Ecuador's ousted leader besieged
Brazil grants asylum to Gutierrez
From CNN Correspondent Karl Penhaul
QUITO, Ecuador (CNN) -- Protesters chanting "Killer, killer, killer!" besieged the Brazilian ambassador's home in Quito Friday in an effort to prevent Ecuador's ousted president Lucio Gutierrez from fleeing the country.
The Brazilian government said Thursday it had granted political asylum to Gutierrez, who was elected to Ecuador's presidency in 2002 but toppled from power Wednesday after a week of violent street protests.
Gutierrez's opponents want him to stand trial in Ecuador on corruption charges. Late last year, Gutierrez replaced Supreme Court judges with his supporters in an effort to avoid impeachment proceedings for corruption.
"If he tries to get out of here he's getting this tomato. Me and all the other people will see to that. He deserves to be shot," said one protester -- part of a small but vociferous group -- outside the Brazilian embassy residence.
Other protesters emptied trash sacks at the feet of riot police guarding the entrance to the residence. One woman shouted: "If (Brazilian) President Lula wants to take that trash Gutierrez, then let him take this trash too."
Others hammered on saucepans, a traditional form of protest in Latin America, and called "no impunity," backing calls for Gutierrez to face trial in Ecuador.
Brazilian Ambassador Sergio Florencio Sobrinho said Gutierrez was in the residence waiting for a flight to Brazil, The Associated Press reported.
But after a meeting with government officials Thursday night, the ambassador said Ecuador was not yet ready to grant permission for Gutierrez to leave.
When Gutierrez attempted to leave hours after his ouster Wednesday, crowds blocked Quito airport, preventing any flights from landing or taking off.
In an afternoon press conference, Ecuador's newly appointed foreign minister Antonio Parra said Ecuador was "obliged" to give Gutierrez a safe-conduct pass allowing him to leave the country. He did not say when that permit may be issued or specify arrangements for getting Gutierrez out safely given the angry protests.
Ecuadorean TV played an interview given via cell phone purporting to be from Gutierrez -- which if confirmed as genuine would be his first comments since the ouster. In the remarks, he blamed his ouster on Ecuador's power elites and said the move was unconstitutional.
Thousands of demonstrators had flocked onto Quito's streets day and night for a week. The police and military publicly withdrew backing for the president, leaving the way open for Congress to hold a vote that declared Gutierrez had "abandoned his responsibilities."
The demonstrators seemed to be drawn from across Ecuador's deep social divide, mixing working and middle classes, housewives, students, native indigenous inhabitants and merchants.
The European Union issued a statement Friday, saying it is "deeply concerned about the unstable political and social situation in Ecuador." The statement said the EU appeals to "the government and to political forces to find a peaceful, consensual and negotiated solution to the present crisis, so as to bring about a rapid return to constitutional normality."
According to the CIA factbook, Gutierrez's successor Alfredo Palacio becomes Ecuador's 10th president in a decade, underscoring the country's highly unstable democracy. Independent watchdog group Transparency International ranks Ecuador as one of the most corrupt nations in the region.
Allegations of corruption against Gutierrez, coupled with his harsh economic reforms that critics say fueled poverty and his strengthening ties with the United States, especially in terms of military aid, were all factors driving the protests against him.
On the streets Friday, some demonstrators suggested Palacio should stop servicing Ecuador's foreign debt in order to introduce social reforms aimed at reducing chronic poverty. Others said ordinary citizens should form neighborhood assemblies, or councils, in order to choose new leaders untainted with past political wrongdoings.
Graffiti artists in the capital, meanwhile, had their own suggestions. One message scrawled across a wall read: "Everybody out." Another said: "Sponge Bob For President."
The Organization of American States has asked Ecuador's new government to explain how Congress concluded the president needed to be removed from office.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
