Abdalá Bucaram

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Abdalá Bucaram
President of Ecuador
In office August 10, 1996 – February 9, 1997
Vice President(s)	Rosalía Arteaga
Preceded by	Sixto Durán Ballén
Succeeded by	Rosalía Arteaga
Born	February 20, 1952 Guayaquil , Ecuador
Political party	Ecuadorian Roldosist Party (PRE)

Abdalá Jaime Bucaram Ortiz (born February 20, 1952 in Guayaquil) is an Ecuadorian lawyer and politician, He was also a sprinter in the 1972 Olympic team, the police chief of Guayas and the president of Barcelona Sporting Club, a soccer team from his hometown.

Bucaram is the son of Lebanese immigrants. He grew up playing soccer in the streets of Guayaquil and later went on to become a successful athlete and earn a degree in physical education. besides being a gym teacher, he earned a degree in law and soon began his political career. He used to live in Kennedy Norte, a neighborhood next to the former Simón Bolívar International Airport before he escaped to Panama.

Contents 1 Family Political Background 2 Early Political Years 3 1996 Presidential Campaign 4 Time as President 5 Present life-Death 6 Interesting facts 7 External links 8 References

[edit] Family Political Background

He was the nephew of the politician Azad Bucaram, who was mayor of Guayaquil. His sister, Marthta Bucaram, was married to former President Jaime Roldós, both of whom were killed in an aviation accident.

[edit] Early Political Years

He was Former Mayor of Guayaquil, also the founder and member of the Partido Roldista Ecuatoriano (PRE). (http://www.viviendolademocracia.org/pre.htm)

[edit] 1996 Presidential Campaign

Candidate Abdala Bucaram Ortiz was elected as President of Ecuador. Although Bucaram defeated Social Cristiano Party candidate Jaime Nebot by a slim margin of approximately 20,000 votes, he managed to win all but one of the 21 provinces. The elections marked the end of a tight race in which Bucaram was frequently criticized for spending more time singing and dancing at campaign rallies than talking about issues. But in the end, Bucaram's rallying cry, "Primero los Pobres! (First the Poor)" turned out to be the decisive factor. In a country where over 65% of the population lives in poverty, and where every citizen by law must vote, it was clear that the candidate who successfully appealed to the poor would have the advantage.

During the campaign, Bucaram displayed an uncanny ability to talk to different people in different-even contradictory ways. Whether he was bare-chested in coastal cities promising a better tomorrow as he poured beer down his throat, wearing a stiff suit as he talked calmly to Quito businessmen, or pledging brotherhood as he danced with indigenous groups in El Oriente, Bucaram made many people feel as if he was one of them.

[edit] Time as President

Abdalá Bucaram was President from August 10, 1996 to February 6, 1997. His cabinet was put together by the Vice President Rosalia Arteaga. Within months he was accused of embezzling millions of dollars of public funds, causing him to be dismissed from the Ecuadorian presidency by the congress on grounds of alleged "incapacidad mental" (mental disability). Congress passed the measure with a simple majority instead of the two thirds required by the Constitution, and appointed congressional leader Fabián Alarcón in his place, bypassing the sitting Vice President Rosalia Arteaga.

This caused a constitutional crisis during which both were sworn in as President. Finally Congress requested that the army to assert Alarcón's power.

[edit] Present life-Death

He exiled to Panama City on corruption charges until Saturday, April 2, 2005, after the corruption charges were lifted on Friday. He was in Guayaquil for about two and a half weeks. The corruption charges against him were reinstated after Lucio Gutiérrez was forced to leave the presidential palace in Quito. He went back into exile in Panama City, without a date to return because of the charges that he still has.

[edit] Interesting facts

• Abdalá Bucaram, self-styled “loco”, or madman, of Ecuadorean politics.
• On Ecuadorian TV interviews, Bucaram has said he likes cow-stomach (guatita) soup, playing guitar and playing basketball.
• While officially visiting Peru during his presidency, Bucaram showed up on TV eating ceviche with Alberto Fujimori, both wearing alpaca-hair hoods.
• He held both the presidency of Ecuador and that of Barcelona Sporting Club simultaneously. He planned to hire Diego Maradona for the soccer team before its deprivation.
• Releasing his own CD, "A Crazy Man Who Loves", ("el loco que ama") after winning the presidency.
• Inviting Lorena Bobbitt, the Ecuadorian woman who severed her husband's penis, to lunch at the national palace.
• Calling an ex-president "burro" (donkey) and later apologizing for having insulted donkeys.
• Shaving off his mustache on live television for raising money for the "Teletón".
• Serenading the winner of the World Banana Queen (Reina Mundial del Banano) Contest.

[edit] External links

• Extended biography (in Spanish) by CIDOB Foundation

[edit] References

1. Google News - Bucaram
2. MSN Search News: Bucaram

Preceded by Sixto Durán Ballén

President of Ecuador 1996-1997

Succeeded by Rosalía Arteaga