Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso has undergone "successfully" prostate surgery in the United States, the government announced Thursday, May 25 in Quito. Guillermo Lasso, 67, in power since 2021, "underwent prostate surgery at Houston Methodist Hospital," the government's general communications secretary said in a statement. The operation "succeeded and he (President Lasso) is already in his room," resting, in the hospital.
Targeted by an impeachment lawsuit brought by the majority left in the unicameral parliament, Guillermo Lasso had dissolved the same parliament last week, according to a constitutional procedure that obliges him simultaneously to renounce his mandate himself. This paved the way for early general elections, presidential and parliamentary, which were called for 20 August.
Return to Quito scheduled for Sunday
To date, it is unclear whether President Lasso, who has constitutional right to do so, intends to run again to complete his four-year term, which runs until 2025. The 137 newly elected deputies, like the new president, will not start a new term, but will complete their mandate already begun, until 2025, according to the Constitution.
Since his election in 2021, Guillermo Lasso has traveled to the United States twice for health reasons, including skin cancer and a spinal injury. His return to Quito is officially scheduled for Sunday.