Ecuadorean indigenous groups hold leadership ceremony for Lasso

TAMBOLOMA, Ecuador (Reuters) - Hundreds of indigenous Ecuadoreans on Wednesday held a traditional ceremony to recognize the leadership of President Guillermo Lasso, a former banker who has vowed to work with the politically influential native peoples.

Lasso, 65, was received in the Andean province of Tungurahua by Quichua indigenous groups who gave him a decorated wooden pole known as a "baton of command" as well as the symbols of hierarchy including a whip and a traditional red poncho.