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Ecuador's political crisis hasn't affected military: minister
AFP
QUITO
Petroleumworld.com 03 15 07Ecuador's defense minister insisted Wednesday the armed forces have not been affected by the deep political crisis rocking the South American country, considered the region's most volatile.
"The work is being done with the normality and the professionalism that is proper to the armed forces," Lorena Escudero told Radio Quito, one day after clashes left several people injured, including two of 57 opposition lawmakers recently removed from their jobs.
"If the country is experiencing a moment of tension, it is the result of constant corruption in the political system," the minister said.
She insisted leftist President Rafael Correa, who urged his supporters to take to the street to defend his proposed constitutional reforms, could not be blamed for the political crisis.
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.
The incidents reflected a deepening crisis in the South American country where the opposition has sought to block the constitutional reforms.
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.
The impoverished country has seen seven presidents come and go since 1996, three of them leaving amid tumultuous uprisings.
AFP 14 1515 GMT 03 07
Copyright© 2007 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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