Not Exactly a Done Deal

Lúcio Gutierrez's departure fromEcuador to asylum in Brazil is not yet a done deal as the government of Ecuador (which despite my distaste for Gutierrez, certainly has its own legitimacy problems) is not going to grant him safe passage just yet:

"Brazil, which considers him an asylum candidate, has granted asylum, but we cannot grant safe passage for now," Antonio Parra Gil, the foreign minister, said in comments carried by Ecuadorean news media. "We, before making whatever decision, are going to analyze the situation."

As for Abdalá Bucaram, the former president who proudly refers to himself as crazy and who was behind some of the machinations that led to the current crisis, can you say "rat deserting a sinking ship?"

Mr. Bucaram, 53, a flamboyant leader who as president recorded a CD called "Madman in Love," earlier this week sounded supremely confident that his legal troubles were over thanks to Mr. Gutiérrez and the interim court.

"I'm a happy man," he said in an interview in his home, calling the court the best Ecuador had had in 40 years.

But with Mr. Gutiérrez's government gone, Mr. Bucaram quickly abandoned his home and is believed to have fled the country.

Well, Ecuador is certainly better for that. Not so the country whose citizens may be subjected to this:

Last year, Bucaram took to the stage to promote his CD, dancing with scantily-clad women as he belted out ''Jailhouse Rock'' in Spanish.

The horror, the horror!