Ecuador's warring congresses vie for control

Euro2day, Mar 20, 2007.

By Hal Weitzman in Caracas
Ecuador slipped further into political chaos on Tuesday, with the likely creation of rival pro- and anti-government legislatures, each claiming legitimacy under the constitution.

The institutional crisis – pitting all the main arms of government against each other – underlines the fragile state of democracy in Ecuador, one of the most politically unstable countries in South America.

One legislative body, including lawmakers who support president Rafael Correa, met under heavy guard in Congress.

The other, made up of 57 opposition legislators sacked after a fight with the country's judiciary, was expected to meet in northern Quito.

"If [the sacked members of Congress] meet elsewhere, it will be an illegitimate body, because those legislators were legally sanctioned," said Jorge Cevallos, the president of Congress, who appears to have switched loyalties from the opposition Prian party.

The situation follows electoral results last year that handed the presidency to Mr Correa, a radical leftwinger determined to enact sweeping political reform, but which gave control of Congress to his rivals.

Mr Correa has called for a referendum on April 15 on whether to convoke an assembly to rewrite the constitution. This month the legislature tried to delay the poll by sacking the head of the electoral court. The court deemed that move illegal and fired the 57 Congress members who supported it.

Mr Cevallos said he would instead convene the Congress with substitute deputies, elected last year in case members of Congress needed to be replaced. "With the substitutes we will have a quorum," he said.

If the opposition proceeds with its rival legislature, the country will be presented with two Congresses, both of which can claim electoral legitimacy and a quorum of at least 51 members.

The opposition lobbied substitutes and urged them not to attend the government-backed Congress. That tactic appeared to have failed on Tuesday, as 22 substitute deputies were ferried to Congress with an escort of hundreds of armed police.

The deposed politicians refused to outline their strategy, saying they feared they would be attacked by pro-government activists. They had threatened to try again to take up their seats in Congress, a move that resulted in violence last week. In response, the government installed about 1,450 police outside the building.

Gloria Gallardo, one of the most outspoken opposition members of Congress, said if Mr Cevallos convened the government-backed legislature with substitutes, "it will be a caricature, because it will not be a proper check on the government".

At his weekly radio broadcast last week, Mr Correa attacked the opposition legislators. "If these so-called 'fathers of the country' have any dignity left, they should go home quietly and ask the people for forgiveness," he said.

Mr Correa's struggle with Congress is a gamble. On one hand, the body is very unpopular, with approval ratings of about 13 per cent, while there is much support for political reform. On the other hand, the legislature has deposed two of Mr Correa's recent predecessors, and the opposition is experienced and tenacious.

Critics of Mr Correa accuse him of provoking the crisis to shore up his popularity ahead of the referendum and subsequent elections to the constituent assembly later this year.

Mr Correa will have been studying the opinion polls: his approval rating is falling at a rate of about 2 percentage points a month, according to Cedatos, a pollster.

Patrick Esteruelas, an analyst at the Eurasia group in New York, noted that Mr Correa could emerge stronger from the chaos in the short term, but that there could be "negative medium and long-term ramifications".

Ecuador police ring Congress to halt lawmakers

QUITO, March 20 (Reuters) - Hundreds of police ringed Ecuador's Congress on Tuesday to prevent fired lawmakers from entering the building as President Rafael Correa wrestled with legislators resisting his plans for broad political overhaul.
Fifty-seven lawmakers have rejected an election court decision to fire them for opposing Correa's plan for an April 15 referendum that could usher in constitutional reforms to curb the influence of Congress.
The 57 represent more than half of the 100-member Congress.
Some of the dismissed lawmakers threatened to break through a cordon of riot police armed with batons while other sacked legislators said they may try to hold a parallel session elsewhere in the capital.
But Ramsses Torres, a left-wing lawmaker sympathetic with Correa, said government supporters would hold a session on Tuesday with substitutes for the fired lawmakers. A group of substitute lawmakers entered Congress early on Tuesday.
Last week a group of sacked lawmakers scuffled with police in an attempt to enter the legislative building in a signal of more tensions in the politically unstable Andean nation, where three presidents have been toppled in the last decade.
Congress needs at least 51 lawmakers present to hold a session. The court issued its decision March 7.
Correa, a popular former finance minister elected in November, has backed the court ruling on sacking the congressmembers. He says the constitution must be rewritten to limit the influence of lawmakers whom many Ecuadoreans blame for instability and corruption.

Ecuador's power struggle

The Economist, Mar 20, 2007

The president is battling with opposition lawmakers

President Rafael Correa seems to have the upper hand in a major conflict with opposition legislators, following the ouster earlier in March of 57 lawmakers who resisted his plans to hold a referendum on calling a constituent assembly. However, the institutional crisis is growing, along with risks to governance and stability.

