Ana Lucía Armijos

Ana Lucía Armijos

Ecuadorian Ambassador to Spain
In office
1999–2000
Ecuadorian Ministry of Economy and Finance
In office
February 15, 1999 – 1999
Preceded by Fidel Jaramillo
Succeeded by Alfredo Arízaga
Ecuadorian Ministry of the Interior
In office
August 1998 – February 15, 1999
President Jamil Mahuad
Preceded by Edgar Rivadeneyra Orcés
Succeeded by Vladimiro Álvarez
President of the Monetary Junta of Ecuador
In office
July 15, 1993 – 1996
President of the Central Bank of Ecuador
In office
August 25, 1992 – July 15, 1993
Personal details
Born (1949-10-13) October 13, 1949
Quito
Nationality  Ecuador
Father Rafael Armijos
Alma mater Catholic University of Ecuador
Occupation Economist

Ana Lucía Armijos Hidalgo (born 13 October 1949) is an Ecuadorian politician and economist. She was the first female Ecuadorian Minister of the Interior.

Biography

Ana Lucía Armijos was born on 13 October 1949 to former Colonel and conservative politician Rafael Armijos in Quito.[1] She completed her high school studies at Stellman College, where she achieved one of the best academic careers in that school's history. She graduated from the Catholic University of Ecuador as an economist and completed a Master's degree in economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and then her graduate studies in economic theory and development at the University of Mississippi. Armijos worked for some years as a professor at the Catholic University of Ecuador and held positions in the Central Bank of Ecuador such as analyst and numerous directorial and managerial positions. She was also a macroeconomist for the operational division of the World Bank's West African department.[2]

Presidency of Sixto Durán Ballén

On 25 August 1992, she was inaugurated President of the Central Bank of Ecuador by Sixto Durán Ballén. However, she began to experience difficulties with the president of the Ecuadorian Monetary Board, Roberto Baquerizo, which made the future of either organization uncertain until the departure of Baquerizo and appointment of Armijos to his post on 15 July 1993.[2]

During the impeachment of Alberto Dahik over trials of embezzlement, Armijos became a vocal defender of Dahik and caused some controversy when she said "a loss for the country, where there are not many smart men" after his flight from Ecuador to Costa Rica. Later, it would be indicated that she was one of many possible aspirants to the office of Vice President.[2]

On 30 May 1997, Carlos Solórzano, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Justice of Ecuador, issued an arrest warrant for Armijos in the case of Banco Continental on accusations that she as president of the Monetary Board approved a 200 million dollar bailout of Continental.[2][3] Armijos went into hiding for exactly a year, as the new Chief Justice, Héctor Romero Parducci, declared her innocent of the charges leveled against her in May 1998.[2]

Presidency of Jamil Mahuad

In August 1998, Jamil Mahuad appointed Armijos Minister of the Interior, making her the first woman to hold this position.[4] During her term, she proposed the creation of a national council of governors.[2]

On 15 February 1999, Armijos was appointed Minister of Economy and Finance to replace Fidel Jaramillo, who had resigned in protest to the Capital Movement Tax, also known as the "1% Tax."[5] On 11 March, Armijos and President Mahuad made the decision to declare a bank holiday that would freeze the deposits of everyone in Ecuador in response to the financial crisis then facing the country.[6][7] This provoked the incineration of the alliance between the Social Christian Party and the ruling Democracia Popular party and calls were made to impeach Armijos,[8] with Víctor Hugo Sicouret raising a lawsuit over the holiday and Jaime Nebot requesting the Constitutional Congress place sanctions on Armijos.[5] By the end of August, she resigned after securing the support of the International Monetary Fund for Ecuador's foreign debts.[9] She was soon sent out of the country, being appointed the Ecuadorian Ambassador to Spain, and her former position passed to Alfredo Arízaga.[10]

Later life and persecution

In July 2000, she and former president Jamil Mahuad were accused by Víctor Granda and Napoleón Gómez Real of violating the constitution and, days later,[11] had arrest warrants issued on them by the Supreme Court of Justice of Ecuador.[6][12] Armijos fled to the United States and was granted political asylum there.[13]

In June 2006, Armijos and Mahuad had their charges lifted by the second chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice, who asserted that they did not have enough evidence to actually arrest them,[11] but they would disregard this decision and reopen the case in December 2012.[14]

Citations

  1. ↑ Cuvi 2002, p. 72.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "La vida de Ana Lucía Armijos en 1.471 palabras". Hoy (in Spanish). 26 June 1999. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  3. ↑ "Tras 19 años, el Continental deberá pagar $ 191 millones". El Telégrafo (in Spanish). 25 March 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  4. ↑ "ECUADOR: Mujeres y técnicos en el nuevo gobierno". Inter Press Service (in Spanish). 6 August 1998. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Ministros de Economía y Finanzas 1998-2002". El Universo (in Spanish). 25 June 2002. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Ecuador: Ordenan detener a ex presidente Mahuad". EMOL (in Spanish). 13 July 2000. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "Mahuad, libre". La Hora (in Spanish). 7 June 2006. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  8. ↑ Ordóñez, Vicente (2 January 2003). "Aplanadora aprobó salvataje bancario". El Universo (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  9. ↑ "Los personajes alrededor de la dolarización de Jamil Mahuad". El Comercio (in Spanish). 30 September 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  10. ↑ "FMI Respalda Plan Económico de Ecuador". El Mercurio (in Spanish). 28 August 1999. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  11. 1 2 "Mahuad y Armijos pueden volver, al archivarse el juicio por crisis bancaria". El Universo (in Spanish). 7 June 2006. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  12. ↑ Reynold, James (14 July 2000). "Ecuador seeks arrest of ex-president". BBC. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  13. ↑ "Noboa, el séptimo en huir". La Hora (in Spanish). 5 August 2003. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  14. ↑ "Gobierno ecuatoriano insistirá en 'difusión roja' para traer a Jamil Mahuad al país". El Universo (in Spanish). 4 November 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2016.

Bibliography

  • César Raúl Robalino Gonzaga; Ana Lucía Armijos; Augusto de la Torre (1994). The Ecuador Brady Deal. Translation and Interpretation Services, Division of the World Bank.

References

  • Cuvi, Pablo (2002). No hay metas inalcanzables (Illustrated ed.). Dinediciones. ISBN 9978954244.
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