Ecuador. - Ex-president Lucio Gutiérrez accuses Correa of being a puppet of Hugo Chavez

QUITO, 17-01-2007
DiarioDirecto
On Tuesday, ex-president of Ecuador, Lucio Gutiérrez, accused the head of state Rafael Correa of being a “puppet” of "those who think that they can buy Latin America with petrodollars", in an apparent reference Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.

In a press conference, Gutiérrez, who governed the South American country from 2003 until April of 2005 said that “this Government is a puppet of a totalitarian international project”.

“Because of his power and his arrogance Correa has become a new version of puppet of the oligarchy, only this time of an international oligarchy that thinks that with petrodollars it can buy Latin America”, declared Gutiérrez.

The ex-president was responding to insults that had been directed towards him by President Correa on Sunday, who called him a viper, a traitor, and a wolf in sheeps clothing. Correa, who took power on Monday, added that he doesn't trust the recent support lent to him by Gutiérrez's Patriotic Society Party to fulfill the main initiative of the new president, to take the country to a Constituent Assembly.

Patriotic Society offered on Thursday to lend the endorsement of its 24 deputies in Congress to the Correa's initiative of convoing a Constituent Assembly, but this did not prevent Correa from making his accusations about the ex-president.

“Correa does not propose anything, only confrontation, violence, insults, chaos, he is the Insultor's Apprentice, who responds like a fool, with vulgarities and patriotic gestures to the caballero of our part”, said Gutiérrez.

"Correa will not rest until there are deaths in the streets, he wants violence, he wants confrontations, the blood of the country's poor spilled; we want deep, peaceful, reforms with political, economic and social stability with the greatest respect for my people”, added the ex-President.

"The reason for his treacherous attitude is that he has finished his speeches about the Constituent [Assembly], and now he will have to respond to the poor people of the country… he has to tell us how he is going to reactivate productivity, to reduce poverty and misery, how he is going to improve education, health and housing.”

Gutiérrez was dismissed in April of the 2005 by the Congress in the middle of generalized popular protests that accused him of interference in the legislative and judicial powers of the state.