Following a decision by Mr Correa, approved by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) on March 1st, to hold a national referendum on April 15th, opposition legislators attempted to block the poll with a series of political manoeuvres, including a vote to replace the head of the TSE. The TSE judges on March 7th ruled that vote invalid, and subsequently removed 57 lawmakers—more than half of the total of 100—who had backed it. They also stripped these legislators of their political rights for a year.

Not only did this leave parliamentary activity at a standstill. The showdown also triggered street protests involving indigenous groups, leftist political organisations, students and others who support the Correa administration’s reform plans. There has also been violence against some of the lawmakers who have resisted their dismissals and attempted to regain entry into the premises of the National Assembly.

The deposed lawmakers lost another legal battle on March 16th, when a higher court, the Constitutional Tribunal, rejected their request for an injunction against the firings. It is now uncertain whether they can continue to appeal their dismissals through legal means. While some sort of negotiated solution between the TSE and opposition parties is possible, the chances of that grow more remote as the days pass.

How much executive power?

The crux of the dispute lies in the specifics of the statute that sets out the rules for the referendum. Congress, which is dominated by opposition parties, voted to approve the measure in February as long as the constituent assembly would not have the power to dissolve the legislature. However, President Correa subsequently left intact a provision that would indeed give the constituent assembly full powers, including the authority to shut the National Assembly. It is this version that the electoral court approved.

Opposition political parties, although widely discredited among the population, are striving to retain their privileges and authority amid a power struggle with the executive branch. Yet Mr Correa, little more than two months in office but backed by strong popular support, seems to have the advantage in the conflict so far. He has put political reform at the top of his agenda, and has pursued it astutely.

However, the prospects of political instability, Ecuador’s chronic problem, are ever present and may be increasing with Mr Correa’s strategy. By encouraging his supporters to take the streets to pressure legislators and put his power on display, he is resorting to a political tool that may later escalate beyond his control.

Legislative gridlock is another growing risk, as Mr Correa’s party has no representation of its own in congress. He has called on the ousted lawmakers to be replaced with substitutes from their own parties, but thus far opposition party leaders have refused to seat replacements. The legislature, without a quorum, therefore remains suspended. To end the gridlock, the government will try to get a minimum of eight legislators replaced in the coming days. Given that this would restore a quorum (at least 51 out of 100 legislators), congress would re-open.

Mr Correa is also fuelling concerns among his opponents, the business sector and foreign investors that he is seeking to increase the power of the executive branch at the expense of other institutions, thereby undermining democracy in the country. He is being increasingly compared with Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chávez, who similarly rewrote the constitution and has concentrated authority in his own hands.

But the new president based his electoral campaign on a promise that he would amend the constitution and reduce the power of Ecuador’s traditional political parties, which are widely accused of being corrupt and are blamed for the country’s persistent instability. The legislature was responsible for the removal of Ecuador’s last three elected presidents. No president in the past decade has completed his full term.

Forging ahead

With his enormous popularity rating of more than 70%, Mr Correa can be expected to vigorously pursue his radical reform plans. The referendum is likely to take place as planned, probably with the support of at least one opposition party, the Partido Social Patriótico (PSP, of former President Lucio Gutiérrez), the second-largest party in congress. Moreover, the public is apt to vote overwhelmingly in favour of the constituent assembly and reform of the constitution, in a clear victory for the president.

Yet Mr Correa now is likely to find it difficult to achieve consensus on the specific responsibilities of the constituent assembly and the finer details of the reforms. Moreover, even if the PSP backs the process, this support will be fragile, as its leader, Mr Gutiérrez, seeks concessions that will increase his own political influence. Absent these, he could withdraw his support.

Finally, the main features of Ecuadorean politics—social and regional tensions, weak and divided institutions, and frequent popular protest—will keep the risk of instability, and the threats to Mr Correa’s ability to govern, very high.

The Economist, Mar 20, 2007

The president is battling with opposition lawmakers

President Rafael Correa seems to have the upper hand in a major conflict with opposition legislators, following the ouster earlier in March of 57 lawmakers who resisted his plans to hold a referendum on calling a constituent assembly. However, the institutional crisis is growing, along with risks to governance and stability.

Following a decision by Mr Correa, approved by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) on March 1st, to hold a national referendum on April 15th, opposition legislators attempted to block the poll with a series of political manoeuvres, including a vote to replace the head of the TSE. The TSE judges on March 7th ruled that vote invalid, and subsequently removed 57 lawmakers—more than half of the total of 100—who had backed it. They also stripped these legislators of their political rights for a year.

Not only did this leave parliamentary activity at a standstill. The showdown also triggered street protests involving indigenous groups, leftist political organisations, students and others who support the Correa administration’s reform plans. There has also been violence against some of the lawmakers who have resisted their dismissals and attempted to regain entry into the premises of the National Assembly.

The deposed lawmakers lost another legal battle on March 16th, when a higher court, the Constitutional Tribunal, rejected their request for an injunction against the firings. It is now uncertain whether they can continue to appeal their dismissals through legal means. While some sort of negotiated solution between the TSE and opposition parties is possible, the chances of that grow more remote as the days pass.

