Who is he? Ecuador's recently deposed president.
Known for? Eccentric antics.
Known as? El Loco ("The Madman").
Deposed, you say? Yesterday, for mental incompetence. Tried to impose harsh austerity on a poor country.
Born: February 4th, 1952, in the Pacific port of Guayaquil. His father failed to register his birth until February 20th, after a heroic drinking binge.
What's El Loco like? Portly, energetic and proud. The young Abdala excelled at track and field, but failed to make the grade in professional soccer and basketball.
He released a pop single - a Spanish language version of Jail house Rock - after taking office. Appeared flanked by young female back up singers at a concert in Guayaquil, where he warbled 13 original tunes.
A New Man: He told Lorena Bobbitt, famed for knifework on her husband's penis: "You are a person who knows how to defend her, principles and values."
Career high spots: Trained as a lawyer, with a degree in physical education, he started his political career at Guayaquil town hall.
Locals relate how, as a defender of morals, he toured town on his motorcycle, seeking young women in mini skirts. If the skirt's shortness offended him, he personally unstitched the hem to make it longer. "I do whatever the hell I like," he said.
Often accused or drug trafficking and drunkenness, he came to power with support from Indians and the poor.
Last word: Goes to Abdala: "I deserve to be called a madman, in so much as I am a passionate man who loves his people blindly, but I am a man with a lot of common sense.