Ecuador legislature moves forward on president’s impeachment

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador’s opposition-led National Assembly has voted to move forward with impeachment proceedings against President Guillermo Lasso over embezzlement allegations, while his defense team argues that the procedure violates the legislative body’s own rules. The vote to move forward with the impeachment process required a majority of lawmakers present, and 88 of the 116 lawmakers at the session voted in favor. The debate came three days after a majority-led legislative committee declined to adopt a report produced by its own members that had cleared Lasso of the allegations. Assemblywoman Viviana Veloz, a member of the opposition, urged lawmakers to allow the process to continue “so that once and for all, it is absolutely clear, this trial has a political nature.”