In December 2004, Gutiérrez alleged that the Supreme Court of Justice was biased in favor of the PSC. His political party, PSP, together with the Institutional Renewal Party of National Action (Partido Renovador Institucional de Acción Nacional/PRIAN) of Álvaro Noboa, the Ecuadorian Roldosist Party (Partido Roldosista Ecuatoriano/PRE) of Abdalá Bucaram, independents, and MPD, voted in the Congress for the reorganization of the Supreme Court of Justice via majority resolution. His adversaries sustained that the Constitution gives autonomy to the judicial branch and does not authorize Congress to interfere in the judiciary by removing or nominating judges. Judges were replaced by allies to PRE, PRIAN and PSP political parties with the clear intention of dropping criminal charges against former president Abdalá Bucaram, accused of several acts of corruption during his presidency which led to his exile in Panama from 1997 until April 2005.