Ecuadorans Battle Over Abortion in their New Constitution

Homosexual Unions are Also on the Agenda

Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

QUITO, Equador, August 29, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com)--In the process of rewriting their constitution, Ecuadorans have become embroiled in a contentious debate over the rights of the unborn, and the possibility of an endorsement of same-sex unions is also being discussed.

The constitutional rewrite is currently in its initial phases. Currently a commission of jurists is creating a draft of the new charter document, which will be voted on by a "Constituent Assembly" chosen by popular suffrage on September 30th. However, there are already indications that right-to-life guarantees in the current constitution, as well as the heterosexual definition of marriage, could be eliminated from the new constitution.

Dr. Medardo Mora, president of the Commission of Jurists of the National Council of Superior Education (CONESUP), the organization charged with creating the first draft, has stated explicitly that the new constitution will remove existing safeguards for the unborn. "It will be possible to interrupt pregnancies for therapeutic reasons", he said recently. He justified his position by claiming that Church and State must be separated under the constitution, although this principle was already enshrined in the previous constitution.

Pro-life organizations have responded to the threat by running radio and television advertisements reminding the Ecuadoran people of the value of human life. Television ads have shown images of unborn children, to the great consternation of pro-abortion forces in the country, who have denounced the advertisements as "sensationalist".

Ecuadoran leaders involved in the creation of the new constitution have also indicated their support for homosexual privileges in the new charter document.

Julio César Trujillo, a member of of the Commission, has openly stated his support for changing the concept of marriage rights in the constitution. "Regarding unions between people, he said that the current constitution is very general and somewhat restrictive, because regarding legal unions it only speaks of free men and women," the Ecuadoran newspaper El Comercio reported recently.

Ecuador's new leftist president, Rafael Correa, who has ties to Venezuela's increasingly dictatorial leader, Hugo Chavez, has openly stated that he wants the document to allow homosexual unions. "There should be a certain level of security" for homosexual unions, he told the press recently, "but without going as far as marriage." He also stated his support for allowing homosexuals in the military, saying that "all discrimination should be eliminated."

From the beginning of the process, pro-life and pro-family groups in Ecuador have warned that the new constitution would be used by international anti-family groups and socialists in the country to implement their anti-life agenda. "The anti-life and anti-family political parties are: the Democratic Left, MPD, Pachakutik, the Socialist Party, and the Patriotic Society, which are today the big defenders of the [Constitutional] Assembly," warned a coalition of pro-life groups in April of this year, before Ecuadorans voted to change the constitution.

The pro-life groups, which included such groups as Acción Provida (Pro-Life Action), the Frente Ecuatoriano de Mujeres (Ecuadoran Women's Front), and Abogados Pro-Vida (Pro-Life Attorneys), denounced the fact that the hope of constitutional change "has been reduced to corruption, lies, and deception, crafted by the empire and the participation of political groups and their representatives, whose interests are beneath the policies of the large multinational abortion groups."

They also noted that "the President of the Republic has appointed a pro-abortion leader as a representative for the commission for the Assembly, Paulina Romo, who on more than one occasion has expressed her total support for abortion to the media, and for a hedonistic education that excludes the participation and opinions of the parents, and for gay marriage."

While the first draft of the new constitution is being debated, the campaign for delegates to the Constituent Assembly, the convention that will be elected to approve the new constitution, is underway.

Almost 90% of Ecuadorans are expressing dissatisfaction with the confusing and contentious campaign, in which more than three thousand candidates are running to fill only 130 seats, according to a recent Gallup poll. The campaigns waged by candidates are seen as politicizing a process that is only meant to restructure the nation's political system.

In the politically unstable situation faced by the process of constitutional change, the Ecuadoran Catholic Bishops' Conference has issued a statement, maintaining that representatives to the Constituent Assembly should be "Citizens who defend the inviolable and sacred right to life and the dignity of the human person, from conception until natural death, and the great and permanent values of the Ecuadoran family."

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Congress Weighs Request to Try Ecuadorian President

Quito, Aug 28 (Prensa Latina) Congress leader Jorge Cevallos is meeting with congressional chiefs on Tuesday to analyze a request from the judiciary to try Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa.

The meeting will set the date to debate whether to lift Correa's immunity, so that the Supreme Court of Justice can try him, Cevallos noted.

He pointed out that there are different viewpoints, as some deputies are in favor of dealing with the issue after the elections for the Constituent Assembly on Sept. 30, but other wish to shelve the investigation.

