Assemblywoman from Correa’s País party arrested for corruption

Assemblywoman Esperanza Galván, member of the governing Alianza Pais party, was arrested Sunday for allegedly receiving $800,000 from a company that supplied infrastructure services to the state.

Esperanza G. being arrested Sunday in Quito. Photo credit: El Comercio

Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas, who gave details of the arrest on Monday, said that he had reported the situation last week to the Attorney General’s Office, which also arrested an AP activist identified only as M.S.B. in the northwestern city of Esmeraldas.

The vice president said that the expulsion of Galván and M.S.B. from the AP party will be requested, calling them “traitors” to the process of the Citizens Revolution, which has a “zero tolerance” policy on corruption, according to the daily El Telegrafo in its online addition.

The National Assembly will also be asked to expel the lawmaker, who is under arrest while the investigation is being conducted.

The hearing to present charges will be held in the National Court of Justice, given that Galván occupies a high public office, the AG’s Office said.

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa announced on Sunday during his annual speech discussing the nation’s finances, that in the coming hours “a serious case of corruption in the ranks of the Citizens Revolution” would be made public.

“It fills us with shame. We offer apologies to the country. We will face the political cost,” said the president without providing any further details.