The National Assembly said goodbye between songs and dances

There was also cinnamon liquor, photographs, laughter, applause and even the sound of a bull’s horn of indigenous origin, which served to give farewell to the assembly members that did not enter the new 2013 – 2017 legislative period, especially for its president, Fernando Cordero. That was the last session in the plenary of the National Assembly for the 2009 – 2013 period.

Prior to the celebration, Cordero took 30 minutes to present the work of the legislature during his tenure, in figures. According to his data, between July 2009 and May 2013, the Assembly:

• Made 355 sessions, of which 230 were for calls to plenary sessions.
• Introduced 548 legislative initiatives (476 from the same Assembly, 48 from the Executive, 5 from the Judicial Function, 4 from the Transparency and Social Control, 1 from the Electoral Function, 13 from the Popular Initiative and 1 from the General Attorney’s Office).
• Only had 378 proposals approved by the Legislative Administration Council (CAL for its Spanish acronym), of which 120 were finished and resulted in 71 laws: 64 are published in the Official Gazette, one is waiting to be published and 6 have been fully challenged by the President of the Republic.
• Approved 40 treaties or international instruments.
• Had a budget increase from $ 41 million to $ 74 million, and an increase in public acceptance from 33.9% to 62.8%.

Finally, after Cordero’s accountability, the Plenary of the Assembly literally became a dance floor on which for the first time we could see government and opposition lawmakers put aside their political views, to the rhythm of the music group La Toquilla, which cheered the whole event. But the event did not miss the view of some opponent assembly members that claim the Assembly closes its period and leaves in debt over the lack of control.