The Diplomat
King Philip VI attended yesterday in Quito the acts of transmission of the presidential command to the new president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso Mendoza, who succeeds Lenín Moreno after his victory in the elections of last April 11.
Apart from the King of Spain, four other heads of state and at least eight foreign ministers participated in Lasso’s inauguration. The presidents of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro; Colombia, Iván Duque; Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader; and Haiti, Jovenel Moise, were also among the top leaders.
The ceremony was also attended by the former Prime Minister José María Aznar; and the current leader of the PP, Pablo Casado, both invited by Guillermo Lasso, with whom they have a close relationship, especially since they both travelled to Ecuador some ten years ago to support his race for the Presidency of the country against the left-wing Rafael Correa.
This is the fifth participation of Philip VI in the inauguration of an Ibero-American president since he has been King, as he already attended in December 2018 that of the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador; in June 2019, that of the president of Panama, Laurentino Cortizo; in March 2020, that of the president of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou; and in November 2020, that of the president of Bolivia, Luis Arce.
As regards Ecuador, attended, as Prince of Asturias, the investitures of Abdalán Bucaram (1996), Jamil Mahuad (1998), Lucio Gutiérrez (2003) and Rafael Correa (2013 and 2009). The investiture of Lenín Moreno (2017) was attended by the then president of Congress, Ana Pastor. Philip VI also visited Ecuador in October 2012 together with Doña Letizia, when they were Prince and Princess of Asturias.
The King arrived in Ecuador on Sunday afternoon, accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya. Upon his arrival at Quito’s Mariscal Sucre-Tababela International Airport, the King was received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador, Manuel Mejía. Later, he was transferred to the Hilton Colon Quito Hotel, where he held a meeting with Guillermo Lasso, accompanied by Minister Gonzalez Laya and the Spanish Ambassador to Ecuador, Elena Madrazo Hegewisch.
Late in the afternoon, Philip VI went to the Carondelet Palace, where he held a meeting with the outgoing President of the Republic of Ecuador, Lenín Moreno. In the evening, the King and the Foreign Minister attended the dinner hosted by Moreno in honor of the heads of state and government and the delegations attending the ceremony.
King began yesterday with a meeting with a representation of the Spanish community in Ecuador, at the residence of the Spanish Ambassador in the country. Before the meeting Philip VI spoke with the children of Dany Fernando Ayo, driver of the Consulate, and Maria Aurelia Lilian Torres, administrative assistant of the Consulate, both deceased by COVID-19.
After the meeting with the Spanish community, the King went to the National Assembly, where he attended the Solemn Ceremony of Transmission of the Presidential Command, which consisted of the entrance of the National Standard, the interpretation of the National Anthem of the Republic of Ecuador, the speech of the President of the National Assembly and the swearing in of Guillermo Lasso as President of Ecuador. Subsequently, the imposition of the Presidential Sash and the Grand Collar of the National Order of Merit, the reading and signing of the Presidential Decree by which Lasso assumes the Presidency, the swearing in of the Vice President of the Republic of Ecuador, Alfredo Borrero, and the speech of the new President Guillermo Lasso took place.
