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Libreta de reportero: Luis Gomez

Gutiérrez se tambalea: sin apoyo militar ni político

Publicado por Luis Gomez - 20 de abril de 2005, 15:36
Hace apenas unos minutos el Congreso de Ecuador, controlado desde anoche por los partidos de oposición y sesionando en un edificio diferente a su sede (que sigue cercada y semi tomada por los estudiantes, producto de la "operación mochilazo"), ha tomado la determinación de destituir a Lucio Gutiérrez como Presidente de la República.

Por su parte la cúpula militar ecuatoriana, en una conferencia de prensa realizada hace menos de una hora, han retirado todo apoyo a Gutiérrez y las tropas han comenzado a abandonar el centro de Quito, donde se encuentra el Palacio de Carondelet (y el presidente)... Gutiérrez, de seguir la presión, podría renunciar en las próximas horas. Primero cesaron al presidente del Congreso, el diputado Omar Quintana, por estar de parte de Lucio Gutiérrez. Ahora los partidos de oposición han tomado control del Congreso de Ecuador para declarar que "en representación del pueblo ecuatoriano" y declararon cesante al ex coronel Lucio Gutiérrez. Con esto, de acuerdo a las declaraciones de la nueva presidenta del Congreso, la diputada Cintya Viteri, queda abierto el camino a la sucesión constitucional para el Vicepresidente Alfredo Palacio (quien por cierto había ya roto con Gutiérrez, poniendo su cargo a disposición del pueblo).

Pero los militares ecuatorianos también han puesto ahora de su parte. Hace una hora, en conferencia de prensa, el jefe del Comando Conjunto de las Fuerzas Armadas Ecuatorianas, Víctor Hugo Rosero, ha retirado todo su respaldo al presidente "por la patria y por la paz". Y mientras los militares apostados en los alrededores del Palacio de Carondelet iniciaban su repliegue, Radio La Luna ha pedido a los manifestantes cesar el asedio al gobierno para evitar confrontaciones.

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Palacio es el nuevo Presidente de Ecuador

Enviado 20 de abril de 2005 - 15:50 por Luis Gomez
Hace unos minutos, en una sesión reservada y con la asistencia de la mayoría de los diputados Ecuatorianos, ha tomado posesión Alfredo Palacio como nuevo Presidente de Ecuador. Gutiérrez, al parecer, sigue atrincherado en el Palacio de Carondelet, aunque ya sin respaldo ni vigilancia militar alguna.

De acuerdo a informaciones de Radio Sucre, Palacio fue posesionado por la diputada Cinthya Viteri, Presidenta del Congreso. El ex vicepresidente dijo en su primer discurso que el "el pueblo del Ecuador, particularmente el pueblo quiteño, decidió terminar con la dictadura y la inmoralidad, prepotencia, el terror y el miedo”.

Gutiérrez ha dejado palacio: no hay marcha atrás

Enviado 20 de abril de 2005 - 16:04 por Luis Gomez
Fuentes militares han confirmado hace unos instantes que Lucio Gutiérrez ha abandonado el Palacio de Carondelet en compañía de su esposa y algunos colaboradores. La única información que se conoce en estos momentos es que habría solicitado asilo político en la embajada de Panamá.

Lucio is Out; Palacio New President of Ecuador

Enviado 20 de abril de 2005 - 16:19 por Luis Gomez
A few minutes ago, in a private session with the majority of the Ecuadorian congressmen and congresswomen in attendance, has named Alfredo Palacio as the new president of Ecuador.

According to reports on Radio Sucre, congresswoman Cinthya Viteri, president of the Congress, swore in Palacio. The former vice president said in his first speech that “the people of Ecuador, particularly the people of Quito, decided to end the dictatorship, immorality, arrogance, terror, and fear.”

A few moments ago, military sources confirmed that Lucio Gutiérrez has abandoned the Carondelet Palace accompanied by his wife and a few aides. The only information known at the moment is that he has requested political asylum at the Panamanian embassy

Gutiérrez in custody

Enviado 20 de abril de 2005 - 16:49 por Luis Gomez
The Ecuadorian National Police have just announced that they have orders to arrest former president Abdalá Bucaram, who Gutiérrez had pardoned for the corruption charges he had been avoiding for the past eight years in Panama before returning just a few weeks ago. The police also have orders to arrest Lucio himself who tried to leave Ecuador by plane a few minutes ago. The people occupied the runways of the international airport to stop Bucaram and Gutiérrez’s escape, and a military plane intercepted the helicopter in which Lucio seemed to be trying to make his final escape and took him to a military base.

The news keep pouring in from the people, who now call themselves “forajidos” (“renegades”, which Gutiérrez had earlier used against them)... but victory is already theirs.

Gutiérrez NOT in custody

Enviado 20 de abril de 2005 - 17:25 por Dan Feder
There has been some confusion here in the newsroom as reports come in from Ecuador. What seems to have happened is that Lucio was able to leave the airport in a helicopter and is now in the air flying towards an unknown destination? He had requested asylum from Venezuela and been denied, which probably means he is trying to reach Panama, favorite refuge of disgraced Ecuadorian presidents. Another rumor is that he is headed for the Brazilian embassy. But the truth is that at the moment his whereabouts are unknown.

Gutiérrez Is in the Brazilian Embassy

Enviado 20 de abril de 2005 - 21:14 por Luis Gomez
According to Venezuela’s Globovision, Lucio Gutiérrez is indeed in the Brazilian embassy, where he has requested political asylum in that country. He seems to have arrived there by helicopter after protesters prevented him from leaving the coutnry by airplane. Protesters hope to prevent him from leaving the country, in order to bring charges against him in Ecuadorian courts.

It is still difficult to know quite what is happening in the wake of Gutiérrez’s abandoning the presidency. Voices on Radio La Luna, one of the main forces behind the movement in Quito, report rumors that members of the military high command, who earlier had declared their support for Gutiérrez despite the obvious popular rejection of his rule, have decided not to recognizes Palacio as the legitimate president of Ecuador.

It is not clear where Palacio is at the moment, and for some time now he has not appeared at the presidential palace, Carondelet, or made any statement. Callers from the streets have also reported pro-Gutiérrez agents trying to provoke violence in the streets. All this has led some to wonder if the military is preparing a coup d’etat against the man who legally took the presidency today with the backing of Congress.

Hopefully, Palacio’s whereabouts will be known soon and nasty rumors of a military coup can be written off as just that.

Brazil Gives Lucio Asylum

Enviado 20 de abril de 2005 - 22:53 por Dan Feder
The headline at the website for the Brazilian daily O Globo reads: Brasil dá asilo ao presidente do Equador – “Brazil gives asylum to president of Ecuador.” (The articles can't be accessed without a subscription.) This is somewhat surprising – Venezuela had already denied Gutiérrez asylum, and he was expected to try to head to Panama. He is now hiding out in the Brazilian embassy, with Ecuadorian police under orders to arrest him on sight.

The coup scenario described above seems to have been, as hoped, merely rumor. As I listen to Radio La Luna, whoever is speaking now just closed an emotional commentary saying: “Last night, we slept under a dictatorship. This morning, we woke up to a dictatorship. But tonight we can sleep in peace.” The new president, Alfredo Palacio, has already suggested the possibility of holding a new constitutional assembly, in response to popular demands for “creating a new country.”

The Organization of American States will hold a special meeting tomorrow to discuss the crisis in Ecuador.

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