The Head of State’s visit to this European country is part of a series of preparations for his participation in the Summit of the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) to be held in Brussels, Belgium, on 17 July 18 .
At the meeting with Martínez-Almeida, the President used the death cross to defend his decision to dissolve the National Assembly (parliament), ostensibly to resolve the political crisis, although this was done as the legislature was promoting a political process against him.
According to an official statement, Lasso spoke about the ongoing 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 inhabitants on Spanish territory.
The head of the executive branch of the South American state also spoke with the head of government of Madrid, Díaz Ayuso, on issues of cooperation and technical assistance to protect water and combat the El Niño phenomenon.
The President informed both officials of his intention to request a space for free use to set up a House of Ecuador in Spain, a project to spread the culture of the Andean country that can serve as a showcase for tourists and investments.
On the other hand, Lasso gave Ecuadorian citizenship to the writer Sergio Ramírez, one of the people whose citizenship was revoked by the Nicaraguan government for treason against the homeland.
Before leaving for the Spanish capital, Lasso stated that he would hold official meetings there to suspend the Schengen visa requirement for his country’s citizens and that he would travel to the United States after the Brussels summit.
This is the fourth international trip by the head of the Ecuadorian Executive Branch this year.
On this occasion, he leaves the national territory while the country is deep in the electoral campaign ahead of the extraordinary elections called to elect his successor and the members of the assembly, after the ruler himself used crucifixion last May.
lam/avr