Ecuador’s Ousted Leader Starts Exile in Brazil

Ecuador’s ousted President, Lucio Gutiérrez, is already in Brazil where he arrived this afternoon in a Brazilian government jet. Gutiérrez traveled to BrasÀ­lia, the Brazilian capital, with his wife Ximena Bohórquez Romero and daughter Viviana Estefania. A second daughter, Carina Ximena, who is in the Ecuadorian army remained in Ecuador.

The ex-president is starting his exile in Brazil, four days after being removed from office. He left Quito on a Brazilian air force plane.


Mr. Gutiérrez had been in the residence of Brazil’s ambassador since Ecuador’s congress voted him from office on Wednesday following a week of massive street protests against his administration.


The crisis began last December, when Mr. Gutierrez fired 27 of the 31 justices on the Supreme Court after accusing them of bias against him. The move prompted weeks of street protests.


Protesters had been camped outside the residence demanding that Mr. Gutiérrez be tried for abuse of power.


A state prosecutor also had ordered his arrest in connection with the deaths of two people in the recent clashes between police and protesters.


Earlier, Brazilian Ambassador Sergio Florencia said he was waiting for the right security conditions to fly Mr. Gutiérrez out of Ecuador. A prosecutor has called for the deposed president’s arrest for the deaths of two people killed during recent violent protests.


Vice President Alfredo Palacio was sworn in to replace the ousted leader.


U.S Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in Lithuania for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, Thursday urged Ecuadorians to follow a constitutional process toward possible new elections.


VOA, BrZ

Tags:

You May Also Like

Brazil Earmarks US$ 420,000 for Drug Users’ Syringe Exchange

This week, Brazil’s Ministry of Health released norms on what is known as harm ...

No Law Will Make the Brazilian Judiciary Abide by the Laws

Since it was enacted in October 1988, the Brazilian Constitution has developed judicial independence ...

Fed Up With Criticism Over the World Cup Brazil President Lashes Back

Dilma Rousseff, the president of Brazil, responded angrily at criticism voiced by former soccer ...

In Brazil, Environment Protection Has Become a Guerrilla War

The history of violent land conflicts in Brazil is a long one specially in ...

Drought Cuts Brazil’s Grain Crop in 10%

Brazil’s grain crop this year is expected to decline 10% compared with last year’s ...

Brazil Earmarks US$ 1.8 Million for Stem Cell Research

Following the approval of the Biosecurity Law last week, the Brazilian government announced that ...

Winner at Sundance, Brazilian Documentary Starts Promising US Career

Manda Bala (Send a Bullet), the Brazilian movie that won at this year's Sundance ...

International Forum on Architecture and Construction, in the city of São Paulo, Brazil

World’s Tallest Building Engineer Praises Brazilian Design

Brazil has potential to export goods and services in the area of construction to ...

Brazil Cosmetic Industry Hoping to Rake US$ 12 Billion This Year

Brazilian Exports of cosmetics grew 21% in the first eight months of 2008 when ...

Brazil’s Gol Gets 35% Boost in Demand with 76% of Seats Taken

Brazilian airline Gol announced that its preliminary data show that in December the company’s ...

WordPress database error: [Table './brazzil3_live/wp_wfHits' is marked as crashed and last (automatic?) repair failed]
SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM `wp_wfHits`