Lack of Quorum in Commission Tasked With Ecuador’s UNASUR Withdrawal

The Sovereignty, Integration and International Relations Commission of Ecuador’s National Assembly did not advance Wednesday with the report for the country’s withdrawal from the Union of South American Nations as it didn’t have the required amount of lawmakers. 

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"We don't have to do things on the run. Our position is that this has to be debated," lawmaker Augusto Espinosa from the left-wing Citizens’ Revolution party said as he and another party member, Yofre Poma, refused to join in the meeting. Right-wing legislator Fabricio Villamar also abstained from participating. 

With only five lawmakers present, the president of the Commission, Fernando Flores, from right-wing Creo party, was forced to suspend the meeting. According to the commission’s rules, at least seven of the 12 members of the parliamentary table are needed to begin the process.

On March 11, the government of right-wing Lenin Moreno became the second to formalize its abandonment of the treaty, joining Colombian President Ivan Duque, who on Aug. 27, 2018, made a similar decision. Other conservative and far-right governments such as Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Chile and Peru denounced the treaty soon after. 

However, Ecuador’s withdrawal which was filed in May will not be immediate. According to article 24 of the Constitutional Treaty of Unasur, the pullout will take effect after six months from the date the notification was received by the body. While the Ecuadorean Constitution of 2008 states that leaving international treaties are required to pass through the country's National Assembly.

Once the withdrawal becomes official, its headquarters which are located in Quito on property donated the Rafael Correa administration, will return to state hands, leaving the body without any building. In July 2018, Lenin Moreno announced his plans for the building, where he hopes to create an intercultural university.

UNASUR has promoted regional integration since its creation in Brasilia on May 23, 2008, under the leadership of the Bolivarian revolutionary, Hugo Chavez.