From left to right: Vice President of Ecuador Veronica Abad and President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa. It was their last photo taken together on the day of their inauguration in November 2023. Image taken from the Flickr account of the presidency of Ecuador (under public domain) and edited by Global Voices.
On the night of August 14, 2024, the government of Daniel Noboa shared content under the hashtag “#IntentoDeGolpeDeEstado” (#AttemptedCoup) to defend his position as the president of the Republic of Ecuador against a complaint filed for political gender violence by Vice President Verónica Abad.
Vice President Abad alleges that she has been subject to a smear campaign and obstruction in her duties, which includes the denial of permits, personal attacks, and her being sent to Israel without a security team or budget. She perceives this as an attempt to banish her from the country and prevent her from assuming the presidency in 2025 during the election campaign.
The head of the Ministry of Government, Michele Sensi Contugi, through a communiqué, accuses Abad of “destabilizing” and “not sharing the values and principles” of Noboa’s government. The same was done by the head of the government party at the National Assembly, Valentina Centeno: she rejected the accusation filed by Abad and called her “disloyal.”
Two influential women ministers within Noboa’s government, Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld and Interior Minister Monica Palencia, defended Noboa on social media.
For his part, President Daniel Noboa, in a letter published on X (formerly Twitter), accuses Abad of craving his position and criticizes her for being supported by opposition political forces. He also accuses the vice-president’s lawyer, Oswaldo Trujillo, of being a “defender of drug traffickers” in order to delegitimize the complaint against him.
Noboa’s suspicions are due to the fact that current opposition legislative parties protected Abad’s immunity despite her prosecution in the trial against her son for alleged influence peddling in the so-called “nene” case.
Abad, sent far from Ecuador on assignment to Israel
The estrangement between Noboa and Abad was evident since November 23, 2023, when the new Ecuadorian government took office to complete the current period 2021–2025. The early elections were held after having “la muerte cruzada” (crossed deaths), a process in Ecuador where the assembly and the presidency are dissolved at the same time, leaving the executive power to govern under decree without counterweight from the legislative power.
After the inauguration, the new president and national and foreign authorities were invited to a banquet at Carondelet Palace. Yet, Abad decided to have lunch in the popular market of Iñaquito in the city of Quito. Until that day, the vice president denied a rupture with the president and justified her separate celebration by affirming that “our real celebration is with the Ecuadorian people.”
Noboa chose Abad to accompany him in the anticipated elections in 2023. The pair was registered by the National Democratic Alliance (ADN), formed by the parties Mover y Pueblo, Igualdad y Democracia (PID) before the National Electoral Council. In the second presidential round, both became prominent during their campaign and even more so Veronica Abad, for past statements such as denying gender violence and her support to the privatization of health and education.
Then, Noboa signed his first presidential decree, which was the assignment of the vice president’s new functions. He decided to send her to Tel Aviv in Israel as “Ambassador of Peace” in the middle of a war against Gaza. Abad accepted the assignment. Once in Israel, Abad accused Noboa of “harassing” her to force her to resign so that she would not be able to replace Noboa as president during the electoral campaign that will last 45 days from January 5 to February 6, 2025.
According to Vice Minister of Government Esteban Torres, the government fears that Abad supplanting Noboa as president would create instability because “the first thing she will do is to reverse all the victories that the government has had in the fight against impunity and insecurity.” Ecuador has been going through a sharp rise in violence in recent years. In addition, Diana Jácome, presidential advisor, has described the vice-president as “disloyal” because she would be in “conversations with political groups that want to attack the government.”
But for Noboa’s government, the main worry is that Abad would become Noboa’s main opponent, which would affect him during the 2025 electoral campaign for reelection. However, Abad assured that she would not take “revenge.”
Abad has also claimed that she was being held “hostage” in Israel by not being allowed to take time off to return to the country. In February 2024, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility, Gabriela Sommerfeld, forbade Abad from making statements on behalf of the Ecuadorian government. Abad has not complied with this decision. She also said that she “does not understand Noboa’s hatred” against her, as she feels she is going through “a historical persecution.”
The vice president, fearing for her safety in the midst of the armed conflict between Israel and Gaza, described her assignment as “complicated” and maintains constant meetings “to call for reflection” in the face of the violence of the war. Noboa, by means of Executive Decree N°353 on August 8, 2024, decided to transfer Abad and her family from Israel to Turkey for their safety. But, according to Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld, Abad is still in Israel.
Abad also criticizes Daniel Noboa for the preventive imprisonment issued by the justice system against her son for alleged influence peddling. He was sent to the maximum security prison in Guayaquil on March 22, 2024. Her son is currently serving probationary measures while the Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the case.
A complaint is filed in a court amid a turbulent leadership change
After several months of instability, Abad formally filed a complaint for gender-based political violence against Noboa, Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld, Deputy Minister of Government Esteban Torres and presidential advisor Diana Jácome before the Contentious Electoral Tribunal on August 8, 2024. According to Abad, the accused have created a “smear campaign” against her and accuses the president of “having undermined her participation as a woman in the political decisions of the State.”