Two parties, the Institutional Renovating Party (Prian) and the Patriotic Society (PSP) are the only political organizations in favor of trying Correa.

The other parties, including the Social Christian and Democratic Christian parties, oppose the trial, claiming that they do not want the country to become politically unstable.

Other political groups consider that they cannot accept the request for trial as a result of a denunciation from a person who lacks moral quality such as former advisor Quinto Pazmiño, who has accused Correa of allegedly slandering him.

According to the Constitution, 67 lawmakers must vote in favor of the trial and of stripping Correa of his immunity; otherwise, the trial cannot be held.

Ecuador to expel 6,000 illegal residents from world heritage site

People's Daily Online, August 15, 2007

Eliecer Cruz, governor of Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, a United Nations World Heritage Site, said Tuesday that Ecuador plans to expel 6,000 illegal residents from the archipelago.

The government warned in April that it would deport illegal residents to preserve the islands, which are located in the Pacific Ocean, 950 km west of Ecuador.

The United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) said in June that the Islands' environment was at risk from tourists, immigrants and foreign species.

Cruz said that authorities bar tourists from Ecuador or overseas from spending more than three months on the islands, but that many come and stay permanently.

Raquel Molina, director of the Galapagos National Park, praised planned restrictions on visitors.

"It was a question of having the political will to carry out what is already laid down in law and regulate people's extended stays on the island," she said.

UNESCO listed the islands as a world heritage site because of its unique flora and fauna.

Source: Xinhua

Sabotage causes oil spill in Ecuador

People's Daily Online, August 2, 2007
An oil spill caused by sabotage has polluted 1.5 hectares of land in the Amazon province of Sucumbios, said Ecuador's state-run oil firm PetroEcuador in a statement Wednesday.

"Anti-social elements" tried to open a plug valve in a pipeline, but they resorted to cutting it open with a saw when they discovered it had been soldered shut, said the statement.

The oil spill has reached a marsh alongside the Ocano River, the company said.

Energy officials did not say exactly how much oil had leaked, but said environmental protection staff were dealing with the emergency.

Oil companies in Ecuador have long been the target of theft and other sabotage, which has threatened production.

However, PetroEcuador said that despite the attack, petrol production remains at around 169,000 barrels per day.

Source: Xinhua

Ecuador President confident congress will reject lifting of his immunity

People's Daily Online, August 26, 2007
Ecuador's President Rafael Correa on Saturday said he believes the congress will reject the Supreme Court's request to lift his legal immunity so as to put him on trial on defamation charges.

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked Congress to lift Correa's legal immunity so a defamation suit filed against him by a former government official could proceed.

The approval of two-thirds of lawmakers is needed to put a president on trial in the country.

"I have faith that the lawmakers will act in accordance with the law, with justice, and will deny lifting the president's immunity," Correa said in his weekly radio address.

Quinto Pazmino, a former aide to the economy minister, filed a defamation suit against Correa for calling him a "swine" and "mentally unbalanced" after Pazmino leaked a video that set off a scandal over the government's debt management.

The video shows then-Economy Minister Ricardo Patino meeting with investors, discussing a plan to manipulate bond prices. Patino, who left his post as economy minister in July to head another ministry, has denied any wrongdoing and said he taped the meeting to expose corruption in the debt markets.

Source: Xinhua

Feared gang renounces its crime crown

Ecuador's mafia go straight in government pact

Rory Carroll in Quito
Sunday August 26, 2007
The Observer

Naming themselves after Aztec and Inca warriors, they deal in drugs, gun down rivals and glory in the memory of a cannibal jail feast. They are the Latin Kings, a Hispanic gang that has spread across the Americas and Europe.

For five decades they have intimidated opponents and baffled authorities with secret rituals, feeding the mystique about their identity and purpose. Dressed in black and yellow, the Kings have been implicated in killings in the US, gang wars in South America and riots in Spain.

Now, however, thousands of members want to enter mainstream society and go legit. An ambitious transformation attempt is unfolding in their heartland, Ecuador, where former gangsters are launching new careers as social workers, entrepreneurs and fashion designers. 'It will be a struggle, but nothing is impossible. We can make this work,' said Jostyn, a 29-year-old gang leader in the capital, Quito. 'We can live in the legal world and still have respect.'

The left-wing government of President Rafael Correa has decided to recognise the Latin Kings as a cultural and social organisation, which will now work alongside the police, social services and churches in the slums. Members will retain their distinctive salute - two fingers and a thumb extended to mimic a crown - their oath of allegiance and a hierarchy involving monarchs, treasurers and soldiers. The pact, the culmination of two years of negotiations between gang leaders and the authorities, with academics and clerics acting as mediators, is being touted as a model for the US and Europe.

