Ecuadorean student throws a stone at police during clashes in Quito yesterday. Hundreds of Ecuadorean students protested after Ecuadorean President Alfredo Palacio decided to call for a constitutional referendum without consulting Congress. - REUTERS
QUITO, Ecuador, (Reuters):
POLITICALLY UNSTABLE Ecuador faced more uncertainty yesterday as legislators, calling for the resignation of President Alfredo Palacio, moved to block his attempt at constitutional reform.
Politicians accuse Palacio of breaking the law by bypassing Congress to directly ask the Electoral Tribunal to approve a December referendum asking voters for permission to appoint an assembly to rewrite the constitution in 2006.
"Whoever betrays the people, who put him where he is in this way, and the constitution, does not deserve to be president," said Congressman Luis Fernando Torres of the largest party in Congress, the Social Christians.
Congress on Wednesday was preparing a motion asking the tribunal to reject the referendum request.
Palacio has no firm support in Congress and his fight with legislators promises another rough ride for the chronically unstable political system of South America's fifth-largest crude oil exporter.
Three presidents have been toppled amid popular and congressional unrest since 1997 in Ecuador, the latest example coming in April when Congress fired President Lucio Gutierrez for meddling with the Supreme Court.
Palacio, a 66-year-old doctor who had served as Gutierrez's deputy, took over the top job and has steered the country sharply to the left, boosting social spending. But, while legislators hoping to appeal to the poor majority have supported many of his initiatives, none has declared loyalty to him.
"We are in a confusing situation in Ecuador, and more confusion is probably on the way," said Adrian Bonilla, director of Ecuador's branch of the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences.
If the referendum were to be approved, a 100-member constitutional convention would be convened with the goal of writing a document which the government hopes will strengthen democracy. Palacio has made no specific recommendations for changing the constitution in his request to the Tribunal.
"Palacio does not have a clear agenda for constitutional reform, but he needs to show that he is doing something and polls show that the people want change," said Carlos Larreategui, political analyst and pollster at the University of the Americas in Quito.
"This has turned into a power conflict with Congress, which under the current constitution has a lot of control over the institutions of the country," Larreategui added.
There was more potential for chaos on Friday when former president Gutierrez returned to the country promising to retake power. He was promptly thrown into jail for refusing to recognise the new government.
Analysts say Gutierrez, a retired army colonel who came to prominence when he led a coup attempt in 2000, does not have the support to regain the presidency.
Both the United Nations and the Organisation of American states have called on Ecuador to strengthen and make more transparent its democratic institutions.
