Ecuador: Correa vows to ‘radicalise revolution’

In the aftermath of a failed coup attempt on September 30, left-wing Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has vowed to deepen his “citizen’s revolution” in the small Andean country.
 

After the coup attempt by sections of the police and armed forces failed amid pro-government protests, Correa’s approval rate has surged as high as 75% in some polls.

In response, Correa, stating his government had not done enough to implement its pro-people program and would radicalise its project to build a “socialism of the 21st century”.

This call was echoed by Ecuador’s National Secretary of Planning and Development Rene Ramirez, who said after the coup: “We want to have a much more progressive government, more turned to the left.”

Correa, addressing the Fifth Congress of the Latin American Coalition of Rural Organisations in Quito on October 13, said Ecuador needed an “agrarian revolution” rather than small reforms in land ownership.

Addressing hundreds of peasant leaders from across Latin America, Correa said his government would either directly expropriate unused and unproductive agricultural land, or raise taxes on those properties to force its owners to sell.

Other measures proposed to deepen agricultural reform include allotting state-owned fallow land to poor farmers and a program of selective import substitution and incentives to increase local production.

Behind the coup attempt in Ecuador

The attempted coup d’etat in Ecuador on September 30 against the left-wing government of Rafael Correa, which was defeated by loyal troops and mass mobilisation of Correa’s supporters, underscores the turbulent history of that small Andean nation.

It also exposes the weaknesses of Ecuador’s revolutionary movement, which is part of a broader Latin American movement against US domination and for regional unity and social justice.

The coup attempt was led by small core of police and soldiers, whose rebellion was triggered by a public service law that cut some of their immediate benefits. This has led some commentators to assert that recent events were simply a wage dispute, rather than a coup attempt.

Correa’s 2006 election victory - supported by the country’s powerful social and indigenous movements - came after almost two decades of political turmoil. Government after government dragged the country deeper into debt and greater poverty.

Between 1998 and 2005, three elected presidents were overthrown by mass uprisings, led in large part by the main representative of the country’s 40% indigenous population, the indigenous federation CONAIE.

Correa - a former finance minister - won the 2006 poll on a platform of radical social change.

He promised to lead a “citizens’ revolution”, using Ecuador’s oil wealth to eradicate poverty, deepen grassroots democracy and build a “socialism of the 21st Century”. These promises echoed similar process under way in Venezuela and Bolivia.

Ecuador beläßt Erdöl im Boden

Yasuni Nationalpark

Am 3. August 2010 hat die ecuadorianische Regierung ein richtungsweisendes Dokument unterzeichnet, um Ölbohrungen in den ökologisch einzigartigen Gebieten Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini des Yasuni Nationalparks (Yasuni-ITT) zu verhindern.

Das Abkommen, unterzeichnet von der Regierung des linken Präsidenten Rafael Correa und dem United Nations Development Program (UNDP), garantiert, dass die geschätzten 900 Millionen Barrel Erdöl, die unter der noch unberührten Amazonas-Region liegen, nicht angerührt werden, so wenig wie der Wald darüber.

Im Austausch erhält Ecuador 3.6 Mrd. $ als Kompensation für die Einnahmen, die es ansonsten durch das Öl gehabt hätte – etwa die Hälfte des geschätzten Wertes.

Der Yasuni Nationalpark ist einer der artenreichsten Plätze der Welt und besteht aus 982 000 ha Regenwald am Fuße der Anden. Er enthält mehr Baumarten auf einem Hektar als es in den ganzen USA und Kanada zusammen gibt.

Er beherbergt mindestens 28 höchst gefährdete Säugetiere, wie Jaguar, Weißstirnklammeraffe, Riesenotter und Rundschwanzseekühe sowie hunderte Arten, die es sonst nirgends auf der Erde gibt.

Yasuni ist auch die Urheimat der Huaorani und zwei weiterer indigener Völker, die in freiwilliger Isolation leben, die Tagaeri und die Taromenane.

