Is Lasso worse than Lenín? At least, He is a Continuation

Is Lasso worse than Lenín? At least, He is a Continuation
Fecha de publicación: 
12 October 2021
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Few months after he took over the presidency in Ecuador, entrepreneur Guillermo Lasso, vehement defender of neoliberalism, faces more and more protests against him, led by most of those who voted for him and now find Lasso’s campaign promises have been unanswered; not to mention he made worst the current economic and social status of a nation, still trying to riding over the wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

A population of indigenous people who let themselves be guided by their chief leaders and voted against the Correa’s follower candidate is the angriest one and just like the rest of the population, they are suffering the high prices of oil, never-ending sacking, low wages and weakened health-care and education systems, same situation left by former President Lenín Moreno, who was initially disciple of Lasso, after betraying his fellow party and government members, the same people who made him President.

Lasso is today battling against a worsened prison crisis, resulting in riots that have led to hundreds of dead and wounded people, with relatives suffering the inaction before the urging demands of detainees.

  Added to this, he is facing the early stage of a lawsuit for tax evasion, revealed by the leak of documents known as Pandora Papers, where Lasso is one of the three acting Latin American Presidents accused of wiring money to tax heavens, besides creating what is known as offshore companies. That is to say, being open in countries abroad with none or few requirements.

14 FINANCIAL CORPORATIONS!

Lasso had been owning up to 14 financial corporations in Panama and the United States, according to Pandora Papers.

Before embarking on his third presidential campaign, the Head of State got rid of several offshore companies. Lasso made such changes, after Rafael Correa fostered in 2017 a law to prohibit candidates to benefit from companies in tax heavens. Today, 10 out of 14 of these companies remain inactive. On the other four, the current President denies any link or benefit.

He had made stated that once in office, he would keep the current Labor Code to guarantee the rights accomplished by active workers, who are the minority in Ecuador.

Regarding those unemployed people, he suggested to create an Employment Opportunity Code to cover the 6+ million unemployed workers who wait for one job opportunity. But everything has vanished. He cannot eradicate the growing corruption either, especially with politicians using hospital admissions as bargain chips, while he is also facing accusations of money laundry.

But Lasso is not the only one dealing with tough times. In the context of the aggravated economic and social crisis affecting Ecuador, the head of the Ecuador’s Supervisory Power at the National Assembly suggested the impeachment and ban of the former Comptroller General of the State for Official Misconduct, while requesting an investigation on a corruption structure operating within the National Audit Office.

Ecuador is among the countries with a larger economic decline in the region, according to reports from the Economic Commission for Latin America —a nearly 11-points drop—, which is devastating for a structurally weak economy such as Ecuador’s. That is why we say that Lasso is the continuity of Lenín, in reference to the State policy.

The truth is that most of those who served under Lenín, are now very close to Lasso’s government.

What’s more: there is an evident alliance between the government and the media hegemony, which reinforces the idea of a continuity with the previous regime. In this regard, Lasso does not have a clear economic policy, nor a group of ideas to present the nation to implement under his leadership.

Add to this the effects of the pandemic caused by Covid-19, the prison riots and the accusations of money laundry, his panorama is considerably getting worse.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff

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