the Constitutional Court's decision, but respected it.
"
This decision in no way validates lawmakers' arguments against the president
," the government said in a statement.
Three Ecuadorian presidents have already been overthrown between 1997 and 2005.
Mr. Lasso faces growing unpopularity in his country, the scene in June 2022 of violent protests over the cost of living that left six people dead and more than 600 injured.
The deputies had already tried in June 2022 to impeach Mr. Lasso.
But the opposition, divided, had failed to gather enough votes.
"
Lasso will be judged politically and will have to answer for his horrors and incompetence before the Assembly
", welcomed on Twitter MP Viviana Veloz, signatory of the request for an impeachment trial with 58 other parliamentarians.
The government maintains for its part that the request of the deputies includes “
countless errors
” and that it “
has not the slightest legal or political basis and will never have any
”.