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GUEST: Mateo Martinez, political analyst and philosopher, with the Center for the Study of Subaltern Thought, based in Ecuador

Yesterday, Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa announced that he may call a special session of Congress to end a political crisis that has prevented the legislature from meeting. Correa recently approached the nation’s Electoral Tribunal to determine the legality of holding a Constitutional referendum. The Electoral Tribunal approved it, only to have its President voted to be removed by 57 members of the Congress which is dominated by Correa’s opponents. The Tribunal turned around and voted to remove those 57 members for attempting an illegal action. Now Correa has said that he might use his constitutional powers to call a special Congressional session to replace the 57 lawmakers. Earlier this week, twenty of the 57 lawmakers barged their way past police to take their seats in Congress where they denounced the government as a dictatorship. Correa, with the support of the majority of the population, plans to go ahead with an April 15th Constitutional Assembly to re-write the constitution. Correa is Ecuador’s 8th President in the past 10 years.