Verónica Abad has filed a case against the Ecuadorian president for alleged political gender violence
The complaint of veronica abbot, vice president of Ecuador, against him president Daniel Noboa for alleged political gender violence, tension increases in the political context. On Monday, Abad, also an ambassador in Israel, filed the complaint with the Contentious Electoral Court (TCE).
The complaint also includes the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gabriela Sommerfeld, the vice minister of Government, Esteban Torres, and the presidential advisor Diana Jacome.
Abad assumed her position in November, and shortly afterward she was appointed ambassador to Israel. One of the criticisms facing the Foreign Ministry is its refusal to grant him five days of leave to deal with family and health matters.
The conflict between Noboa and Abad is not new. The tension between the two comes from the electoral campaign for the second round of the 2023 elections. Torres, for his part, had declared that it would be “disastrous” that Abad temporarily replaced Noboa, something that the vice president defends as a constitutional right.
The atmosphere in the TCE has become more complicated after, in an eventful session, its president was removed, Fernando Muñoz, and will be designated Ivonne Coloma as his successor.
Before this meeting, Muñoz warned of interests aimed at taking over the court in view of future elections. On Tuesday, Muñoz described his dismissal as “null and illegal” and filed a complaint with the Prosecutor's Office for usurpation of functions.
Another point of conflict lies in an insinuation made by Jacome in an interview in June, where Abad's priority between his family and political interests was questioned at a complicated time, since his son was imprisoned for an alleged case of influence peddling.
La appointment of a judge to analyze the case against Noboa It is a crucial step in the process, and the ECA will have the duty to decide who will carry out this review. This event occurs at a key moment, since the accusations could impact the preparations and political alignments with a view to the 2025 elections.
The executive has implied that prefers to prevent Abad from assuming presidential functions in the absence of Noboa, who must eventually ask for leave to campaign for re-election.
Thus, Abad's complaint not only highlights the continued friction in the Ecuadorian political sphere, but could also have far-reaching implications for the country's political configuration in the coming years.
The most visible face
In a recent interview with EFE, Abad considered it to be the most visible face of political gender violence in the country: “The political violence has been brutal.”
He said: “I have always been at the forefront of refusing every violent act wherever it comes from: violence against women, against the elderly, against children, against adolescents, against men who are also violated. Violence is the problem and (…) we, as Ecuadorians, must be aware that the formula is not fighting against what we hate, but in reality, saving what we love.”
Abad pointed out that women must be the example of “resilience and resistance” of values, and said that “it is clear that women who do not surrender at his (Noboa's) feet, before his oppressive system, well, obviously, they are taken away. from the side.”
The vice president assured that Noboa maintains an attitude “hostile” towards her, presumably to force her to resign, possibility that he flatly denies.
At the beginning of July, Noboa considered that Abad would resign by his own decision. “She's going to get out on her own, I think”, he said when asked if he was looking to remove her from office. Abad took this statement as “a threat”.
“Historical persecution”
In an excerpt from Abad's complaint, published by former president Rafael Correa (2007-2017) on his X account, the vice president says that Having won the election has been a “condemnation” in her capacity as a woman, mother and politician..
She noted having been “practically exiled to another country, in the middle of a war.”
Abad explained: "They have taken away the security that I deserve and my family deserves for the position I hold, thus putting my life, my integrity and that of my family at risk (...) not happy with this, the Government and its officials are "starts a fierce smear campaign."
Abad spoke with EFE about what he considers a “historical persecution, where an entire public and, obviously institutional, apparatus has been involved with the sole desire to be able to violate our Constitution.”
The vice president says she does not know the reasons for Noboa's distancing: “The president has not been able to say first why the hatred towards his vice president".
Last week, Noboa arranged for Abad to temporarily move to Turkey due to escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Complaint against Abad
Abad also faces a complaint before the TCE for an alleged irregularity in the 2023 local elections, when she was running as a candidate for mayor of Cuenca.
The single oral hearing of evidence and arguments in a case investigating an alleged electoral violation by Abad, scheduled for August 15, was postponed without a date yet to complete the notification process and guarantee the right to defense.
If found guilty, Abad would lose his political rights and would not be able to hold public office.
(With information from EFE)
Source: INFOBAE