In Ecuador, weeks of mass street protests have forced out the country’s president Lucio Gutierrez. On Wednesday the Ecuadorian Congress removed Gutierrez from office and named his vice president — Alfredo Palacio — head of state. Gutierrez attempted to flee the country by helicopter but protesters took over the airport preventing his private jet from departing. Instead Gutierrez took refuge in Brazil’s embassy in Quito and was granted asylum. Gutierrez was elected in 2003 on a largely leftist platform but he has been widely accused of abandoning his campaign promises. Instead of instituting social and economic reforms, he ended up supporting austerity policies drawn up by the International Monetary Fund.