LATAM POLITICS TODAY-Ecuador assembly begins impeachment hearing against President Lasso

Lasso denies the accusation, saying his administration made changes to the contract - which was signed years before he took office - to benefit the state, on advice from Ecuador's comptroller. Brazil's Lula meets with Paraguay President-elect Pena in Brasilia Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday received Paraguayan President-elect Santiago Pena in Brasilia for a meeting. Brazil's government said Lula reaffirmed to Pena his willingness to continue developing the partnership between their countries, eyeing a deeper bilateral relationship and stronger integration between South American nations.

The latest in Latin American politics on Tuesday:

Ecuador assembly begins impeachment hearing against President Lasso QUITO - Ecuador's National Assembly on Tuesday began an impeachment hearing against President Guillermo Lasso, who could be removed from his post, though the process increases the likelihood he will dissolve the legislature to avoid a final vote.

Ninety-two votes from the 137-member assembly are needed to remove Lasso, who opposition politicians say disregarded warnings of embezzlement related to a contract at state-owned oil transportation company Flopec. Lasso denies the accusation, saying his administration made changes to the contract - which was signed years before he took office - to benefit the state, on advice from Ecuador's comptroller.

Brazil's Lula meets with Paraguay President-elect Pena in Brasilia Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday received Paraguayan President-elect Santiago Pena in Brasilia for a meeting.

Brazil's government said Lula reaffirmed to Pena his willingness to continue developing the partnership between their countries, eyeing a deeper bilateral relationship and stronger integration between South American nations. "They talked about some of the main points on the bilateral agenda, including cooperation within the binational Itaipu hydroelectric plant, Mercosur, collaboration in infrastructure projects and the fight against international crimes," Brazil's foreign ministry said.

Brazilian lawmaker proposes to toughen Lula government's new fiscal rules BRASILIA - Brazil's proposed new fiscal rules have been toughened to include sanctions in case of non-compliance with public accounts targets, according to a revised version of a bill presented late on Monday by Claudio Cajado, a member of Congress.

Cajado, who sponsored the bill in the lower house, said in a press conference on Tuesday that the lower house is expected to vote on the bill on May 24, before it is considered in the Senate. The revised text was publicly unveiled following a meeting between Arthur Lira, the speaker in the lower house, and several leaders in Congress, many of whom were pushing for stricter rules to put the brakes on spending by leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government.

Peru to launch stimulus plan to reduce poverty Peru's government will in coming days launch a stimulus plan intended to reduce poverty and invest in port infrastructure, Economy Minister Alex Contreras said, saying there was a need to reverse a trend of increasing poverty.

Peru's economy, hammered earlier in the year by anti-government protests and heavy rainfall, reversed a two months of declines in March but nevertheless shrunk 0.43% year-on-year over the first quarter. Peru's poverty rates meanwhile increased to 27.5% in 2022 from 25.9% the previous year, the country's statistics agency reported recently - still below the 30.1% reached in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. (Compiled by Steven Grattan; Editing by Angus MacSwan)