The president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, decreed on Wednesday the “cross death”, a constitutional mechanism that allows the head of state to dissolve the National Assembly (Congress), call general elections and govern by decree for six months.
“This is a democratic decision. To give Ecuador a constitutional solution, I have decided to apply article 148 of the Constitution of the Republic, which grants me the power to dissolve the National Assembly due to a serious political crisis and internal commotion, for which I have signed Decree 741,” Lasso said in a national chain to the country.
He added that, via decree, he has requested the National Electoral Council to immediately call legislative and presidential elections for the rest of the respective periods, which end in the year 2025.
“This is the best possible decision that opens the way for us to regain hope (…) and will allow the Government to focus all its efforts on meeting the needs of Ecuadorian families,” said Lasso.
After the president’s announcement from the Government Palace in Quito, the headquarters of the National Assembly woke up guarded by police and its surroundings surrounded by metal fences.
Meanwhile, the Armed Forces expressed their support for the head of state.
The president’s decision comes amid a process of impeachment against him for alleged embezzlement, which began on Tuesday in Parliament, controlled by the opposition.
Lasso, who is close to serving two years, half of his term, attributed his decision to the Assembly’s attack on the management of his Government, which he said, “has no limits.”
“It is not possible to move forward, solve the problems of Ecuadorian families and security problems with an Assembly that has the objective of destabilizing the Government,” said Lasso, accompanied by several ministers.
The president, a 67-year-old former banker, added that as of today he will govern “without blockades” from the Assembly, which he accused of boycotting the processing of projects promoted by the Government.
In this sense, he said that the National Government will issue a series of decree-laws that will comply with the mandate sovereignly expressed by the people.
“I have signed the first decree law of economic urgency to reduce taxes, strengthen the economy of 460,000 Ecuadorian families and that will mean that close to 200 million dollars return to their homes,” he announced.
He pointed out that this decree-law will be sent to the Constitutional Court for its opinion.
«Ecuador does not stop. Public services will attend normally, the Armed Forces and the National Police continue to guarantee security,” he added.