Ecuador’s National Assembly has begun an impeachment hearing against President Guillermo Lasso, charged with corruption related to an embezzlement scheme involving a state oil transportation company.
But the hearings, which started Tuesday, could lead to a potentially explosive confrontation between the president and the country’s unicameral legislature.
Experts have speculated that Lasso could invoke a never-before-used constitutional clause known as “two-way death” that would allow him to both dissolve the legislature and end his presidency.
Speaking to lawmakers on Tuesday, Lasso claimed he had not engaged in wrongdoing. “There is no evidence, nor relevant testimony,” he told lawmakers. “On the contrary, all there is is information that proves my total, clear and unquestionable innocence.”
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Ana Belen, a member of Lasso’s Creating Opportunities party, called Tuesday’s proceedings, if successful, “nothing short of a parliamentary coup”.
But opposition members have rejected such allegations and instead called for an end to government corruption.
“This is not a coup. We are not trying to destabilize the country,” Viviana Veloz, an opposition member of the assembly, told Al Jazeera. “It’s a response to a citizen demand, a desperate call for a constitutional solution to a problem called Guillermo Lasso.”
Tuesday’s hearing centered on Lasso’s decision not to intervene to end an embezzlement scheme between state-owned oil transportation company Flota Petrolera Ecuatoriana and private entity Amazonas Tankers.
Opponents say the plan has cost the state millions in losses and is part of a pattern of corruption within the administration.
Lasso has denied the allegations, with his supporters saying the president was not responsible for intervening in the deal between the two companies, which was struck before he took office in 2021.
“Remember, this contract was signed in 2018 by the previous government,” Belen told Al Jazeera. “Investigators have found no criminal responsibility, so there can be no political responsibility.”
Lasso has previously hinted he could trigger the “muerte cruzada” or “mutual death” clause of the Ecuadorian constitution if he faces impeachment, according to Al Jazeera correspondent Alessandro Rampietti, who reported from the capital. Quito.
That decision could come any time before the vote, Rampietti added.
Such a move would mean Lasso declaring that “the situation in the country is so complicated that governing is no longer an option,” he said.
“That would essentially mean dissolving Congress, also ending his presidency and calling for early elections. But he would then have the option of continuing to rule by decree for the next six months.”
“It’s never been done before in Ecuador,” Rampietti explained. “It is considered an extremely political decision.”
Analysts fear such a move could spark protests similar to those that erupted last year over the rising cost of living. Further instability would shake a country already struggling with deteriorating economic conditions and a spate of drug-related homicides.
For her part, the opposition believes she has the supermajority necessary to succeed in her impeachment attempt. A supermajority is reached with 92 votes from the 137-member chamber – in other words, a two-thirds majority.
Lasso, a 67-year-old former banker, narrowly survived an impeachment vote last year in which only 80 lawmakers voted in favor.
Opinion was divided in the streets of Quito, where some citizens came out in favor of Lasso’s ouster.
“Congress represents the will of the people. This government has only destroyed our health and education systems,” Carla Araujo told Al Jazeera.
Others, meanwhile, felt that Lasso deserved to serve out his term.
“The people, 18 million Ecuadorians, voted and he got a majority,” said Fidel Lopez, another Quito resident. “We have to let him finish his job.”
On Monday, the Organization of American States also weighed in, calling on Ecuadorian lawmakers to “provide all guarantees of justice and respect the rules of due process” during the impeachment process.