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Bribery trial begins against ex-Ecuador leader Rafael Correa
https://www.yahoo.com/news/bribery-trial-begins-against-ex-161825074.htmlQUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Prosecutors opened what some are calling Ecuador’s trial of a century Monday against former President Rafael Correa and 20 other high-ranking politicians and business leaders accused of operating a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme.
If convicted, the man who ruled Ecuador for a decade could be barred from running for office again, ending one of the nation’s most enduring and polemic political legacies.
“His presence carries a lot of weight in Ecuadorean politics,” said Simón Pachano, a professor at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences university. “Whatever happens will have a lot of repercussions in the country.”
The 56-year-old former president is accused of overseeing a plot in which foreign and local businesses made cash payments to his PAIS Alliance political party in exchange for lucrative public works contracts. The payments were allegedly made between 2012 to 2016, years that overlap with Correa’s time in the presidency. He disputes the allegations, which he likens to a political witch hunt.
