First modification:
The President of Ecuador Guillermo Lasso affirmed this Tuesday, May 16, before the National Assembly that the trial against him is “unfounded” and that the opposition has created a “fictitious situation.” The president faces the second attempt to remove him in less than a year. The opposition accuses him of alleged embezzlement in a contract signed by the state company Flota Petrolera del Ecuador (Flopec) and the private firm Amazonas Tanker.
This Tuesday began the trial against President Guillermo Lasso for alleged embezzlement. In the parliamentary debate before the National Assembly, Lasso was able to speak for 49 minutes to defend himself and argued that the judgment raised by the opposition is “unfounded.”
“They (the opposition) have displayed an inventiveness unparalleled in the history of the Republic, they have stretched the limits of human imagination, they have created a fictitious situation that does not solve the problems of the people or of anyone,” the president denounced. beginning of his speech.
Lasso stressed that he has been able to see how “they managed to try to put together a fairly credible plot with events that occurred in 2018, when this government did not even exist.”
Alleged embezzlement
The opposition accuses him of “embezzlement” or embezzlement of public funds for not acting upon learning of alleged irregularities in a contract signed by the company Flopec and the private firm Amazonas Tanker.
The president maintains that the contracts were signed under the previous administration of former president Lenín Moreno (2017-2021). In addition, he argues that a review was requested from the Comptroller’s Office in order to renew them.
According to Lasso, the Comptroller’s Office “never recommended terminating the contract with Amazonas Tanker” nor established “any type of indication of criminal responsibility against any official.”
“All of this should be more than enough exculpatory evidence,” the president said.
Lasso also recalled that the Ecuadorian Oil Fleet is an autonomous public company and that the president does not interfere or intervene in the signing or negotiation of state company contracts.
Lasso relied on the report prepared by the Oversight Commission of the Assembly that recommended filing the impeachment trial due to lack of evidence. However, the Assembly rejected the report.
For her part, Viviana Veloz, from the Union for Hope (UNES) movement, called the president a “liar.”
?URGENT: Estupiñán in a video denounces that he informed Lasso about the network of corruption and allowed a harmful contract with the State to be extended until 2024. Lasso organized and consented to a third Amazon Tanker benefiting from the resources of the ?? .#LassoSeVa pic.twitter.com/YHRKpINADT
— Viviana Veloz (@VivianaVeloz18) May 16, 2023
According to Veloz, it is a damage to the State of six million dollars. The legislator presented a video in which a former Flopec manager, Johnny Estupiñán, revealed that at the time he had warned President Lasso of the irregularities.
“They wanted proof, there are the proofs!” said Veloz, who recalled that one of the main people involved in the case and close to the president, Hernán Luque, has fled the country, and that another alleged implicated, Rubén Cherres, was found at the end of March murdered with signs of torture.
Lasso denounces political accusations
The president defended himself by denouncing an accusation that goes against the values of democracy.
“Precisely because the judgment is political, here the will to uphold what is correct over what is convenient must prevail; of what is lasting over what is temporary; of good over evil; the truth over lies. What the country expects of each assembly member is that they vote following the dictates of their feelings and conscience, the conscience of the country and not petty sectarian interests,” he said.
“It is hard to believe that we are engaged in a pointless political conflict, when the only fight we should be fighting is beyond these walls, where our fellow citizens truly need us,” the president added.
The president also accused parliament of being inactive regarding the security crisis that Ecuador is experiencing.
“Let’s put down our legitimate differences to work together against the mafias that threaten the insecurity of all. We still have time,” he asked in his speech.
Since the beginning of his term, in May 2021 for a period of four years, Lasso has faced strong legislative opposition that has blocked his administration.
Last week, legislators approved a motion of no confidence against him with 88 votes in favor of the 116 parliamentarians present at the session, exceeding the margin of half plus one to continue the process.
After the parliamentary debate, the leader of the Assembly must convene the plenary session within five days to vote on the motion of no confidence against the president. If the opponents achieve less than 92 votes (two thirds of the 137 assembly members), Lasso will continue with his mandate, otherwise, he will be dismissed. In this case, the current vice president, Alfredo Borrero, would assume the presidency until the next elections scheduled for 2025.
with EFE