How much executive power?

The crux of the dispute lies in the specifics of the statute that sets out the rules for the referendum. Congress, which is dominated by opposition parties, voted to approve the measure in February as long as the constituent assembly would not have the power to dissolve the legislature. However, President Correa subsequently left intact a provision that would indeed give the constituent assembly full powers, including the authority to shut the National Assembly. It is this version that the electoral court approved.

Opposition political parties, although widely discredited among the population, are striving to retain their privileges and authority amid a power struggle with the executive branch. Yet Mr Correa, little more than two months in office but backed by strong popular support, seems to have the advantage in the conflict so far. He has put political reform at the top of his agenda, and has pursued it astutely.

However, the prospects of political instability, Ecuador’s chronic problem, are ever present and may be increasing with Mr Correa’s strategy. By encouraging his supporters to take the streets to pressure legislators and put his power on display, he is resorting to a political tool that may later escalate beyond his control.

Legislative gridlock is another growing risk, as Mr Correa’s party has no representation of its own in congress. He has called on the ousted lawmakers to be replaced with substitutes from their own parties, but thus far opposition party leaders have refused to seat replacements. The legislature, without a quorum, therefore remains suspended. To end the gridlock, the government will try to get a minimum of eight legislators replaced in the coming days. Given that this would restore a quorum (at least 51 out of 100 legislators), congress would re-open.

Mr Correa is also fuelling concerns among his opponents, the business sector and foreign investors that he is seeking to increase the power of the executive branch at the expense of other institutions, thereby undermining democracy in the country. He is being increasingly compared with Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chávez, who similarly rewrote the constitution and has concentrated authority in his own hands.

But the new president based his electoral campaign on a promise that he would amend the constitution and reduce the power of Ecuador’s traditional political parties, which are widely accused of being corrupt and are blamed for the country’s persistent instability. The legislature was responsible for the removal of Ecuador’s last three elected presidents. No president in the past decade has completed his full term.

Forging ahead

With his enormous popularity rating of more than 70%, Mr Correa can be expected to vigorously pursue his radical reform plans. The referendum is likely to take place as planned, probably with the support of at least one opposition party, the Partido Social Patriótico (PSP, of former President Lucio Gutiérrez), the second-largest party in congress. Moreover, the public is apt to vote overwhelmingly in favour of the constituent assembly and reform of the constitution, in a clear victory for the president.

Yet Mr Correa now is likely to find it difficult to achieve consensus on the specific responsibilities of the constituent assembly and the finer details of the reforms. Moreover, even if the PSP backs the process, this support will be fragile, as its leader, Mr Gutiérrez, seeks concessions that will increase his own political influence. Absent these, he could withdraw his support.

Finally, the main features of Ecuadorean politics—social and regional tensions, weak and divided institutions, and frequent popular protest—will keep the risk of instability, and the threats to Mr Correa’s ability to govern, very high.

Ecuador ends Congress stalemate

BBC, March 20, 2007.
Ecuador's Congress has held a session after 21 substitute members were sworn in to replace 57 sacked legislators.

They were unseated for trying to block a referendum on constitutional changes that President Rafael Correa wants.

The substitutes mean Congress now has a quorum and can meet - a small victory for the president, say correspondents.

More than 1,000 police officers surrounded the Congress building in Quito to prevent the sacked legislators from trying to disrupt the session.

The BBC's South America correspondent, Daniel Schweimler, says the 21 substitute congressmen and women were smuggled into the building at dawn.

Power struggle

Some of the 57 sacked legislators had promised to force their way in to claim their seats.

They were unseated by an electoral tribunal on 7 March for trying to block a referendum on constitutional reform proposed by President Correa and now set for 15 April.

The Congress had been in recess for two weeks as a resolution was sought to the stalemate.

Mr Correa has been embroiled in a bitter conflict with the opposition Congress since he took power in January.

A government spokesman said that Mr Correa "hopes that Congress will start working in line with people's demands".

The president is a leftist who enjoys little congressional support. He has argued that Congress is corrupt and the cause of many of the country's problems.

He wants the people to have a greater say and is organising a referendum next month as the first step in setting up a series of assemblies that would by-pass the power of the Congress.

The established politicians, not surprisingly, do not want to relinquish power and are fighting back, says our correspondent.

The dispute is threatening to provoke more turmoil in a country that has had eight presidents in the past 10 years.

Congress needs to have at least 51 members present to have a quorum.

With the 21 substitutes, 55 were present at Tuesday's session.

Mr Correa came to power two months ago promising radical changes. He enjoys the support of about 70% of the people of Ecuador but most of the power and influence lies in the hands of his opponents, our correspondent says.

Ecuador lawmakers vow to reclaim seats in Congress

QUITO, March 19 (Reuters AlertNet) - Ecuador's fired opposition lawmakers on Monday vowed to break a police cordon and reclaim their parliamentary seats, keeping up the pressure on President Rafael Correa in the volatile Andean state.