A ceremony in Quito's council chamber inaugurated the accord last month. The mayor, a government minister and police welcomed about 40 gang members, most wearing baggy jeans and yellow T-shirts, as 'dear boys' who would make Ecuador a better place. Jostyn, who declined to give his surname, presented plaques to several officials, who beamed with pride. When TV cameras panned across the chamber several younger members hid their faces behind baseball caps. On Jostyn's command they all rose to their feet and bellowed allegiance to the Kings.

Critics say that the deal is a blueprint to mollycoddle hoodlums. Supporters say it is an enlightened attempt to tackle a complex problem, but concede transformation will not be easy. As gangsters many of the Kings had money and prestige in the slums of Quito and Guayaquil. There is talk of setting up cybercafes, micro-credit schemes and a fashion label with the initials LK, but going straight will narrow the chances for making easy dollars.

Mainstream society, which has long felt threatened and repelled by the gang, may not accept it has changed, said Nayla Versosa, director of a charity that rehabilitates troubled youth. 'I'm worried they will still be discriminated against when looking for jobs and that some police officers will still harass them.'

A minority faction of the Kings has refused to accept the peace deal and turned on their former comrades. Breakaway members are believed to have been behind a drive-by shooting that narrowly missed killing Jostyn and his followers just hours before the Quito ceremony. 'We know who they are. They have been expelled from the organisation,' said the softly spoken leader, sitting on church steps near the spot of the ambush.

Another potential threat is the Netas, a rival gang that has waged bloody turf wars with the Kings. But Wilson Alulema, a police colonel who has negotiated a ceasefire with both gangs, said the Netas were on the same path to legalisation. 'They also want a normal life.'

Ecuador president confident lawmakers will reject defamation trial against him

IHT, 25 August 2007

QUITO, Ecuador: President Rafael Correa said Saturday he believes lawmakers will reject a Supreme Court request to lift his immunity as president to face defamation charges.

Ecuador's top court on Thursday asked lawmakers for permission to try the president on criminal defamation charges brought in June by former Economy Ministry adviser Quinto Pazmino, whom Correa had called a "swine" and "mentally unbalanced."

As president, Correa has immunity from prosecution but still can be tried with the approval of two-thirds of Congress. If convicted, he faces up to two years in prison.

"I have faith that the (lawmakers) will act in accordance with the law, with justice, and will deny lifting the president's immunity," Correa said in his weekly radio address.

Correa's comments came after Pazmino, who was fired, leaked a video showing then-Economy Minister Ricardo Patino meeting with investors, discussing a plan to manipulate bond prices.

In February, Patino said Ecuador lacked funds to make a US$135 million (€99 million) scheduled payment on Global Bonds 2030 before a Feb. 15 deadline. But two days later the government said it would make the payment on time, raising suspicions that officials were trying to devaluate the debt by sparking sharp fluctuations in bond prices.

Patino has said he taped the meeting himself to "expose corruption" in the debt sector. He was replaced last month by Correa after Congress voted to censure him.

Support grows for letting Amazon oil lie

IPS, 23 Agust, 2007

By Kintto Lucas

While oil prices are soaring, Quito is adopting the civil society initiative calling for the Ishpingo-Tiputini-Tambococha (ITT) oil reserve, the country’s largest, to remain untapped.

The innovative offer by the government of Ecuador to refrain from exploiting its largest oil reserve, in exchange for international compensation for nature conservation, is attracting increasing support.

While oil prices are soaring, Quito is adopting the civil society initiative calling for the Ishpingo-Tiputini-Tambococha (ITT) oil reserve, the country’s largest, to remain untapped. The ITT reserve is located in Yasuní National Park, one of the most biodiverse areas in the world, in the Amazon region provinces of Pastaza and Napo.

The slogans "Yasuní Belongs to Everyone" and "Yes to Life, No to ITT", painted on the walls in Quito and other Ecuadorean cities in the last few days, are a sign that something new is happening in this country.

The idea was set forth by local environmental organisations like Acción Ecológica, has been promoted by former minister of mines and energy Alberto Acosta, and was taken up by left-wing President Rafael Correa.

Quito has suspended oil drilling at ITT for one year, and has approached several foreign governments, international bodies and non-governmental organisations with the proposal that Ecuador be paid an indemnity in return for leaving the oil undisturbed, on the grounds that this would prevent environmental damages that would affect humanity as a whole.

