QUITO, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Two Ecuadoran ministers announced on Thursday that they had decided to quit from their positions in the government led by President Guillermo Lasso.
The two outgoing ministers are Juan Carlos Bermeo, minister of energy and non-renewable natural resources, and Bernarda Ordonez, minister-ranking head of the Human Rights Secretariat.
The announcement of resignations, which took place just two days after Defence Minister Luis Hernandez submitted his resignation, came one month before the Lasso-led government completes its first year in office.
The Ecuadoran presidency confirmed the resignations by Bermeo and Ordonez.
Diego Ordonez, an Ecuadoran presidential adviser, told the local television station "Ecuavisa" that there was no cabinet crisis. He said that the resignations were part of a process aimed at strengthening the nation's governing team at the center.
Bermeo, who had served in the cabinet for 10 months, said that it was time for him to return to his private professional activities.
In the letter of resignation, Bermeo said that the ministry in his charge had managed to cement the pillars of management in the energy, hydrocarbon and mining sectors.
According to official sources, Bermeo could be replaced by Xavier Vera, who currently serves as vice minister of mines.
Meanwhile, Ordonez gave up the presidency of the Board of Directors of the Technical Agency for Social Rehabilitation, a governmental organ responsible for making public policies in the area.
Ordonez's resignation came at a time when the South American country's prison system is going through a serious crisis characterized by continuous prison riots since 2021, in which dozens of prisoners had been killed in clashes between rival gangs.
On April 26, Luis Lara was immediately appointed to replace Hernandez as defense minister. ■
