First there were the conflicts in the National Assembly, then the national strike in June 2022 and very closely the citizen security crisis. Now, according to political analysts, it is the setback suffered with the results of the referendum that generated at least the fourth general change within the cabinet of the President of the Republic, Guillermo Lasso.
Henry Cucalón, who was part of the figures close to the Social Christian leader Jaime Nebot, assumes the Ministry of Government after the resignation of Francisco Jiménez, an official questioned by social organizations that led the June strike.
Learn about the changes in Guillermo Lasso’s cabinet after the setback in the 2023 elections
Sebastián Corral will be in charge as Secretary General of the Administration, a position previously held by Iván Correa. The Legal Secretariat of the Presidency was not exempt from modifications. Here the lawyer Jhossueth Almeida Villacís will be in charge, replacing Fabián Pozo.
For Cristian Carpio, a political analyst and professor of Political Science at the University of the Americas, these changes occur for two reasons: to refresh the cabinet and for the victory of the No vote in the referendum, which, in his opinion, leaves a worn regime.
“What is happening is that the government seeks to refresh its cabinet with the aim of achieving some degree of governability.. It is at a critical moment and social discontent is increasing more and more and evidently it is the result of this crisis of the results of the popular consultation, which was the last lifeline of the Government. In that sense, what he has sought is to refresh the lines to generate changes that try to reflect a new image in the citizenship…, the important thing is not to change names but public policy”, says Carpio.
The ‘headless’ of 2022: all the shake-ups that occurred in the ministerial cabinet of Guillermo Lasso
The expert, who is also a consultant at Prófitas, mentions that Lasso is moving away from those who were his close circle. “Change to his closest circle, people who have been around for a long time and who were there at the beginning like Fabián Pozo and Iván Correa.” And his impression “is that the idea is to give that signal to generate certain changes before the citizens.”
Lasso, for example, accepted the resignation of Aparicio Caicedo as counselor, who was one of the most influential voices in the political environment of the Executive. To this list was added Oswaldo Coronel, who presented his resignation from the position of governor of Cotopaxi. In his place will be Tania Vásquez Paredes.
In the Government of El Oro will be Eusebio Apolo, instead of Mirtha Aristeguieta. And in the Governorate of Esmeraldas they change Tania Obando for the former soccer player Frickson Erazo.
In the Government of Guayas there were also changes. Francesco Tabacchi was chosen for that position and will replace Lorenzo Calvas, who took over when Pablo Arosemena left that position to lead the Ministry of Economy. And Gretty Vargas, Secretary for Management of Nationalities and Indigenous Peoples will be replaced by Jorge Córdova Castro.
Francisco Jiménez resigned as Minister of Government and wishes his successor strength and success
Daniella Fernández, dean of the Francisco Huerta Montalvo Faculty of Political Science and Law at Casa Grande University, agrees that the negative result in the referendum would be the cause of these changes, which in her opinion are not “bad.”
“And that also results in a reconsideration of the government’s strategy to reach agreements. To change the course to take the temperature of a society in a correct way. If it is changed, it has to be for the better, which is what all Ecuadorians hope for, but I would not think it is bad news because we still have to wait for the new minister (or other authorities) to act,” Fernández mentions.
For the specialist, the people who have been considered to be in charge of certain entities should go with the mentality of dialogue, of making alliances. “No I am talking about corruption, I am talking about alliances and it is necessary to reach these agreements so that a positive course can be taken”, he points out.
Fabián Pozo resigns from his position as legal secretary of the Presidency of the Republic
Carpio agrees with this, however, he points out that the president has few options and that the transfers are made “somewhat late.”
“In this case the president has few options because the changes are late. So, there are fewer and fewer options that accept being part of the Government because it is highly unpopular and that implies that many figures are politically burned. My impression is that he is looking for people who are related, in a certain way, and who have been linked to the president or to members of the cabinet. I think that the offer of people who want to accept at a time when the ship is sinking is difficult, the majority are seeking to distance themselves from the Government,” argues Carpio, who envisions a period of “high instability.”
On the other hand, Fernández does not believe that we are at the point where the ship is sinking. “To say that the ship is sunk, not yet, you have to see the implementation of this strategy that the Government is applying to say later if we are sinking. We have to wait”, suggests the professor. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
