Ecuador in turmoil

Quito

Angry protesters banged pots and pans in the streets of Quito this week and demanded that President Lucio Gutierrez resign. The turmoil erupted after Gutierrez and Congress dissolved Ecuador’s Supreme Court for the second time in four months. Lawmakers in December fired 27 of the 31 judges, calling them too political, then replaced them with their own cronies. The court promptly dismissed corruption charges against two former presidents whose support Gutierrez needed to hold his fragile government together. Protesters said they were tired of such meddling; Gutierrez said there was “no possibility” he would step down.

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