Ecuador is in a serious political crisis. Ecuador’s President Lasso has dissolved parliament and scheduled new elections for August 20th. Who will determine the future of the country?
After the dissolution of parliament, Ecuador’s electoral commission has set a new date for the early presidential and parliamentary elections.
On August 20, Ecuadorians will go to the polls, the National Electoral Council announced on Twitter. Until then, conservative President Guillermo Lasso can rule by decree. He had dissolved the National Assembly last week in the midst of impeachment proceedings for alleged embezzlement. The electoral office should then set a date for elections within seven days.
The possibility of the so-called “muerte cruzada” (roughly: mutual destruction), with which the president can dissolve the National Assembly under certain conditions, has been enshrined in the constitution since 2008. It has now been applied for the first time. It is impossible to solve the challenges with a parliament whose aim is to destabilize the country, Lasso explained in a televised speech.
Ecuador is in a serious political crisis. Only 17 percent of citizens support Lasso’s governance, and just 20 percent rate parliament’s work as good. The once peaceful South American country is also currently suffering from a wave of violence. The homicide rate of 25 homicides per 100,000 people last year was the highest in the country’s history, even exceeding those of Mexico and Brazil. The government blames drug dealers for the violence.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
