| This'll have an effect on the price of bananas... |
President Lucio Gutierrez declared a state of emergency in the capital city of this Andean nation and dissolved the Supreme Court, saying the unpopular judges were the cause of three days of pot-banging street protests in Quito. Although they had opposed the court that was appointed by the president's congressional allies in December, his political foes immediately labeled its summary dissolution an act of a dictator.
| Jumped right on that, didn't they? They've got a long tradition of El Presidentes doing similar things in that area. I figure a month or two before he goes to visit Hugo... |
Speaking in a televised address to the nation Friday night with his military high command standing behind him, Gutierrez said he was using the powers granted him by the constitution to dismiss the justices. In explaining their dismissal, he said opposition to their appointments was causing the protests. "The measure ... was taken because Congress until now has not resolved the matter of the current Supreme Court, which is generating national commotion," he said. The state of emergency placed the military in charge of public order and suspended individual rights, including the right to free expression and public assembly. Early Saturday, the military command went on television to give its implicit support to Gutierrez. Adm. Victor Hugo Rosero, head of the armed forces, said the only purpose of the state of emergency was "to recover the order, peace and tranquility lost during the last days."
| "We'll shoot a few peons and things'll be fine." |
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