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.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Germany: SPD stumbles as "super election year" begins
Germany
began a "super election year" on January 18 when the west German state
of Hesse went to the polls for the second time in twelve months.
The new elections became necessary after months of negotiations to form a coalition government collapsed late last year, when parliamentary members of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) rebelled against a plan to form government with the assistance of the left-wing party Die Linke.
Under pressure from SPD hardliners, party-leader Andrea Ypsilanti had promised not to deal with Die Linke, a fusion of the Party for Democratic Socialism (the successor to the former East German ruling party) with a left-wing split from the SPD in 2005.
However, when neither major party – the SPD, nor the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) – was able to form government after the 2008 poll, Ypsilanti back-flipped on her promise, securing an agreement with the Greens and Die Linke, but lost support in her own party.
When attempts to form government fell through, the Hesse parliament dissolved itself on November 19, forcing new elections.
The new elections became necessary after months of negotiations to form a coalition government collapsed late last year, when parliamentary members of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) rebelled against a plan to form government with the assistance of the left-wing party Die Linke.
Under pressure from SPD hardliners, party-leader Andrea Ypsilanti had promised not to deal with Die Linke, a fusion of the Party for Democratic Socialism (the successor to the former East German ruling party) with a left-wing split from the SPD in 2005.
However, when neither major party – the SPD, nor the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) – was able to form government after the 2008 poll, Ypsilanti back-flipped on her promise, securing an agreement with the Greens and Die Linke, but lost support in her own party.
When attempts to form government fell through, the Hesse parliament dissolved itself on November 19, forcing new elections.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Fifty years of the Cuban Revolution
On January 1, 2009, the small island nation of Cuba celebrated the
50th anniversary of a revolution that overthrew a brutal dictatorship
and set Cuba on its long and often complicated road towards socialism.
Worldwide, the media reports combined standard distortions and lies on the question of democracy on the island with a focus on the revolution's most obvious symbols: its historical leader Fidel Castro, and the iconic guerrilla army that marched into Havana in the first week of 1959 with Castro and Argentine-born revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara at its head.
At best, this view presents only a partial picture of the Cuban Revolution. It overlooks the hundreds of thousands in the urban underground movement who opposed the murderous US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista who was brought down by the revolution — fighting street-battles, conducting industrial sabotage, and organising general strikes, such as the strike on January 2, 1959, that brought the regime to its knees.
The same view of Cuba also ignores the struggle of workers and other popular sectors that, after Batista fled, transformed the anti-dictatorship struggle into a revolution that overthrew an entire political class — whose corruption and autocracy threatened to betray the Cuban people's aspirations for democracy and social justice. A socialist revolution was begun on the doorstep of the greatest capitalist power on earth.
The survival of the Cuban Revolution for half a century in the face of endless aggression from the most powerful nation on Earth only 90 miles away is an outstanding feat in itself, but the reality of the Cuban Revolution and its achievements deserves much deeper, and fairer, treatment that it gets in the Western media.
Worldwide, the media reports combined standard distortions and lies on the question of democracy on the island with a focus on the revolution's most obvious symbols: its historical leader Fidel Castro, and the iconic guerrilla army that marched into Havana in the first week of 1959 with Castro and Argentine-born revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara at its head.
At best, this view presents only a partial picture of the Cuban Revolution. It overlooks the hundreds of thousands in the urban underground movement who opposed the murderous US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista who was brought down by the revolution — fighting street-battles, conducting industrial sabotage, and organising general strikes, such as the strike on January 2, 1959, that brought the regime to its knees.
The same view of Cuba also ignores the struggle of workers and other popular sectors that, after Batista fled, transformed the anti-dictatorship struggle into a revolution that overthrew an entire political class — whose corruption and autocracy threatened to betray the Cuban people's aspirations for democracy and social justice. A socialist revolution was begun on the doorstep of the greatest capitalist power on earth.
The survival of the Cuban Revolution for half a century in the face of endless aggression from the most powerful nation on Earth only 90 miles away is an outstanding feat in itself, but the reality of the Cuban Revolution and its achievements deserves much deeper, and fairer, treatment that it gets in the Western media.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, October 10, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
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".
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".
Saturday, August 2, 2008
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.
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.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Lafontaine: 'We have the wind of history in our sails'
After
a year of stellar successes, almost 600 delegates from Germany's new
left-wing party, Die Linke, came together for the party's first ever
congress, held in the east German city of Cottbus on May 25 and 26.
Former East German communist Lothar Bisky and former Social Democratic Party (SPD) national president Oscar Lafontaine, once dubbed by the media as "Europe's most dangerous man", were re-elected as co-chairs of the party, and a social justice-oriented platform was adopted for the coming period, which includes state elections in Bavaria this September and federal elections next year.
Die Linke was officially formed in 2007 as a fusion between the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS — the successor to the former East German ruling party) and a collection of militants, unionists and socialists from the west organised as the Electoral Alternative for Jobs and Social Justice (WASG). Die Linke now has almost 80,000 members.
Former East German communist Lothar Bisky and former Social Democratic Party (SPD) national president Oscar Lafontaine, once dubbed by the media as "Europe's most dangerous man", were re-elected as co-chairs of the party, and a social justice-oriented platform was adopted for the coming period, which includes state elections in Bavaria this September and federal elections next year.
Die Linke was officially formed in 2007 as a fusion between the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS — the successor to the former East German ruling party) and a collection of militants, unionists and socialists from the west organised as the Electoral Alternative for Jobs and Social Justice (WASG). Die Linke now has almost 80,000 members.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
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.
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.
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