Quote of note

After the purge, the president stacked the court with his allies. In his speech Friday suspending civil liberties, the president also dismissed all 31 of the high court's justices in a concession to the opposition.

The president of Congress announced Saturday night that there would be a special session today to discuss the law covering the appointment of Supreme Court justices and the future composition of the court.

In his televised message Friday, Gutierrez said he was dissolving the court because it had been constituted only as a temporary measure and it was time to move on. "Beloved people of Ecuador, let's now leave everything in God's hands," he said.

Ecuadoreans Defy Suspension of Civil Liberties; Decree Lifted
President Gutierrez issued the order after three nights of protests against his rule, but thousands disobey with demonstrations.

By Héctor Tobar and Orlando Pérez
Special to The Times
April 17, 2005

QUITO, Ecuador   After thousands of protesters took to the streets Saturday in defiance of a state of emergency he had imposed the day before, President Lucio Gutierrez yielded to the demonstrators and lifted the decree.

Gutierrez suspended civil liberties in this capital city late Friday after three nights of protests against his rule. On Saturday, the order was largely ignored. The mayor of Quito, a key opposition leader, called on residents to disobey the state of emergency, which suspended freedom of speech and the right to assembly.

"The people cannot live as they are today, in a dictatorship," Mayor Paco Moncayo said. "Instead of correcting his mistakes, the president has only created more chaos."

Opposition to Gutierrez, a former army colonel, has grown since December, when the president and his congressional allies purged the Supreme Court of justices who had supported a failed attempt to have him impeached on corruption charges.

After the purge, the president stacked the court with his allies. In his speech Friday suspending civil liberties, the president also dismissed all 31 of the high court's justices in a concession to the opposition.

The president of Congress announced Saturday night that there would be a special session today to discuss the law covering the appointment of Supreme Court justices and the future composition of the court.

In his televised message Friday, Gutierrez said he was dissolving the court because it had been constituted only as a temporary measure and it was time to move on. "Beloved people of Ecuador, let's now leave everything in God's hands," he said.

Gutierrez said he was suspending civil guarantees "because of the state of internal commotion" caused by the demonstrations, which on Friday saw 15,000 residents of Quito banging pots and pans in a traditional form of middle-class protest.

Ecuador's top military commanders appeared together on television early Saturday to back the move.

"The state of emergency decree is not an attack on any citizen. It does not seek to pit brother against brother," said Vice Adm. Victor Hugo Rosero, the head of Ecuador's joint chiefs of staff. "Its only purpose is to recover the order and peace lost in these last days."

But Vice President Alfredo Palacio denounced Gutierrez for having made the country a "dictatorial state." At midday Saturday, about 10,000 protesters gathered on Shyris Avenue in northern Quito and other points to defy the state of emergency.

"This government has violated all of our rights as citizens," said Gabriela Espinoza, 23, who held a sign that said "Fuera Lucio!" (Lucio out).

Many of the demonstrators waved Ecuadorean flags and drove the city streets honking horns.

"I never imagined I would see this many people out on the streets and that they would keep it up for so many days," said Santiago Proaño, a 40-year-old businessman who came to the demonstration with his two sons.

Police and military forces largely ignored the protesters, although there was a strong military presence near some government buildings. There were no reports of arrests.