President of Ecuador meets with Madrid mayor

Madrid, Jul 14 (Prensa Latina) Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso held meetings in Spain today with the mayor of the capital, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, and with the head of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, both from the right-wing People's Party.

July 14, 2023
14:12

The visit of the Head of State in this European nation is part of a scale prior to his participation in the European Union-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) summit, which will be held in Brussels, Belgium, on the 17th and 18th of July.

In the meeting with Martínez-Almeida, the president defended his decision to dissolve the National Assembly (Parliament) with the death cross, supposedly to resolve the political crisis, although it occurred when the Legislature was promoting a political trial against him.

According to an official statement, Lasso spoke about the permanent international cooperation between the Government of Ecuador and the mayor’s office of Madrid, where around 93,000 Ecuadorians live, out of the 430,000 residents in Spanish territory.

The head of the Executive of the South American nation also spoke with the leader of the Madrid government, Díaz Ayuso, on matters of cooperation and technical assistance to protect water and face the El Niño phenomenon.

The president told both officials his intention to request a space for free use to install a House of Ecuador in Spain, a project to disseminate the culture of the Andean country and that can serve as a tourist and investment showcase.

On the other hand, Lasso handed over Ecuadorian citizenship to the writer Sergio Ramírez, one of the people whose nationality was withdrawn by the Government of Nicaragua for treason against the Homeland.

Before leaving for the Spanish capital, Lasso commented that he will hold official meetings there in order to suspend the obligation of the Schengen visa for citizens of his country and, after the summit in Brussels, he will travel to the United States.

This is the fourth international trip of the head of the Ecuadorian Executive so far this year.

On this occasion, his departure from the national territory occurs when the country is immersed in the campaign prior to the extraordinary elections called to elect his successor and the assembly members, after the ruler himself applied the cross death last May .

ef/lam/avr