Rosalia Artegia

Congress selected its own leader, Fabian Alarcon, as interim president in a move aimed at ending a weeklong political crisis. Alarcon, who received the presidential sash in a swearing-in ceremony, is to call elections within 12 months and govern until August 1998. Flamboyant former President Abdala Bucaram, who calls himself El Loco, or "the crazy one," was sacked Thursday by Congress for "mental instability."

Congress selected its own leader, Fabian Alarcon, as interim president in a move aimed at ending a weeklong political crisis. Alarcon, who received the presidential sash in a swearing-in ceremony, is to call elections within 12 months and govern until August 1998. Flamboyant former President Abdala Bucaram, who calls himself El Loco, or "the crazy one," was sacked Thursday by Congress for "mental instability."