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NEWS & LETTERS, June -July 2007Ecuadorian politics in transitionQuito, Ecuador--In Ecuador there is no question that aspirations for social and economic justice have been unleashed, and there is no telling where it may lead. Rafael Correa, served only a few months as Finance Minister in 2005. He was forced to resign when he defied Wolfowitz and the World Bank by daring to unilaterally alter the agreement with the World Bank that would channel surplus oil revenue into health and education instead of servicing the debt. This single act catapulted him to the presidency in November 2006 with a landslide victory over banana magnate Alvaro Noboa, Ecuador’s richest capitalist. It is delightfully ironic that Wolfowitz is history while Correa has ascended to the presidency. Unlike past presidents who have promised structural reform, Correa has already shown that he means business. He has made it clear that he will not renew the treaty that allows for a U.S. military base on Ecuadorian soil. He expelled from the country the very World Bank representative who had reneged on the promised loan, accusing the World Bank of blackmail. His major campaign promise was to hold a popular referendum that would trigger a Constituent Assembly with plenary powers to re-structure Ecuador’s political system. The referendum passed in April with an impressive 82% of the vote. He has successfully neutralized a traditionally obstructionist Congress. Correa doesn’t back-room deal with the rightist political parties, but appeals directly to the Ecuadorian people for support of his program, which he describes as Christian Socialism. He is the only Ecuadorian president in recent history to join workers in May Day celebrations, where he promised to end capital’s domination over labor. His friendship and alliance with Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and Bolivia’s Evo Morales is no secret. Having said all this, one has to add that there is no reason yet to believe that Correa’s idea of socialism is not of the "top down" variety or that he understands that the nationalization of resources, while perhaps a step in the right direction, does not equal socialism. He seems to think, naively in my opinion, that extensive "microcredit" programs can solve the country’s massive unemployment problem. Although it appears at present that Correa has the popularity to win control of the Constituent Assembly, this is not a certainty. As well, in Ecuador poverty is so widespread and corruption is so deeply embedded in virtually every public institution, that a mere restructuring of the political system without genuine revolutionary movement from below is doomed to failure. --Observer |
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