Ecuador: Indigenous, government clash over mining

On September 30, violent clashes between indigenous protestors and police in Ecuador left at least one protester dead, and nine protesters and 40 police injured, the October 1 Latin American Herald Tribune said.
The protests are the first big test for Ecuador's left-wing President Rafael Correa, first elected in 2006 on the platform of a "citizen's revolution" promising to build a "21st century socialism" in the small Andean country.

The protests were called by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) — the umbrella confederation representing Ecuador's indigenous population. About 35% of Ecuador's population is indigenous.

On the same day, Ecuador's main teachers union, the UNE, and students also protested against proposed educational reforms.

CONAIE and many environmental organisations are opposed to a new mining law they believe will cause environmental destruction and may result in water privatisation.

They also believe the law violates Ecuador's new constitution, which, among many other progressive additions, guarantees access to water and grants specific rights to the environment.

Ecuador's Correa launches new term, promises change

On August 3, Ecuador celebrated a milestone when left-wing President Rafael Correa was sworn in for a second term — the first president to serve a second term since democracy was restored 30 years ago. 

The same week, Ecuador celebrated 200 years since it first declared independence from Spain - the first such declaration in Latin America - and Correa assumed the rotating presidency of the new Union of South American Nations, whose capital is in Quito.

Correa - a left-wing economist and former finance minister - was elected in 2006, promising to overhaul Ecuadorian society through a socialist "citizens' revolution" that would reduce poverty and strengthen democratic institutions.

Once elected, he initiated a popular re-write of the constitution, securing re-election in April this year on the platform of building "21st century socialism", despite media opposition and the impact of the financial crisis on Ecuador's weak economy.

Colombia, Ecuador dispute deepens

The frosty relations between Colombia and Ecuador got even frostier on July 6 when Colombian officials and lawyers accused members of Ecuador's government of working for left-wing Colombian guerrillas. 

The accusations arose after a video was released featuring Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) commander Jorge Briceno (who goes by the alias "Mono Jojoy") claiming the guerrillas gave financial support to the 2006 election campaign of Ecuador's left-wing President Rafael Correa.

Colombia's prosecutor-general, Mario Iguaran, claimed that a former security minister in Correa's government, Gustavo Larrea, and former Correa adviser Jose Chauvin were "emissaries" for the FARC. 

Ecuadorian officials said the video is doctored. Correa called the footage a "sham" and demanded the FARC clarify whether they had funded his campaign in any way.

Correa has appointed a commission to investigate the claims and the origin of the video, which he claimed was part of a right-wing campaign "to destabilise the region's progressive governments". 

Ecuador's Correa vows to deepen the "citizens' revolution"

On May 24, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa marked national independence day ceremonies with a promise to "radicalise and deepen" the "citizens' revolution" his government is seeking to lead.
Correa was joined the slopes of the Pichincha volcano, which rises above the capital Quito, by Bolivian President Evo Morales and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The event celebrated the 187th anniversary of the Battle of Pinchincha, when Ecuador won its independence from Spanish rule.

Speaking one month after becoming the first Ecuadorian president to win re-election in 30 years, Correa said Ecuadorians were celebrating "two liberating births". One was from Spanish rule, and the other through his April 26 election victory on a platform of pro-people economic development.

Correa said the Ecuadorian people had chosen a "profound, rapid and peaceful revolution". He promised to "deepen and radicalise" the process of change, "now, not tomorrow".

"We will not change course", Correa said.