Fifty-seven lawmakers have been fired for trying to block a referendum the populist president is proposing. The vote would set up a body to reduce the influence of congressmen in the judiciary and state companies.

The lawmakers refuse to accept their dismissal and last week barged through a police cordon to get into Congress. They promised to do the same on Tuesday.

"Either we all enter Congress or no one will," said Washington Vallejo, one of the 57 fired lawmakers. "We will defend Congress."

Correa, a leftist ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, since taking office in January has vowed to break the power of political elites, largely seen as corrupt, in the world's top banana exporting nation.

The fight with the lawmakers is the first major challenge for a president who has vowed to restructure the national debt and renegotiate oil deals. Congress has been instrumental in ousting three presidents in a decade.

Correa's radical plans spark battle in Ecuador

Duroyan Fertl, 16 March 2007
Green Left Weekly
The small Andean nation of Ecuador is facing a political crisis as the Congress and the courts turn on each other over new president Rafael Correa’s plans for a Constituent Assembly and a “citizens’ revolution” to build “21st century socialism” in the poverty-stricken country.
Correa, a self-described socialist and close ally of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez, was elected late last year promising to redirect Ecuador’s oil wealth into social spending, increase popular democracy and limit the power of the traditional political parties. Central to this platform is convoking a popular Constituent Assembly to rewrite Ecuador’s constitution.
In February the 100-member Congress, which is controlled by parties hostile to Correa and his policies, passed a bill allowing a referendum on the assembly after the opposition Patriotic Society Party (PSP) of former president Lucio Gutierrez voted in favour. However there was an immediate dispute over the power that the assembly will have, Correa arguing for a plenary power enabling it to dismiss not only the Congress and courts, but also the president.
While the Congress disagreed, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) endorsed Correa’s statements and announced on March 1 that the referendum would be held on April 15. In response, a majority of Congress, including the PSP, voted to sack the president of the TSE. The court immediately fired back, sacking the 57 members of Congress responsible and setting up a police cordon to prevent the sacked members from entering.
The Constitutional Tribunal has refused to rule on an appeal by the fired lawmakers until Congress endorses it. Congress, however, is unable to convene, as it can’t achieve the required quorum of 51 legislators.
On March 13, 20 legislators broke through police lines and entered the Congress before being removed by riot police using tear gas. Correa blamed the ousted members of Congress for the violence, saying, “These people want to create chaos because they know they’re already out”.
The ousted legislators, made up of members of parties with close ties to Ecuador’s financial oligarchy, have threatened to set up a rival congress in Guayaquil, the country’s second major city and base of the right-wing Social Christian Party.
The Constitutional Tribunal has also warned Correa to obey its forthcoming ruling on the validity of the referendum, but Correa disputes the court’s power to rule on the matter, and has threatened to call mass protests to ensure that the assembly goes ahead.
Humberto Cholango from ECUARUNARI, one of the organisations representing Ecuador’s approximately 40% indigenous population, has also called for a massive mobilisation of all the indigenous and social movements of the country to defend the assembly.
If the referendum is successful, it will allow the election of 130 people who will have four months to rewrite the constitution. A recent poll shows that only 17% of Ecuadorians are satisfied with the Congress, which is regarded as corrupt, while over 75% support the Constituent Assembly.

Ecuador judge rejects lawmakers' request for injunction over firing

QUITO, Ecuador: An Ecuadorean judge on Friday rejected a request to block a court ruling that ousted more than half of the politically unstable nation's lawmakers last week.
Ecuador's top electoral tribunal has fired 57 of the 100 members of Congress, accusing them of interfering in a referendum to redraw the constitution. The decision came after the lawmakers ordered impeachment proceedings against tribunal members who backed the referendum.
The lawmakers asked that the court block their firing, but on Friday judge Victor Mendoza ruled that the electoral tribunal's ruling must be respected.
Mendoza made the ruling in Rocafuerte, 230 kilometers (145 miles) southwest of the capital, Quito, where protesters on Thursday attacked the ousted lawmakers seeking the injunction, throwing rocks and punching them. At least seven people were injured, police said.
Congress approved the referendum plan last month with the caveat that if approved, the special assembly called to retool the charter would not be able to close the legislature.
But the country's new leftist President Rafael Correa later overruled that stipulation, saying the assembly would have ultimate power — and setting off a constitutional crisis.
Correa, who took office Jan. 15, has advocated a new charter that limits the power of the traditional political parties, which he blames for the nation's corruption and political instability. He is the country's eighth president in a decade.

