On January 13, 2003, former coronel Lucio Gutierrez was sworn into power as president of Ecuador. A principal actor in the overthrow of former President Jamil Mahuad in 2000 alongside the indigenous movement, Gutierrez styled himself as a president of the left, and was elected on a platform of change. Following deals made with the IMF, the development of close ties with the Bush Administration in Washington, allegations of corruption, the dissolution of the Supreme Court to appoint members of his own party, and his authorization of the April 5 return of ex-President Abdala Bucaram, who like Mahuad was ousted in 1997. The April 2 return of Bucaram from his exile in Panama was the tipping point, as Quito and the country rose up. Thousands of citizens took to the streets, demanding Gutierrez be removed from power.