Ecuador President Mulls Dissolving Congress If Impeached

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso has warned that he will trigger a never-before-used clause to dissolve the National Congress if opposition lawmakers try to impeach him on corruption charges.

The banker-turned-politician said in an interview with the Financial Times out Tuesday that he hopes to win over enough legislators when he appears before the leftist-dominated congress in about a month to defend himself against a corruption charge that involves state oil company Flopec.

"The other scenario which I will avoid, because it is not correct ... is the censure of the president," Lasso told the daily, referring to the "mutual death" clause, which will force presidential and congressional elections.

Lasso's approval rating has been at a low 22%, according to recent polls, with drug-related violence named as the top concern by the majority of Ecuadorans.

Reporters Without Borders has also condemned the Ecuadorean president for trying to silence journalists after Lasso accused Ecuadorean media of being in bed with drug-traffickers for reporting on influence-peddling by his brother-in-law, Danilo Carrera, who chairs the board of Lasso’s bank, Banco Guayaquil.