"Constitutions include systems of checks and balances to distribute power between government branches and guarantee accountability mechanisms for higher public officials. They also create relief valves in times of political conflict. The Ecuadorian Constitution of 2008 includes the classical impeachment process and what has been called "muerte cruzada" which allows the president to dissolve the National Assembly (the national legislative body) and call for new elections. The Assembly holds the same capacity but a limited version of it.

Politicians employed these mechanisms in 2022 and 2023. The Assembly tried to apply "muerte cruzada" against the president after the violent repression of protesting citizens in 2022 and initiated an impeachment process on corruption charges in 2023. President Lasso's response was the dissolution of the Assembly. By the end of 2023, Ecuadorians elected a new president and representatives.
Instead of enhancing power control and accountability, politicians are weaponizing the Ecuadorian Constitution against political rivals or to elude legal responsibility for corruption accounts. Amid the recent political conflict, the Constitutional Court was called to police the branches of state and the respect of the Constitution. Still, it could not stop the political and constitutional dispute that has put Ecuador in a severe economic and social crisis. Is the 2022 -2023 phenomena a sight of the future on how politicians will handle their conflicts? Or does the Constitution provide elements to prevent the abuse of the checks and balances mechanisms?"

David Cordero-Heredia, J.S.D. ’18 is an Associate Professor of Law, at Universidad Católica del Ecuador currently visiting Cornell University as Visiting Fellow of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program. He is a Visiting Professor at the Andean University Simón Bolívar (UASB).