Ecuador's Lasso says he will use decrees after another legislative defeat

FILE PHOTO: Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso speaks at the inauguration of an extended marine reserve that will encompass 198,000 square kilometers (76,448 square miles), aboard a research vessel off Santa Cruz Island, in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador January 14, 2022. REUTERS/Santiago Arcos/File Photo

QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso said on Tuesday he would use decrees, referendums and other tools to meet his election promise to reactivate the country's struggling economy, bypassing the national assembly, where lawmakers have rejected his proposals.

The comments from the conservative ex-banker came after the assembly last week voted down an investment bill which Lasso's opponents decried as privatization of public assets.