QUITO, Ecuador — The political crisis that gave Ecuador three competing presidents appeared to be nearing an end early today as the vice president, Congress and armed forces reached an agreement for a peaceful transition of power.
Details of the agreement were not immediately available. But the consensus appeared to end elected President Abdala Bucaram's bid to stay in power. On Saturday, this country's influential armed forces had withdrawn its support from him and assumed an active role in solving the political crisis.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff met separately with Vice President Rosalia Arteaga, who has declared herself president, and with leaders of the Congress, who Thursday had declared Bucaram mentally incompetent and named Fabian Alarcon interim president.
Military leaders recognized the congressional decision to oust Bucaram but refused to support a successor.
"This would be a civilian dictatorship," Bucaram charged during a news conference in the port of Guayaquil, where he went after violent demonstrations in Quito on Friday.
"The armed forces are not a constitutional tribunal," he said. "They have no reason to name the president. The president is designated by the constitution."
Also Saturday, dripping wet from rain and in shirt sleeves, Bucaram had called for supporters to launch a general strike Feb. 19 unless his two rivals for the presidency join him in talks Wednesday to resolve the constitutional crisis.
The political maneuvering met with public indifference as shops closed early for the four-day Carnaval holiday and people gathered in city parks and the cafes along Avenida Rio Amazonas, Quito's main boulevard.
"This is what always happens in Ecuador," said street vendor Manuel Rames, 55. "It's the same old politicians fighting for power."
Despite Bucaram's threats, the possibility that the popularly elected but increasingly unpopular president--known as "El Loco," the Crazy One--will continue in power appeared increasingly less likely, analysts said. "Bucaram is out," Freddy Ellers, a longtime political rival, flatly stated.
Four Cabinet ministers, including Defense Minister Victor Bayas, a retired general, had resigned since Thursday.
Still, whether the eccentric Bucaram, Arteaga or Alarcon ultimately sits in the presidential palace, Ecuadoreans predicted little difference in their country's future.