The complaint requests the removal of the president, the chancellor, the presidential advisor and the vice minister of government, the suspension of their political rights of participation for four years and a fine of USD 32,000. This would prevent Noboa from being a candidate for re-election in the presidential elections of 2025.
The complaint was made public only on Monday, August 12, 2024. In the afternoon a new majority of judges dismissed the President of the Court of Electoral Disputes (TCE) Fernando Muñoz, who qualified this measure as illegal and denounced the usurpation of functions. The new president of the TCE Ivonne Coloma justified the dismissal of Muñoz for “bad administration.”
On Thursday, August 15, Diana Jácome, responded with another complaint of gender-based political violence against Verónica Abad.
Reactions from lawyers and journalists
Some lawyers have given their opinion about the complaint Abad filed. André Benavides deems that it will not be easy to remove President Noboa from office because there are express grounds in the constitution that would prevent that court from removing him from office.
El famoso «Golpe de Estado» es un delito tipificado en el COIP como Rebelión y sancionado con 5 a 7 años de cárcel.
👉Aún no encuentro del verbo rector del tipo penal «presentar demanda en el TCE». 🤪
📍Por otro lado, el @TCE_Ecuador no puede destituir al primer mandatario,… pic.twitter.com/YXr5TBXG22
— André Benavides (@AndreBenavidesM) August 15, 2024
The famous “Coup d’Etat” is a crime typified in the COIP as Rebellion and punished with 5 to 7 years in prison.
👉I still haven’t found the governing verb of the criminal offense “filing a complaint with the TCE.” 🤪
📍On the other hand, the @TCE_Ecuador cannot remove the president from office, since there are express grounds in the Constitution for his removal (Art. 145 CRE).
According to attorney Gonzalo Muñoz: “the TCE does not have the power to remove the president and vice-president.”
El @TCE_Ecuador no tiene facultad para destituir al Presidente de la República.
Tampoco tiene la potestad para destituir a la Vicepresidenta.
Sus causales de destitución son taxativas y están establecidas en la Constitución (arts. 130 145 y 148).
Que inapropiado utilizar la…
— Gonzalo Muñoz (@gonzalomunozh) August 15, 2024
The @TCE_Ecuador does not have the power to remove the President of the Republic.
Nor does it have the power to remove the Vice President.
Its grounds for removal are exhaustive and are established in the Constitution (arts. 130 145 and 148).
How inappropriate to use the electoral courts to satisfy personal vendettas.
For attorney Washington Andrade, Abad’s dismissal would be indecent.
PRESIDENTE DOMESTICO⁉️||
Que pavor le tendrán el presidente Mr. Daniel Noboa y el gobierno de #ElNuevoEcuador a su vicepresidenta Verónica Abad, que no les importa plantear ridiculeces como esta, casi casi una modalidad de servicio doméstico puertas afuera🤦🏻♂️
Improcedente e… https://t.co/LMSRpQUkiK
— Washington Andrade Escobar (@Drwandradee) August 16, 2024
A PRESIDENT CONCERNED WITH DOMESTIC AFFAIRS⁉️|||
Mr. Daniel Noboa and the government of #ElNuevoEcuador are so afraid of their vice-president Verónica Abad that they don’t care to make ridiculous statements like this, almost like of housekeeping outdoors 🤦🏻♂️ indecent and unconstitutional 🤷🏻♂️
For constitutional expert Esteban Ron, there is no coup d’état like Noboa has claimed and there is no gender-based political violence against Abad.
#ATENCIÓN | El golpe del Estado del que habla Noboa no existe como tal, dice el constitucionalista @EstebanPRonC en #VisaVis
➡️ A su criterio, una pelea personal entre Noboa y Abad ha llegado a instancias como el TCE.
Mira la entrevista 👇https://t.co/rx9SjQ7N9O pic.twitter.com/kWO0RG1QLc
— Visionarias (@visionariasec) August 15, 2024
#ATTENTION: The coup d’état that Noboa talks about does not exist as such, says constitutionalist @EstebanPRonC in #VisaVis.
In his opinion, a personal fight between Noboa and Abad has reached instances such as the TCE.
Watch the interview
On the other hand, journalist María Sol Borja believes that Abad has been subjected to gender violence in full view of the whole country.
Cada vez es más impresentables funcionarios y funcionarias aplaudiendo la violencia evidente ejercida desde lo más alto del poder en contra de las mujeres, pretendiendo implantar una narrativa insostenible. La violencia contra la VP se ha ejercido a vista y paciencia del país. Y…
— María Sol Borja (@mariasolborja) August 15, 2024
More and more disgraceful officials are applauding the evident violence exercised by those at the highest levels of power against women, pretending to establish an unsustainable narrative. Violence against the VP has been exercised in full view and in full silence of the country, and she has not been the only one. And she has not been the only one. Have we already forgotten Goldbaum? Arrobo? Alondra Santiago?
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=66d5260abc38449f82aa93f311e02e0b&url=https%3A%2F%2Fglobalvoices.org%2F2024%2F08%2F23%2Fecuadors-conflicts-of-power-was-there-an-attempted-coup-detat-or-political-gender-violence%2F&c=8005614558866166365&mkt=en-us
Author :
Publish date : 2024-08-22 22:04:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
