Guillermo Lasso’s Impeachment Odds Rise as Ecuador Congress Head Wins

Bloomberg — Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso is facing an uphill battle against impeachment after a political adversary was reelected as head of the opposition-controlled congress.

Virgilio Saquicela, who supports the ouster of the market-friendly president, won reelection in a 96-22 vote on Sunday. He received the backing of Revolucion Ciudadana, the left-wing party of self-exiled former President Rafael Correa, as well as the conservative Social Christian Party.

While a simple majority was enough for Saquicela to retain his position, the opposition needs 92 votes to remove Lasso from office in the ongoing impeachment process.

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Ecuador’s dollar-denominated debt led losses in Latin America as investors feared a change in the country’s leadership that could bring in a president hostile to financial markets. Bonds due in 2030 fell 1.4 cents to around 52.5 cents on the dollar, according to indicative pricing compiled by Bloomberg.

Lasso will appear in congress to defend himself on Tuesday, Minister of Government Henry Cucalón said in a radio interview on Monday, adding however that a final vote on the case would still take days.

Lasso, whose term ends in May 2025, is facing allegations that he committed embezzlement by failing to cancel a contract of state oil shipping company FLOPEC. The president denies any wrongdoing and FLOPEC reported record net profits for 2022.

Lasso has warned that he will dissolve the congress, as he may legally do once during his first three years in office, rather than allow it to replace him with Vice President Alfredo Borrero. This would allow him to govern by decree in the interim while triggering early elections for the rest of his term.

--With assistance from Ezra Fieser.

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