In recent weeks, the lawfare waged against Ecuador’s former president Rafael Correa reached new levels of viciousness — and desperation. On July 20, Ecuador’s national court ratified its previous decision sentencing Correa to eight years in prison in the “Bribes Case,” alleging that the left-wing president had operated a web of corruption during his time in government.

This came only the day after a decision by the National Electoral Council and the comptroller general, Pablo Celi — each aligned to Lenín Moreno’s neoliberal government — to deregister Correa’s electoral front and block it from participating in the 2021 general election. Last week, this decision was itself overturned by the Electoral Contention Court, but further legal moves against the party are expected.

Despite the Moreno regime’s eagerness to bend electoral laws and legal proceedings in order to thwart the country’s most popular leader, Correa’s own core of supporters has remained intact. July 8 saw the birth of a new coalition that incorporated the leaders and supporters of his Citizens’ Revolution, together with other forces opposed to the Moreno regime. Since its launch four weeks ago, this Unión por la Esperanza (Unity for Hope) coalition has attracted social movements, smaller left-wing organizations, indigenous groups, and students’ and women’s collectives under its banner.