The president had no choice but to close the Assembly and call early elections, after two years of dealing with a rebellious legislative majority whose only goal was to make him unsuccessful. A government that cannot work normally is a dead weight for economic movement, and thus for the prosperity of citizens: the public sector makes up two fifths of the national economy. The other three fifths, the private economy, the Government has subjected to such procedures that if the authorities are not agile, they stop it.

Sending this ill-fated Assembly home is good for the progress of the country, but, on the other hand, now there remains an open election period which we think ended with the inauguration of the mayor, it would last until November, when the president who will finish the presidential term, as well as the new convocation of the Assembly; but almost immediately the campaign for the new period will begin. This lack of political stability creates uncertainty, and in uncertainty, citizens, companies and foreign investors slow down their investment decisions until they see the future more clearly.

The President declares that in these four months he will accelerate his activities in order to do what he planned to do in the next two years. And that he does what was pending from the previous two years, we estimate. Let’s hope he can do it, since he rules over a bureaucracy of correistas, which frustrates his initiatives.

The most important step to take is a major offensive against organized crime. The police and military intelligence should already know who the perpetrators of the attack on Mayor Chonillo are and bring them to justice. Big bosses must start falling.

Second, unlock the provision of public services. Solve the shortage of medicines in public hospitals now and put an end to long queues for obtaining an ID card or passport.

Finances will have to redirect funds to rebuild the infrastructure destroyed by the rains and the earthquake. This could be done together with the prefectures that have the funds.

These actions would change the bad image of the Government, and Guillermo Lasso, the only candidate who is already campaigning for the elections on August 20, would take the lead for their victory.

With a special rope, Lasso can issue laws of an economic nature. It is an opportunity to adopt structural reforms that do not require social agreement. It would be unwise to send the labor law. The tax reform was the first legal decree, followed soon by the one on free zones. Later, they will be able to go to investments and the stock market. They should not be controversial. We hope that the Constitutional Court will not stop the process.

Lasso must demand that his ministers unlock social programs promised in the campaign, such as subsidized loans for small farmers, as well as large pending private investments: the construction of a new high-tech refinery unit; search for hydrocarbons in the gulf.

With all of the above, Lasso, if he wins, could complete his mandate to the end, counting on structural reforms and a more dynamic economy thanks to greater private investments in infrastructure. (OR)