Referendum Backed By 30,000 Ecuadoreans

Quito, Mar 16 (Prensa Latina) Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa welcomed on Friday the participation of 30,000 people in the Guayaquil march to support the referendum on the Constituent Assembly, and questioned media coverage of the event.
"With their customary arrogance and disdain, elites do not want to recognize that there were 30,000 Ecuadoreans in the march of Guayaquil, southeast of the capital," Correa stressed.
At the inauguration of the Civical Square of the Ministry of Education, during which homage was paid to late minister Guadalupe Larriva, Correa said his gathering was 15 times larger than municipality mayor Jaime Nebot"s.
He questioned local media, which only covered the 2,000-strong protest led by Nebot, whom he criticized for his exclusive, discriminatory speech.
The president warned that he is "leading a government of change, a revolution of the people, and there is resistance by elites and mafias, which are losing their power and trying to thwart this process by all means."

Ecuadorians Support Referendum

Quito, Mar 16 (Prensa Latina) Massive demonstrations Friday in Ecuador confirm continuing popular support for the national consultation on April 15 and the Constituent Assembly.
Demonstrators in Quito and Guayaquil supported holding the referendum, and rejected actions by 57 former legislators to recover their seats, after the Electoral Supreme Court (TSE) dismissed them for trying to hinder the national consultation.
Students also rallied in front of Congress Thursday, with slogans against the deputies.
In Guayaquil, thousands of persons condemned the former lawmakers, and urged Congress President Jorge Cevallos to resume sessions with the substitutes and deputies of minority groups.
Amid that context, protesters prevented several of the dismissed deputies from entering a hearing analyzing an appeal to make the sanction unlawful.
Meanwhile, Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa stressed the complex situation will be over when Congress restarts its sessions, and affirmed the 57 legislators should resign in a dignified manner.
sus dig lgo mf

Dismissed congressmen injured by stone-throwing demonstrators in Ecuador

People's Daily Online, March 15, 2007.
Two former Ecuadorian lawmakers Thursday were injured by stones thrown by demonstrators, intensifying a battle between legislators and the nation's Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE).
Gloria Gallardo and Silka Sanchez are two of the 57 opposition members ousted from the 100-strong Congress by the TSE last Wednesday for blocking proposals for a referendum on President Rafael Correa's planned constitutional reforms.
Sanchez and Gallardo are members of the Renewing National Institutional Action Party (Prian), whose candidate, multi-millionaire Alvaro Noboa, lost the presidential election to Correa last year.
The demonstrators also smashed the windows of their cars and damaged equipment belonging to a local television crew before police dispersed them with tear gas.
Ecuador's two main cities, Quito, the capital, and Guayaquil, the largest city, have witnessed marches supporting Correa's Constituent Assembly, a proposed body sought by the president to rewrite the nation's constitution.
Elsewhere Thursday, Federico Perez, a dismissed congressman from the Prian party, formally resigned from his post in the government, saying that he is unsatisfied with both the opposition and government, and would never return to politics.
The TSE is also meeting over possible punishment for a judge in the coastal province of Manabi, who supported a motion granting a reprieve to the sacked deputies.
On Wednesday, Correa announced he would study the possibility of calling an extraordinary session to swear in substitutes for the 57 sacked deputies, without whom the Congress does not have the quorum to make decisions.
Jaime Velasco, president of Ecuadorian Supreme Court, called for negotiations to solve the crisis.

Ecuadorean government denies rumors of banking crisis

March 15, 2007, IHT
QUITO, Ecuador: The economy minister dismissed rumors that the country is descending into a banking crisis, telling Ecuadoreans on Thursday that their deposits are safe and the country's financial institutions are solvent.
Economy Minister Ricardo Patino's comments on Channel 8 television came after opposition lawmakers warned earlier this week that the new leftist government of President Rafael Correa could order banks to close.
"The government is going to look after your deposits," Patino said. "There is no need to worry. The economy is doing well."
Ecuadorean banking superintendent Alfredo Vergara told Channel 8: "We have three times the liquidity needed."
On Wednesday, Correa accused the opposition lawmakers — who were fired last week by an electoral court for allegedly interfering in a national referendum on whether to rewrite the constitution — of trying to "destabilize a government that is seeking the common good."
In March 1999, then-President Jamil Mahuad ordered banks to freeze half of deposits in a bid to avoid closing banks entirely amid a crippling economic crisis. The following January, in what many considered a last-ditch effort to rescue the economy from hyperinflation, Mahuad phased out the nation's sucre currency and adopted the U.S. dollar as the legal tender.

Ecuadorean Opposition Plans Parallel Congress After Shooting

By Alex Kennedy and Bill Faries

March 14 (Bloomberg) -- Ecuador's suspended lawmakers, in a challenge to President Rafael Correa, plan to hold a parallel session outside Quito after police blocked their entry to the capitol and two supporters were wounded in a drive-by shooting.

Congresswoman Gloria Gallardo said opposition leaders now have backing from more than two-thirds of the 100-member congress to meet as an alternative assembly next week. Riot police used tear gas yesterday to stop the lawmakers from reaching their offices after the electoral court suspended the ``political rights'' of 57 opposition members last week.

