Rafael Correa to RFI: “Cross death is the best option. But it is not constitutional”

In the framework of a political trial against the president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, the president resorted to the so-called “cross death” arguing the state of shock. This legal figure allows the Executive and Legislative to dissolve each other and in advance to call elections. This is a mechanism established in Ecuador by the 2008 Constitution and, furthermore, it is the first time that an Ecuadorian president resorts to this measure. What is your reaction to former President Correa?

Rafael Correa: Look, I think it’s the best thing for the country, given the crisis we are experiencing, but not a crisis of internal turmoil but the moral, ethical crisis, the disaster that this government is, the democratic fraud that Lasso turned out to be, who arrived full of lies and has shown utter ineptitude.

Unfortunately it is not constitutional. He has the competence to do it. You have said it, article 148 establishes it, in the 2008 Constitution – we ourselves made that Constitution – but with three causes. He (Lasso) invokes the inner commotion that doesn’t exist right now. The Constitutional Court even has two sentences that describe the characteristics of the internal commotion and that are not fulfilled in this case.

It is evident that what he has done is try to avoid the censorship that he was going to have in the impeachment trial that is underway. And that is another factor for the decree to be unconstitutional, because it is interrupting an ongoing procedure that is the political trial, it is also contemplated in the Constitution of the Republic.

For me, I said it, it’s the best. But you have to differentiate between what is good and what is correct. The good thing is to anticipate elections and thus we have a democratic, peaceful, comprehensive solution with presidential and legislative elections, but outside the Constitution. The right thing to do is to reject that decree as unconstitutional and continue with the political trial in the Assembly

R.F.I.: We are going to go to the best scenario, which is not necessarily the correct one. If the Constitutional Court accepts this measure adopted by President Lasso, Ecuadorians will be at the gates of an electoral period, that is, a campaign for a legislative and a presidential one whose first round would be held quickly in 90 days. In this case, your Citizen Revolution movement in these elections? And you could be a candidate and you could be a candidate?

Rafael Correa: I cannot be a candidate. My political rights were suspended -first for 25 years, then for eight years- for a spurious sentence in the midst of a pandemic, days before I registered. It was an obvious political persecution. Although you may not believe it, the sentence says that through psychic influence I managed a criminal organization dedicated to bribery. Through psychic influence! It is unbelievable, ridiculous worldwide. Obviously my movement will participate and I believe that God willing and thanks to the Ecuadorian people we will win those elections.

R.F.I.: You said it a few months ago: in 2025, which is the time when the elections should take place, you would surely win.

Rafael Correa: In any case, there will have to be elections by 2025, because the anticipation of elections establishes that the period for which the original government was elected will be completed. That is to say, if there are elections in 2023 it will be until 2025 and then the normal period of government is recovered.

R.F.I.: The president of Lasso affirms that he made the decision to dissolve the National Assembly because the Legislature had, I will quote him: “a macabre plan to take control of State institutions and expedite the return of Rafael Correa to Ecuador. What do you answer?

Rafael Correa: Imagine, “the Assembly has macabre plans.” And those are the ones who call themselves Democrats! Look, first we have to see what version we believe in Lasso, because on Tuesday, when he went to defend himself in the Assembly, he gave a report to the Nation. There was no defense, he could not refute any of the evidence, but he wanted us to believe that we were in “Wonderland” and that he was “Alice”. And that everything was fine and stable. For the next day, after he said a week ago that he would never call for a “cross death” to avoid impeachment and that he would show his face, he would call for early elections arguing internal social unrest that does not exist. To later, that same afternoon, tell A that it is not true that there is internal commotion in the country, but that the problem is that they wanted to bring Correa back. And that he wants to anticipate elections to avoid the macabre plan.

So, first of all, he agrees with himself that he lies every day. What is the truth? That Lasso wanted to avoid censorship in the impeachment trial. And that soon all his lies will collapse, including the persecution against political leaders, including myself. And, of course, we do not have to apologize to anyone if a political trial is sought constitutionally so that absolutely spurious authorities are held politically accountable before the courts. In 2018, with a coup d’état, they took over all the State institutions, they put the worst ones as long as they persecuted “correísmo”, as they call it. Because who do we have to blame? What do we have to ask permission for what?

R.F.I.: In the meantime, Lasso will remain in office and by decree for a maximum of six months and will be able to issue urgent laws and decrees of an economic nature. He already started with it. There was a tax reform approved by presidential decree. What can happen in this scenario where economic measures begin to be decreed for the exception of the period that is being lived in the presidency?

Rafael Correa: He will have six months to govern by decree, without a Legislature, without supervision, without a counterweight. And, well, we expect anything. They have done worse. Lasso is one of the richest guys in the country and the first thing he did was eliminate the inheritance tax. The economy is destroyed, but the banks are breaking profit records and the banker and his bank are breaking all the profits, even the expectations they had for profits, all based on their private businesses and in a shameless way. You have said it, yesterday they announced that they are going to present a labor reform to return to labor exploitation, which is called “labor flexibility.” We will have to endure. The great hope is that in six months everything will end when the new government takes office, that normally -if they don’t cheat and they are fair elections- we will win those elections and they will have to render political and legal accounts for so much abuse. And, obviously, all the abuses they have committed will be repealed.