ECUADOR IN TURMOIL

Ecuador has been a relatively peaceful, crime-free country. However, in the last decade, Peruvian, Colombian, and Mexican drug cartels, attracted by good transportation routes to the United States and a dollar-denominated economy, have set up operations there. 

All of this is happening while the government faces a major constitutional crisis.  In May of this year, President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly triggering new legislative and presidential elections. He took that unusual but constitutional action as he was preparing to defend himself in an impeachment process. He was accused of accepting bribes in connection with a contract awarded by the state-owned oil transportation company. The opposition parties, which control the national assembly, complained that the impeachment process had been, for all practical purposes, terminated. The Ecuadorian army and the police have respected the constitutional mechanism that allowed Lasso’s action and have remained neutral.  

The Pan American Association is planning to hold a Summit on Latin American Democracy in April 2024.