``We're seeing a regime that's an authentic dictatorship,'' former President Lucio Gutierrez, a leader of the opposition Patriotic Society party, said in a telephone interview from Quito. ``Violence has been rising in a dangerous way, and it could at some point turn into a civil war in Ecuador.''

The shooting, which occurred outside the Marriott Hotel, where the lawmakers retreated, deepens a clash over Correa's plans to remake the country along what he calls socialist economic and political lines. Correa's proposal for a new constitution -- the trigger for the current showdown -- echoes steps taken by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Bolivian President Evo Morales to consolidate their control over the congress, courts and election authorities.

``They abused their power, they thought they were immune,'' Correa said in comments broadcast on the Cablenoticias television station after the legislators were shut out of their offices. ``Now they're getting a taste of their own medicine,'' he said.

`Quiet For Now'

Ecuador's congress voted March 6 to replace Supreme Electoral Tribunal President Jorge Acosta after the court backed Correa's plan for a national referendum on re-writing the constitution. The next day, the court suspended the lawmakers who sought to remove the judge, ruling their votes violated the constitution. Correa supported the court's decision and said the lawmakers would be replaced.

The top constitutional court yesterday rejected a request by the president of congress to rule on the legality of the suspension.

``With this situation, Correa's ability to govern will be reduced,'' said Claudio Loser, former director of Western Hemisphere affairs at the International Monetary Fund and a political analyst at the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington.

The U.S. Ambassador in Ecuador, Linda Jewell, said on Cablenoticias that the conflict among Correa, the congress and the courts is a domestic situation.

``We're going to be quiet for now,'' she said.

Correa, 43, a U.S.-trained economist who served a five- month stint as finance minister in 2005, won 57 percent of votes in a Nov. 26 run-off election in which he ran without the formal backing of any political party.

`Government Crisis'

During and after the campaign, Correa aligned himself with Chavez's socialist vision, vowing to boost spending on the poor, renegotiate foreign oil contracts and review Ecuador's approximately $10 billion in foreign debt obligations. Venezuela on Feb. 22 offered Ecuador as much as $500 million of ``financial cooperation.''

Correa took office in January as Ecuador's eighth president in about a decade. On Jan. 30, about 5,000 of his supporters tried to storm congress to demand lawmakers approve plans for a referendum on the constitution.

``Correa is forcing a government crisis,'' Loser said. ``This is going to get investors even more nervous.''

Ecuador has twice backed away from threats to default on debt payments since Correa took power. Finance Minister Ricardo Patino said March 8 that the country wouldn't ignore foreign debt obligations.

``Our creditors should know that we're very responsible,'' Patino said.

Congresswoman Sylka Sanchez said in an interview that the shots were fired from a passing motorcycle carrying two people. One of the opposition lawmakers' supporters outside the hotel was hit in the back, the other in the leg.

20 Fired Ecuadorean Lawmakers Take Seats

Wednesday March 14, 2007

By GONZALO SOLANO

QUITO, Ecuador (AP via The Guardian) - Some 20 lawmakers fired last week by Ecuador's top electoral court for allegedly interfering with plans for a constitutional referendum forced their way past dozens of police guarding Congress and took up their seats on Tuesday.

``We are in a dictatorship!'' shouted one of the dismissed legislators, opposition Congresswoman Gloria Gallardo, who made her way into the chamber through riot police and tear gas.

At least two members of Congress and three other people were injured in the incident, which also prompted rival executive and legislative police forces to scuffle with each other.

The new leftist president, Rafael Correa, blamed the violence on the ousted lawmakers.

``We are peaceful people. We will keep public order,'' he told Radio Vision. ``These people want to create chaos because they know they're already out.''

The executive, legislative and judicial branches of government are all grappling for power in this politically unstable Andean nation, accusing each other of violating the constitution and trying to assert their supremacy.

Correa, an admirer of Venezuela's firebrand leader Hugo Chavez, has vowed to revamp the country's political system since taking office in January. He is determined to hold an April 15 referendum on whether Ecuador should throw out its constitution and write a new charter limiting the power of the traditional political parties he blames for corruption and political instability.

Ecuador's eighth president in 10 years, Correa says he won't respect any decision by Congress or the courts to block the referendum. If approved, Ecuador would have five months to elect 130 members of a special assembly that would begin rewriting the constitution next fall.

Congress approved the referendum plan with the caveat that the assembly would not be able to close the legislature. Correa later overruled that stipulation, saying the assembly would have ultimate power and setting off the constitutional crisis.

The country's top electoral court, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which approved Correa's plan, fired 57 congressmen from the 100-seat unicameral legislature last week after they ordered impeachment proceedings against the court's majority.

The fired president of Congress, Jorge Cevallos, then turned to Ecuador's Constitutional Tribunal, which refused Tuesday to review his complaints until a majority of Congress members sign the appeal. Since the electoral court fired the lawmakers, Congress has lacked a quorum of members to convene a formal session.

