World
  |
|
Ecuador's Correa rules out political crisis will cost him his job
AFP
QUITO
Petroleumworld.com 03 15 07Ecuador's leftist President Rafael Correa insisted on Thursday his job was not threatened by the deep political crisis that has rocked the volatile South American country.
His defense minister also stressed the armed forces were not affected by the crisis, which was fueled by the firing of the opposition lawmakers who dominated Congress and who sought to block wide-ranging constitutional reforms Correa wants to implement.
"What prevents me from leaving is the 90 percent popular support we have," said Correa, who was elected in November with 57 percent of the vote.
"It will be very difficult for anyone to kick me out," he said at a news conference.
Defense Minister Lorena Escudero for her part stressed that it was business as usual in military barracks across Ecuador, a chronically unstable country that has seen seven presidents come and go since 1996, three of them leaving amid tumultuous uprisings.
"The work is being done with the normality and the professionalism that is proper to the armed forces," she told Radio Quito, one day after clashes left several people injured, including two of 57 opposition lawmakers recently removed from their jobs.
On Tuesday two people were wounded by gunshots outside a Quito hotel where the ousted legislators met to discuss their fate, while two of the former congressmen said they were injured in a scuffle as they tried to make their way into the Congress building.
Last week, authorities fired 52 lawmakers who had voted to oust the head of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal for calling an April 15 referendum on whether to elect a national assembly that would rewrite the constitution.
Another five were ousted for challenging the tribunal's decision to call a referendum.
The opposition lawmakers, who dominated Ecuador's 100-seat unicameral Congress, insist their ouster is illegal.
Correa, who was sworn in to a five-year term on January 15, has said he planned to reverse free-market measures, renegotiate foreign oil contracts and cease doing business with the International Monetary Fund.
AFP 14 1843 GMT 03 07
Copyright© 2007 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
Your
feedback is important to us!
We invite all our readers to share with us
their views and comments about this article.
Write to editor@petroleumworld.com
Any
question or suggestions, please write to:
editor@petroleumworld.com
Best
Viewed with IE
5.01+
Windows
NT 4.0, '95, '98 and ME +/ 800x600 pixels