Lasso's government believes he is the hero of his history"

By: Roberto Morejón

The crisis in Ecuador seems unstoppable as President Guillermo Lasso is on the verge of impeachment and the country is bleeding from violence.

 The recent attack on a port of artisanal fishermen in the impoverished northern province of Esmeraldas by heavily armed troops in boats and cars put society on edge.

 Ecuadorians live in uncertainty due to the levels of common crime and the scuffles between organized crime groups bent on moving drugs through Esmeraldas, bordering Colombia.

 The assault on the fishing port took the lives of nearly a dozen people and occurred amid a state of emergency promoted by Lasso, in an agonizing attempt to quell the high levels of violence and crime.

 It should be remembered that at the end of 2022 a revenge of criminal groups for the transfer of prisoners, which led to bitter quarrels in penitentiaries, was enough for the President of the nation to declare a 60-day emergency in three provinces.

 It is not surprising then that Ecuador's homicide rate was close to doubling last year, from 14 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021 to 25 in 2022.

 To the notable insecurity is added the economic crisis, to which union leaders are preparing to take to the streets on May 1st to demand labor rights and to demand the departure of the President of the Republic.

 Lasso is facing impeachment for the crime of embezzlement due to irregularities in oil contracts, a factor that forces him to work defensively when he is about to complete half of his term.

 He does not have a majority in the National Assembly or Parliament, on the contrary, he has less support every day.

 Lasso has already faced a motion to remove him from office in June 2022 at a time when demonstrations were being held in Ecuador by peasants and indigenous people due to what they consider to be a vulnerable situation.

 Faced with the accumulation of challenges, some expected from the conservative Lasso a disposition to dialogue with his compatriots, but the President did the opposite.

 Subjected to criticism for freeing civilians to carry arms, the ruler turns a deaf ear and takes refuge in his singular version of the facts, blaming Correa’s followers for what is going negatively.

 As a former Secretary of Communication pointed out, Lasso's government believes he is the hero of his history".