What is the president accused of?
The president is accused of alleged embezzlement in the management of the state-owned Flota Petrolera Ecuatoriana (Flopec) through contracts entered into between 2018 and 2020, before he took office in May 2021.
“The evidence is compelling, it is irrefutable, and we are going to present it,” opposition legislator Viviana Veloz, who filed the request for impeachment along with 59 other assembly members in the middle of the month, told a television channel.
“The president was always aware, but he never wanted to do anything to stop corruption and therefore he is politically responsible,” added Veloz, part of former president Rafael Correa’s political party.
Among the evidence cited by the opposition is that Lasso was warned by the former manager of the Flopec oil fleet, Johnny Estupiñán, about irregularities in a contracting process for oil transportation with the Amazonas Tanker Pool Company.
Estupiñán was removed from the position in March 2022 for trying to unilaterally terminate the contract, and in July a new agreement was signed with the same company, against the warnings of the country’s Comptroller’s Office, added the file sent to the Constitutional Court.
Lasso has defended his innocence, saying the alleged incident took place before he took office in May 2021, accusing his critics of defamation.
“As a person I am experiencing a systematic and mafia attack, they try to muddy my name and that of my home, that is called an attempt to assassinate my reputation,” Lasso said in a televised speech on Thursday night. “It’s a deliberate and sustained process to destroy a person’s credibility and reputation.”
How many votes does it take to remove Lasso?
Lasso’s opponents will need 92 votes from the 137-member Assembly if the process reaches the final stage.
From the opposition forces —with a majority in the Assembly— it is anticipated that they have enough votes to censure Lasso, while the ruling party, in a clear minority in the chamber, assures that it will not be so easy for them to reach that figure.
With information from AFP, EFE and Reuters