Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso

Quito, Jun 22 (RHC) Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso has less than six months left in office and, although time is short, he is handing out public posts among allied former legislators.

Since the president dissolved the National Assembly (Parliament) on May 17 with his cross-death decree, reported Radio Pichincha, at least nine former assembly members have received senior posts in the Executive, with salaries of around US$4,000.

The most recent case is that of Nathalie Arias, who was a member of parliament for the pro-government CREO movement and is now an advisor to the National Planning Secretariat.

This week the Government appointed Ana Belén Cordero, who was vice-president of the Oversight Commission in charge of the analysis of the impeachment trial against Lasso for alleged embezzlement, as secretary of Anti-Corruption Public Policy.

The former leader of the Government's bench, Juan Fernando Flores, appointed political advisor for this stage of Lasso's withdrawal, is also well supported.

Likewise, the president compensated the support given to him in the Assembly by Gruber Zambrano and Luis Cervantes, appointed governors of the provinces of Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas and Imbabura, respectively.

Amid the distribution of posts, it is noteworthy that there are not only former legislators of the political organization to which the head of state belongs but also other allies, such as Guadalupe Llori, from Pachakutik.

She was appointed head of the Planning and Development Council of the Amazon Territorial District after making a pact with Lasso on many issues during her term as president of the Assembly.

Ecuador is preparing to go to the polls on August 20 to elect the president, vice-president, and assembly members and the appointment of the new chief executive will take place in November at the latest.

For this electoral process, the CREO movement, to which the president belongs, did not register candidates for the Assembly or the head of the Government.

However, Lasso stated in a recent interview that he will remain in politics when he leaves the Carondelet Palace and will be leader of the opposition, without ruling out a possible candidacy in 2025.