Ecuador: Correa says re-election 'a vote for socialism'

Ecuador's left-wing President Rafael Correa was re-elected on April 27 in the small Andean nation.
Correa, a 46-year old radical economist and self-described socialist, won 52% of the vote, 24 points ahead of his nearest rival. He became the first candidate to win in the first round of a presidential poll since Ecuador emerged from dictatorship in 1979.
Former president Lucio Gutierrez — overthrown by mass protests in 2005 against his right-wing policies and corruption — won only 28% of the vote. Ecuador's richest man — banana magnate Alvaro Noboa —got 11%.
In National Assembly elections, held simultaneously, Correa's party Allianza Pais ("Country Alliance") appears to have won a majority 64 of 124 seats. Other left-wing parties —including the Movement for Popular Democracy and the indigenous party Pachakutik — won a further 15 seats.
"This revolution is on the march and nobody and nothing can stop us", Correa said. "At last power is in the hands of its legitimate owners, the Ecuadorian people and above all the poorest of our people."

Ecuador: Correa expels US official

As Ecuadorians prepare for their first general elections under the progressive new constitution adopted in a referendum last year, tensions with the United States continue to rise with the government expelling a key US diplomat.

In his February 7 weekly radio program, Ecuador's left-wing president Rafael Correa officially expelled the US official Armando Astorga, accusing him of bribery, suspending aid worth US$340,000 and meddling in police affairs.

"Mr Astorga, keep your dirty money, we don't need it. We have dignity in this country", Correa said. "We're not going to let anyone treat us as if we were a colony here."

Astorga, who has left the country, is accused of taking computers and sensitive anti-drug police information with him.

Ecuador: Mining, debt and indigenous struggles

On November 17, thousands of indigenous and environmental activists rallied across Ecuador in protest against the introduction of a new mining law by the government of President Rafael Correa.

The protests, organised largely by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE — Ecuador's largest indigenous federation), marked the beginning of a week of protests by social, environmental and indigenous movements against the potentially environmentally destructive consequences of a number of proposed new laws — including laws relating to mining, water and the introduction of large-scale shrimp farming.

Ecuador's weak economy is heavily dependent upon mineral extraction — especially oil — and this has had a catastrophic effect on the environment and communities in affected areas.

A large part of the Ecuadorian Amazon is now being described as an "Amazonian chernobyl" after 18 billion gallons of polluted water were released into the water system by oil-giant Chevron Texaco. This has resulted in thousands of deaths, cancer, birth defects and massive environmental collapse.

Affected communities are currently pursuing Chevron in court.

Ecuador: New progressive constitution adopted

On September 28, 65% of Ecuadorian voters approved the country's 20th and newest constitution — strengthening the mandate of left-wing President Rafael Correa. 

Correa was elected in 2006, promising a "citizen's revolution" to build a "socialism of the 21st century" in order to overcome the corruption rife in Ecuador, and to end the poverty that afflicts over half of the small Andean country's 14 million inhabitants.

The drafting of the new constitution, by an elected constituent assembly, involved significant public participation.

More than 3500 organisations presented proposals to the assembly, and thousands of public forums were held in schools, universities and communities across the country in the lead-up to the referendum.

Progressive content

Included in the 444 final articles are the right to free universal health care; free education up to university level; equal rights for same-sex relationships; a universal right to water and prohibition of its privatisation; and women's control over their reproductive rights.

The last article opens a legal avenue for abortion for the first time in the heavily Catholic nation.

The constitution also calls for the eradication of inequality and discrimination towards women, and proposes putting a value on unpaid domestic work.

Ecuador: Chevron battles government, indigenous people

International oil giant Chevron is lobbying the US government to cancel trade deals with Ecuador over a court case where it faces a US$16 billion fine for polluting the Amazonian rainforest.

Chevron is accused of dumping over 18 billion gallons of toxic oil waste into the Ecuadorian jungle, in what many are calling a "rainforest Chernobyl" and maybe the biggest environmental court case in history.

The pollution has caused thousands of birth defects and deaths, and incalculable environmental damage — poisoning animals, plants and the water table.

The court case, on behalf of over 30,000 affected residents — many of them indigenous — was initiated in 1993 in the US. Chevron spent 10 years arguing it should be heard in Ecuador, renowned for it institutionalised corruption.

