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El Comercio - Quito - Ecuador | 14 de julio del 2008

The drafting of the Constitution enters its final phase
The House hopes to approve by Wednesday a total of 291 articles of the new Constitution. Today 44 articles will be approved, including on regionalization.

Politcal Report, Montecristi

225 articles approved and 291 constitutional articles that still must be approved in Parliament. With these figures, the National Constituent Assembly from today enters the final stretch in drafting the new Constitution.

In the calculation of Fernando Cordero (Acuerdo Pais), chairman of the Assembly, the time fits perfectly so that the new constitutional framework is ready by July 25..

To meet that deadline, Cordero hopes to apply the same work formula since assuming the reins of the Constituent on June 24. That is, allocating time, include two daily debates of constitutional texts and work on weekends.

This pace of work is imposed despite the questioning of the sectors opposition and minority, as well as the logistical problems that arise.

In fact, last Saturday, minority assembly member Martha Roldós (RED) questioned the second reading of texts on legislative functions. Her argument was that the time limits stipulated by the Rules of Procedure were not respected. In other words, that reports on the articles were not distributed 48 hours before the debate in the plenary.

In parallel, in less than two weeks, the Special Committee on Drafting of the Magna Carta suffered two casualties. The former education minister, Consuelo Yanez Cossío and jurist Fausto Aguirre left that forum for personal reasons, but will continue to work externally.

In this scenario, the work schedule has already set dates. The idea is that by Wednesday all 16 articles of the Constitution will be approved.

These texts will be immediately submitted to the Editorial Committee, which must submit the final draft document by July 18. Between Saturday 19 and Wednesday 23 it is expected that the 130 members of the Constituent will read the contents of the new constitutional framework.

Thursday, July 24 is scheduled the last Plenary session of the Assembly. The aim of this meeting will be to vote on the new constitution.

To that end, each of the 130 members of the assembly will have three minutes to justify their votes.

Thus, this week, the Assembly must approve 276 articles which have not yet been voted on by the House.

In the meantime, yesterday afternoon and night yesterday the Constituent Assembly handled in second reading 76 articles on the Development Scheme, as well as 39 articles about ordinary justice, notary service and registrar and constitutional guarantees (see note attached).

For today, the House of Assembly is scheduled to approve a total of 44 items from four different themes.

These include 11 articles of a contentious nature in Acuerdo Pais: land management, decentralization and autonomy. The assembly of Manabi aspires to include an article allowing the province to become autonomous region without joining other provinces. The meeting will begin at 09:30.

Articles Approved

Economic Sovereignty

These texts will be in the Constitution

Commercial policy

Art. 28

The State shall promote environmentally responsible exports with preference to those that generate higher employment and added value, and in particular exports of small and medium-sized producers and handicraft sector.

Financial System

Art. 29

Financial activities are in the service of public order and may be exercised with prior authorization of State, under the Act. They have the fundamental purpose of preserving deposits and meet funding requirements for achieving the development goals of the country. Financial activities will effeciently intermediate the funds collected to strengthen productive investment and domestic consumption in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.

The State shall promote access to financial services and the democratization of credit. Cartels, anatocismo (?) and usury are prohibited.

The regulation and control of private financial sector will not transfer responsibility for bank solvency (to the state) or assume any guarantee of the state. The managers of financial institutions and those who control its capital will be responsible for its solvency. It forbids freezing or arbitrary or generalized detention of funds or deposits in financial institutions, public or private. The law shall establish the specific cases of withholding funds or deposits.

Art. 30

The domestic financial system is composed of public, private and popular and solidarity, which provide resources to the public. Each of these sectors will have rules and entities specific control and differentiated, which will preserve its security, stability, transparency and solidity. These entities are autonomous. Managers in control of the entities will be responsible administrative, civil and criminally for their decisions, in accordance with the Law.

Art. 31

The public financial sector aims at providing sustainable, efficient, accessible and equitable financial services, to achieve the objectives of the National Development Plan.

Art. 32

The credit extended by public banking will be preferentially oriented to increase productivity and competitiveness of productive sectors to achieve the objectives of the National Development Plan and of the disadvantaged.

*****

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