The aged man, shackled and sitting in the back of a police van, is far from the neat, successful and powerful man who, in the shadow of the charismatic and overwhelming Rafael Correa, ran Ecuador for more than a decade, between 2007 and 2018. His life in the last year has been a pendulum between the possibility of returning to the upper echelons of power or ending up in a maximum security prison, surrounded by gang leaders. This is his destiny for now. Luck has not smiled on him, although he almost did. This week, Mexico considered him politically persecuted and granted him asylum status, which allowed him to take refuge in that country from the three cases of corruption for which he is persecuted in Ecuador. However, in an event for which there is little precedent, the Ecuadorian president, Daniel Noboa, ordered the assault of the Mexican embassy in Quito and the immediate arrest of Glas. This despite the diplomatic consequences that the violation of the right to asylum can cause.
The image of defeat that now accompanies Glas like a black cloud is new. In April 2022, when he left prison for the first time after serving 1,645 days, he appeared fresh like Julio Iglesias and with a different look: earring in his ear, hair combed back, navy blue suit and glasses. Correísta followers were waiting for him at the door with flags and t-shirts with his face printed on them. The judge granted him pre-release for health reasons. That did not stop the former vice president from re-engaging in public life. Correa thought of him as a candidate for the 2023 presidential elections, a risky move that ultimately did not happen because they thought that the Ecuadorian justice system would end up disqualifying him. His purpose then was to remain in the background, like when he served Correa and managed oil, the main source of financing that brought prosperity to the country during that period.
Glas has earned a reputation among his people as a loyal, one-piece man. He did not accept any of the deals that the Prosecutor's Office offered him in exchange for ratting out his party colleagues or Correa, the real big shot that the authorities were after. Glas and Correa consider themselves persecuted by their opponents, who now hold power. The two planned to regain the Government in 2023 and help each other through intermediaries to improve their judicial situation, but a deep security crisis gave the advantage to Noboa, a candidate who came out of nowhere who now governs with an iron fist. Glas has been silent all this time. He can be considered anything but a traitor.
The politician comes from the middle class of Guayaquil. Born on September 13, 1969, he is the eldest of three children in a family abandoned by his father when he was a child. In the midst of economic difficulties, he continued his studies until he graduated as an electrical engineer, although in reality he wanted to be a doctor. He trained in a Salesian center and participated in the boy scout group, where he met Rafael Correa, who was his troop leader. Beyond having similar interests, both were also united by a complicated relationship with their parents. Their mothers are called Norma.
Correa went to study abroad and Glas abandoned his dream of being a doctor to work and help at home. They never stopped being in contact. Glas became an interviewer for a television program on a small local channel owned by his uncle Ricardo Rivera, who was also prosecuted for corruption for having received irregular government contracts when his nephew was in power. Correa was one of his recurring guests on the talk show. According to Glas, from there they began to “fight together over certain issues.”
When Correa became president, he called his old friend to ask his opinion on an issue related to telecommunications and the Solidarity Fund, an institution independent of any ministry. This served as a savings account in cases of emergencies such as natural events and disasters. It fed on the country's oil surpluses. Glas' recommendation was to close this “den of corruption of all governments.”
Correa appointed him director of the fund with the objective of liquidating it. From there he began his rise, until he became the super minister in charge of all the strategic enterprises of the State. Glas was responsible for public policy on oil resources, mines, electricity, telecommunications and water. He was the right-hand man of the president, who chose him as his running mate in his last term. In 2016 he appointed him responsible for reconstruction projects in two provinces affected by a 7.8 earthquake that left more than 600 dead. Glas had to manage nearly 3 billion dollars obtained through a temporary increase in taxes on Ecuadorians, donations and loans. This in the midst of an economic crisis that reduced the president's popularity.
In that case, called Reconstruction, a judge issued an arrest warrant against Glas for the alleged crime of embezzlement. The former vice president affirms that this is an unfounded accusation. The politician fled to a territory that seemed safe to him. He wasn't.
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