Having succeeded, however, they are now stuck in an Ecuador where left-wing President Rafael Correa has pledged to root out all corruption. Correa argued earlier this year that "Ecuador is no longer on sale".

Ecuador votes on new constitution as conflict rises

On September 28, the people of Ecuador will be asked to vote on a new constitution, drafted over the past eight months by an elected constituent assembly.
The new constitution is the centrepiece of the political project of Ecuador's left-wing President Rafael Correa.

Correa, a former finance minister and economist, was elected in late 2006 promising to lead a "citizens' revolution" that would refound the country and overcome poverty through a "socialism of the 21st century".

The draft constitution — Ecuador's 20th since winning independence in 1830 — was passed by the assembly on July 24 by 94 votes to 32.

A number of the 444 articles echo demands raised by the country's powerful social movements over the past decade.

It expressly forbids foreign military bases on Ecuadorian soil, backing up Correa's pledge to close the unpopular US airforce base at Manta, on Ecuador's coast, when its contract expires next year.

Another article recognises unpaid domestic work as productive labour, making those who perform it eligible for social security.

Undocumented immigrants — particularly refugees — will no longer be considered "illegal", granting them more rights to stay and work in the country. Compulsory military service will be abolished, and, with some exceptions, genetically modified seeds will be banned.

Some of the new articles may be contentious in the heavily religious country, such as granting equal legal rights for same-sex relationships and guaranteeing "reproductive rights" to women. Both of these articles have drawn strong criticism from the Catholic Church.

Ecuador: Tension rises in the 'citizens' revolution'

On July 8, the government of Ecuador's left-wing President Rafael Correa took over three television stations and nearly 200 private companies, prompting the resignation of the finance minister.
The companies seized include the TC Television, TC Noticias and Gamavision television stations, as well as another 195 insurance, construction, real estate and other businesses, all owned by the Isaias Group.

The take-overs are linked to embezzlement charges surrounding Filibanko Bank, which collapsed in Ecuador's financial crisis of 1998, and to the Isaias brothers, who are now living as fugitives in the US and are wanted on criminal charges in Ecuador.]

Debt

While government representatives have given assurances that the assets would be auctioned off to repay shareholders with outstanding claims from the 1998 financial crisis, finance minister Fausto Ortiz — described as the most "market friendly" member of Correa's government — had already resigned in protest.

Ecuador fights US infiltration

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa shook up the establishment in early April after forcing the resignation of defence minister Wellington Sandoval, the military Chiefs of Staff, and the countries police chief amid accusations that the military and intelligence organisations were infiltrated by, and under the control of, the CIA.

Among those accused was the army intelligence chief, Colonel Mario Pazmino, who has been linked with White Legion, a far-right group that has issued death threats against journalists, human rights activists and social movement leaders.

The scandal broke out only 6 weeks after the Colombian military illegally bombed and raided Ecuadorian territory on March 1, attacking a camp of the left-wing guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

In the aftermath of Colombia's attack, news began to surface about US involvement in the attack, and the prior knowledge of some sectors of the Ecuadorian military.

Ecuador: Massive rally marks Correa's first anniversary

On January 19, 100,000 people marched in Ecuador's largest city, Guayaquil, to celebrate the one year anniversary of Rafael Correa's presidency and his "citizen's revolution".

Correa, a self-declared socialist and close ally of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, was inaugurated on January 15 last year, promising to revolutionise his society by eliminating poverty and initiating a constituent assembly to rewrite the country's constitution and allow more direct popular participation.

Since then, Correa has increased the average wage, doubled social benefits and begun renegotiating contracts with the multinational oil companies that dominate the country's main industry.