Congresswoman Sylka Sanchez, one of the fired legislators who pushed past police Tuesday, said they had acted ``to prevent a dictatorship. We don't want dictatorship. We want democracy.''

Constitutional experts have said both the lawmakers and the court were violating the country's charter - not an uncommon occurrence in Ecuador, where Congress has illegally dismissed three elected presidents in the last decade after they lost popularity.

Lawmakers, police clash at Ecuador’s Congress

The Peninsular, March 14, 2007

QUITO • Fired lawmakers scuffled with police and some forced their way into Ecuador’s Congress yesterday, intensifying a feud with President Rafael Correa in the politically unstable Andean country.

One legislator suffered a back injury when he was knocked to the ground. He was carried away on a stretcher and put in an ambulance, according to a health official.

“We are in a state of emergency and we are being hunted,” fired lawmaker Gloria Gallardo told a television station from inside Congress. “Police are willing to kill lawmakers.” Police wearing gas masks thrust riot shields at legislators as tear gas clouded the air around the building.

“They hit us,” said opposition lawmaker Sylka Sanchez, who also yelled at police, “You traitors!” Dozens of Correa supporters clashed with protesters backing opposition lawmakers, kicking and punching each other.

Fifty-seven legislators have refused to accept an electoral court decision to fire them last week for seeking to reverse an earlier ruling that would allow the highly popular Correa to hold a referendum to weaken Congress’ powers.

The ousted congressmen lost another legal battle on Tuesday, when the constitutional court rejected their appeal to overturn the earlier ruling. But they were expected to continue resisting their dismissals through legal channels.

Yesterday’s violence forced Congress to suspend its sessions for a week. “The country lives a moment of political crisis and my obligation is to protect lawmakers. Congress will not hold a session,” Congress president Jorge Cevallos said.

The dispute has become the biggest challenge to the leftist’s presidency since he took office in January in a country where Congress played a pivotal role in ousting three presidents in the last decade.

MPs clash with police in Ecuador

BBC, March 14, 2007
Sacked opposition lawmakers in Ecuador have clashed with riot police while trying to regain their seats.

Tear gas was fired at a group of 20 former MPs as they forced their way into Congress. Two of their supporters were later shot and wounded.

The demonstrators were part of a group of 57 legislators dismissed for trying to block a referendum proposed by left-wing President Rafael Correa.

He has vowed to curb the powers of what he calls a "corrupt" Congress.

The congressmen and women fought their way through police cordons into the congress building in the capital, Quito, to take up their seats.

After failing to gather a quorum, they left the building and faced an angry pro-government crowd outside.

Later unidentified gunmen fired shots at anti-government protesters, wounding two.

Power struggle

President Correa blamed the sacked MPs for the violence. "We are peaceful people," he said. He added that a referendum, aimed at re-writing the constitution and limiting the power of Congress, will go ahead as scheduled next month.

BBC Latin America correspondent Daniel Schweimler says the conflict is going to get worse, with demonstrations in favour of the referendum expected before the 15 April vote.

Tuesday's clashes are the latest round of a power struggle between Ecuador's president, lawmakers and the judiciary.

Mr Correa is Ecuador's eighth president in 10 years.

He came to power two months ago promising radical changes to limit the power of the traditional political parties, which he blames for corruption and poverty.

Violence in Ecuador heats up Congress-Correa feud

By Alonso Soto, March 14, 2007.

QUITO (Reuters) - Ousted Ecuadorean lawmakers scuffled with police and a shooting wounded two of their supporters on Tuesday, worsening discord between Congress and President Rafael Correa in the volatile Andean nation.

About 20 lawmakers barged through a cordon of police, who used riot shields to try to stop them from entering Congress, as tear gas billowed in the air. One legislator was carried away on a stretcher after he was knocked to the ground and injured.

Two congressional aides were lightly wounded by gunshots. Lawmakers said their supporters were targeted by unknown gunmen on motorcycles, but police said the two men had been hit by stray bullets from an unrelated robbery.

Dozens of Correa supporters had earlier traded kicks and punches with protesters backing the dismissed lawmakers.

"We are in a state of emergency and we are being hunted," fired legislator Gloria Gallardo told a television station from inside Congress. "Police are willing to kill lawmakers."

In a radio interview before the shooting, Correa urged his supporters to avoid violence. "Do not let yourselves be provoked by these people who are trying to cause chaos," he said.

The leftist economist, an ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, has demanded that the fired lawmakers be replaced by substitutes from the same parties, in a move that could boost his clout over an unruly and widely unpopular Congress.

Fifty-seven legislators have refused to accept an electoral court decision that fired them last week. They had sought to reverse an earlier ruling that would allow the highly popular Correa to hold a referendum to weaken Congress' powers.

Changes proposed by the referendum are meant to lessen political influence in the judiciary and force lawmakers to live in the small constituencies they represent.

Tuesday's violence forced Congress to suspend sessions for a week.

