The position of the National Assembly on Vice President Verónica Abad is one of the setbacks of the Government this week.
The week that ends was not auspicious for the Government of President Daniel Noboa. The Regime suffered four important political defeats in areas of its special interest. Perhaps it has been his most disconcerting week, due to the number of setbacks accumulated in a few days.
These setbacks may demonstrate that the Government’s capacity for political maneuver has been reduced, despite the fact that opinion polls support Noboa. It will be seen how the Executive takes these blows and will tackle the perception of ungovernability that its last two predecessors experienced.
The Assembly saved Abad
The most striking setback came from the National Assembly, which on June 14 denied permission to the Judicial Branch to criminally prosecute Vice President Verónica Abad. The Government’s animosity towards the Second President has escalated to the point that official spokespersons publicly point out that her hypothetical temporary promotion to the Presidency would be “nefarious«.
Abad’s connection to the Nene case opened the possibility of a criminal trial and his dismissal. However, the majority of assembly members rejected the request for a criminal trial for Abad, with 75 votes in favor, 38 against and 20 abstentions. This vote can shape the real strength of the Government in the legislative body.
The Citizen Revolution (RC), the Christian Social Party (PSC) and Pachakutik (PK) came together to save Abad, but it is not a boost to the Vice President but rather an action to unnerve the Government and Daniel Noboa. In addition, the Construye bench abstained. With this, the Nene case must be reconfigured and the Government must find another way to prevent Abad from replacing Noboa in the electoral campaign.
Build back to the ballot
Regarding the Construye movement, everything seemed to indicate that this group would not be able to participate in the next elections. But the Contentious Electoral Court accepted his appeal and Construye regained the category of legally registered political organization.
Noboa’s antipathy towards Construye, and especially towards its leader, María Paula Romo, is public. On January 4, 2024, the President said that the Construye movement must disappear and dedicated one of his most famous phrases since he took office to Romo.
«Build, Destroy, excorreistas… I don’t know how to determine them. They are excorreistas. María Paula Romo was president of the Justice Commission of Correismo, a constituent assembly member of Correismo, from there she was elected by Correismo, she betrays Correismo and becomes anti-Correismo, far-right. That’s an incredible evolution. A Pokémon, more or less. And, yes, the Pokemon has evolved again and will be on the ballot.
The Court overturns the state of exception
The Constitutional Court annulled the last state of emergency decreed by President Noboa, who called it the “second phase of the war” declared on organized crime gangs.
The majority of the highest court of guarantees declared unconstitutional decree 275 that declared a state of emergency in seven provinces under the justification of the existence of an “internal armed conflict.” This latest state of exception sought to replace a previous one that covered five provinces and that the Constitutional Court had also overturned.
The last two resolutions of the Constitutional Court contrast with its opinion on the first state of exception decreed by Noboa at the beginning of the year and which lasted ninety days. There, the court indicated that it was not up to it to evaluate the existence or not of an “internal armed conflict” as it was a factual event.
The announcement of the end of subsidies on hold
Finally, the Government suspended the announcement of the compensation plan for the future elimination of gasoline subsidies. The authorities were scheduled to make the announcement on Friday, June 14, from the Carondelet Palace.
The announcement was postponed and no tentative date has been given to resume it. There were no official explanations for this suspension of the announcement, which seemed a fact since the transport unions announced agreements with the Government. Furthermore, the protests called by the Popular Front against the end of subsidies were not massive.
⛽️ The National Government bravely takes on the issue of gasoline subsidy, he stated @DanielFalconiH1vice minister of @FinanzasEcin @PrimeraPlanaECU. He added that State resources should be directed to social benefits that benefit everyone.#ElNuevoEcuadorResolves pic.twitter.com/jYKws5mHEq
— Economy Finance Ec (@FinanzasEc) June 14, 2024
However, the reading is that the Government has not completely deactivated the possibilities of protests. The elimination of fuel subsidies was already attempted in the governments of Lenín Moreno and Guillermo Lasso. On both occasions, the measure caused very strong protests led by the indigenous movement that almost led to a coup d’état.
Source: PRIMICIAS