Constituent assembly to 'refound nation'

On November 29, Ecuador's new constituent assembly sat for the first time, beginning the process of rewriting the country's constitution as part of self-described socialist President Rafael Correa's project of refounding the country through a "citizen's revolution".
One of its first acts was to suspend the existing Congress without pay until the assembly process was completed — taking control of the country itself for the duration. While this move drew protests from the right-wing opposition parties, who refuse to recognise the assembly's authority, Correa submitted his resignation (which was refused) to the assembly, a symbolic move to emphasis the placing of the future in the assembly's hands.

The 130-member body now has six months, with the possibility of a 60-day extension, to draft a new constitution that will then be put to a national referendum next year. If this is accepted, new elections will be held.

The assembly, presided over by Correa's former adviser, Alberto Acosta, has already agreed on a set of by-laws and created 10 commissions of 13 members each to address fundamental areas of reform, including development, fundamental rights, territorial order, work and production, and the new legislative model.

Elected in November 2006 on a pledge to "refound" the country, Correa has initiated what he calls a "citizen's revolution" to overcome the massive exclusion that marks Ecuador, where over 50% of the population lives in poverty.

Ecuador: Forging a 'citizens' revolution'

After winning a stunning 82% of the vote in the April 14 referendum for a constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution, Ecuador's left-wing president Rafael Correa scored his third major victory in a year on September 30 with his party, Country Alliance, winning 70% of the votes for the new assembly.

The extremely popular constituent assembly, based on similar projects in Venezuela and Bolivia, will begin sitting in mid-November, and will have at least six months to re-write the constitution. Correa's allies in the assembly will include the Socialist Party, the indigenous party Pachakutik and the Movement for Popular Democracy, however his party has the required majority to pass reforms without their support.

Unlike the constituent assembly in Bolivia, which has been bogged down by the right-wing opposition, the Ecuadorian assembly only requires a simple majority to approve any proposed measure. When its work is complete, the new constitution will be put to a referendum, and new elections called.

However, Correa is already calling for the dissolution of the Congress, a body widely regarded as corrupt and useless. While left-wing deputies have offered their resignations, the right-wing "party-ocracy", as Correa calls them, is crying foul, although they are too politically impotent to have any real effect.

Ecuador: Landslide triumph for the left

On September 30, Ecuador went to the polls for the fourth time in under a year and gave supporters of left-wing President Rafael Correa a massive majority in the new Constituent Assembly.

The assembly is a project of Correa — a 44-year-old left-wing economist and former finance minister — who came to power this year promising a "citizens' revolution" to overcome the country's massive poverty and to build "socialism of the 21st century".

Final results won't be known until late October, however preliminary results indicate that Correa's party, Alianza Pais, won around 70% of the vote, giving it some 80 of the 130 assembly delegates. Correa can also expect support in the assembly from representatives of the Socialist Party of Ecuador — Broad Front, the Movement for Popular Democracy and indigenous party Pachakutik — Nuevo Pais.

The outcome was a huge blow to the right-wing opposition, whose traditional parties all scored pitiful votes. The Social Christian Party, the country's largest party, scored less than 4%. The "anti-corruption" PRIAN of Alvaro Noboa — Correa's opponent in the presidential election run-offs last year and Ecuador's richest man — scored around 6%.

Ecuador Folkeflertal kræver radikale forandringer

Af Duroyan Fertl
SI - Socialistisk Information, Juni 2007
Folkeafstemningen den 15. april gav et overvældende flertal for præsident Rafael Correas forslag om at indkalde en grundlovgivende forsamling. Formålet er at svække den velhavende elites faste greb om landet.

Forslaget om at indkalde en grundlovgivende forsamling kommer fra landets magtfulde sociale bevægelser og den indianske sammenslutning CONAIE (40 procent af Ecuadors befolkning er indfødte). 82 procent stemte ja – en stor sejr for Correa og et knusende nederlag for den korrupte elite, som har domineret Ecuadors politik i årtier.

Processen frem til afstemningen demonstrerede med al tydelighed modsætningen mellem et parlament domineret af korrupte partier og en befolkning, som kræver at tage aktivt del i demokratiet.