The dispute has become the biggest challenge to the leftist's presidency since he took office in January in a country where Congress played a pivotal role in ousting three presidents in the last decade.

Investors, already spooked because Correa has threatened to skip some foreign debt payments, worry that the president will struggle to govern despite his high popularity.

"The escalating political confrontation carries the risk of further erosion of the institutional backbone of the country, which could exacerbate perennial weak governability conditions," senior Goldman Sachs economist Alberto Ramos said in a research note.

Ecuador is the world's top banana exporter and South America's No. 5 oil producer.

(Additional reporting by Alexandra Valencia and Guillermo Granja)

Ecuador Court Rules Deputies Stay Out

Quito, Mar 13 (Prensa Latina) In a surprise decision Tuesday, Ecuador s Constitutional Court refused to hear the petition for reinstatement by 57 deputies dismissed by the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE).

The request, presented by Congress leader Jorge Cevallos, enraged the right-wing legislators who had been dismissed by the TSE for attempting to obstruct the referendum on the Constituent Assembly.

According to judicial sources, the Assessment and Receipt Committee determined that, under the Constitution, Cevallos claim failed to fulfil the requisite of support by the majority in Congress.

Just before the decision, a group of dismissed legislators from PRIAN (Institutional Renovator) and Patriotic Society confronted the police and violently entered the congressional building, but Cevallos determined there was not a quorum and suspended today s session.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people have gathered outside the Legislature to guard it and demand expulsion of the dismissed legislators.

President of La Sierra Indigenous Nationalities Confederation, Humberto Cholango, warned that "if the dismissed deputies attempt to return to their seats, this movement and all the people will rise up," because the people are determined to have a Constituent Assembly, he concluded.

Sacked Legislators Get Past Police Cordon To Ecuador Congress

Playfuls, March 13, 2007.
Seventeen sacked legislators on Tuesday managed to get past the police cordon around the Ecuadorian Congress in Quito and enter the plenary hall.

According to media reports, the entry of former legislators was preceded by tough verbal exchanges and also some wrangling with police officers. One legislator fell and had to be treated in the hospital for a back problem, while another's eyes were affected by tear gas, reports said.

Scores of protestors gathered before Congress after the incident.

The police have been guarding the building since the country's highest electoral tribunal revoked the mandates of 57 of Ecuador's 100 legislators last week for standing in the way of a referendum on rewriting the country's constitution.

The dispute surrounds a central campaign pledge of President Rafael Correa - inaugurated in January - to drastically change the country's institutional make-up.

Correa fielded no legislative candidates in the November elections in the hope of making a clean sweep away from the highly unpopular Congress, which many regard as ineffective. But in so doing, he left opposition parties in the majority in the legislature.

Ecuador's opposition refused to back Correa's call for a special assembly to rewrite the constitution, prompting Correa to request a referendum, which was granted by the country's electoral authority without seeking the parliament's approval.

The country's opposition-controlled Congress sought to fire the electoral tribunal's president for announcing the referendum would be held on April 15. Congress insisted it had to first approve the referendum.

A recent opinion poll pointed out that only 17 per cent of Ecuadorians are satisfied with their Congress.

Ecuador Congress Ends Session After Lawmakers Banned

By Alex Kennedy

March 13 (Bloomberg) -- Ecuador's congress canceled its session today after riot police used tear gas to keep suspended lawmakers from entering the capitol building.

Jorge Cevallos, the legislature's president, said he canceled the meeting because too few congressmen attended. The country's top constitutional court today rejected a request by Cavellos to rule on the legality of the suspension last week of 57 opposition lawmakers by the electoral court.

``This escalating political confrontation carries the risk of further erosion to the institutional backbone of the country,'' Alberto Ramos, a senior economist with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in New York, said in a note to clients.

The court's decision will probably lead to the appointment of the suspended congressmen's lesser-known substitutes, a move that should strengthen President Rafael Correa, Ramos said.

Police used shields and tear gas to keep a group of suspended congressmen out of congress. Officers allowed about eight of the deputies into the building to protect them from Correa supporters, Luis Cueva, head of the congressional police force, said on Ecuavisa.

Ecuador's 100-member congress on March 6 voted to replace Supreme Electoral Tribunal President Jorge Acosta after the court backed Correa's plan to hold a referendum on whether to rewrite the constitution. The court on March 7 ruled the vote unconstitutional and ordered the suspension of lawmakers who voted for it.

``If not toned down soon, the heated political rhetoric and confrontation could start to erode the fundamentals of the country,'' Ramos said. ``At that stage, what has been so far disconcerting rhetoric and questionable willingness to stay current on external debt obligations could easily mutate into genuine capacity to pay issues.''

Correa said yesterday his government won't pay $40 million in interest it owes the central bank, in a bid to free up more funds for health programs. The government, which owes the central bank $1.2 billion, last week backed off threats to default on $10 billion of foreign debt when Finance Minister Ricardo Patino said the government will probably make an interest payment in May.