This Monday (8), Mexico filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice for the invasion of the Mexican embassy in Ecuador. Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena classified the case as “unprecedented” and stated that Rafal Correa’s former vice president, Jorge Glas, continues to be considered a political asylum seeker by the Mexican government.
Faced with the imminent diplomatic crisis between the countries, Bárcena received the delegation from the Mexican embassy in Ecuador and stated that Mexico will not issue any ultimatum against the diplomatic corps or Ecuadorian citizens. “For our part, we are not taking any action nor are we demanding that they leave the facilities in Mexico,” she said.
The return of the Mexican diplomatic corps to Ecuador was requested by the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who broke off diplomatic relations with Ecuador after the invasion of the embassy.
Ecuador police officers used force to invade the Mexican embassy in Quito on Friday (5) and arrest former Ecuadorian vice president Jorge Glas, who had been taking refuge there since December. The invasion occurred on the same day that Mexico granted political asylum to Glas, a decision that deepened diplomatic tension between the two countries.
The Ecuadorian press showed police entering the embassy, while members of the Armed Forces monitored the operation outside. Jorge Glas was sentenced to six years in prison for corruption in a case involving Odebrecht and the Brazilian Lava Jato.
Rafael Correa’s former deputy was convicted of embezzling public money used to rebuild cities hit by an earthquake. But according to the defense, the accusation is the result of lawfare – judicial persecution – against the former vice president. According to the Mexican chancellor, the accusation for alleged corruption by Glas in the Odebretch case “was not valid” and that is why he continues to be considered a political asylum seeker by the Mexican government, which broke diplomatic relations with Ecuador after the episode.
Who is Jorge Glas
Former vice president Jorge Glas, arrested on Friday (5) during a police raid on the Mexican embassy in Quito, governed Ecuador alongside Rafael Correa between May 2013 and November 2017, when he began to face charges corruption after a shift to the right in the country’s government.
The politician was also vice-president at the beginning of Lenín Moreno’s government, with which he broke politically, which led to his expulsion from command of the country.
During the Correa era, Glas was one of the main leaders of the project called “Citizen Revolution”, a coalition with left-wing parties and popular movements that expanded social rights and sought to break with neoliberal economic policy.
During this period, a Constituent Assembly inserted into the Ecuadorian Constitution the guarantee of fundamental rights, including the indigenous population, the promotion of national culture and the appreciation of the country’s sovereignty.
Ecuador also broke with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), renegotiated oil contracts and led the subcontinent’s integration into the Union of South American Nations (Unasul).
Editing: Rodrigo Durão Coelho
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