Correa told IPS that society is being encouraged, nationally and internationally, to contribute to the Ecuadorean state in order to keep the crude underground.

The hope is to raise some 350 million dollars a year, equivalent to 50 percent of what the state would earn from the extraction of the ITT crude.

The envisaged procedure is that the state would issue bonds for the crude that is to remain untapped, on the undertaking that it will never be extracted, and that the Yasuní National Park, declared a Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 1989, will be protected.

Ecuador is basing its proposal on four key arguments: the need to combat climate change, curb the destruction of biodiversity, protect the Huaorani, Tagaeri and Taromenane indigenous people, and transform the country’s economy by adopting a new development model.

"The 350 million dollar contribution would be for 10 years, after which it would drop steadily, because an alternative source of income for the state would be developed, that could yield dividends indefinitely," said environmental activist Esperanza Martínez, an expert on oil issues.

So far there have been over 100 expressions of interest in supporting Ecuador’s proposal, from governments, international organisations and individuals.

Among them is British musician Sting, whose wife, Trudie Styler, is active on behalf of those affected by pollution caused by the U.S. oil company Texaco in other areas of the Ecuadorean Amazon. Another is the government of Norway, one of the first to join the "great green crusade," as some environmentalists are calling it.

Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Raymond Johansen promised his country’s support on a visit to Ecuador in April.

For its part, Spain has committed four million dollars to researching sustainable management of the Yasuní National Park, and said it would be the first to contribute to the compensation fund if it was found that not exploiting the crude was a viable option.

The U.S. environmental organisation The Pachamama Alliance also expressed interest in providing economic support.

Former minister Acosta suggested swapping Ecuadorean foreign debt against the country’s commitment to protect its Amazon region, to be negotiated with the Paris Club, an informal forum of 19 creditor nations.

Acosta was involved in negotiations for this exchange while he was a government minister, from January to June 2007, and said he believed it was feasible.

"Ecuador’s foreign creditors could reduce our payments or cancel debt, in exchange for the oil not being extracted," Acosta told IPS.

"We must beware of irresponsible exploitation of oil resources. To continue the policy of extracting crude in the Amazon, as has been the case until now, would be really irresponsible," he said.

The non-governmental Acción Ecologica has invited international cooperation with the campaign, by "buying" the underground oil.

The proposal would ban commercial extraction of oil in the ITT in perpetuity, and explicitly recognise the right of traditional usage by indigenous people, particularly groups like the Tagaeri and Taromenane who live in voluntary isolation.

"The extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal worldwide cannot continue unabated, because carbon dioxide emissions are already double what the oceans, soils and new vegetation can absorb, and therefore atmospheric concentrations continue to rise," said Martínez, with regard to factors causing climate change.

Studies by the state oil company Petroecuador indicate that the ITT block contains reserves of close to one billion barrels of heavy crude, with a ratio of 80 barrels of toxic water to 20 barrels of oil.

The Brazilian oil company Petrobras is already operating in the Yasuní National Park, in block 31, while the Spanish-Argentine firm Repsol-YPF and Canada’s EnCana have concessions for two other reserves in blocks 17 and 18, respectively, which are located near the limits of the park, and impinge on it.

The Huaorani people live in an area of the Yasuní park close to the ITT. "We know what oil is. It does not benefit us, it has only brought pollution," said Huaorani leader Juan Enomenga.

Sources at the medical centre in Coca, the capital of the Amazonian province of Orellana, report that after oil drilling began in the area the Huaorani people began to fall sick with gastrointestinal, respiratory and skin diseases.

In May 2006, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights granted precautionary measures in favour of the Taromenane and Tagaeri peoples, to protect the rights and survival of these groups.

The Yasuní National Park was created in 1979 with the aim of protecting its biodiversity. It has an area of 982,000 hectares, and more than 500 species of birds, 173 species of mammals, 100 amphibian species, 43 tree frog species and 100 reptile species, including 62 species of snakes, have been identified there.

Source: IPS News

Ecuador's Supreme Court seeks criminal defamation case against president

IHT, 23 August, 2007

QUITO, Ecuador: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked lawmakers for permission to try President Rafael Correa on criminal defamation charges brought by a former government official.

If Congress grants the request — by the required two-thirds majority — and Correa is convicted, he could face up to two years in prison.

Former Economy Ministry adviser Quinto Pazmino filed the charges in June after Correa called him a "swine" and "mentally unbalanced." Pazmino was fired for leaking a video showing then-Economy Minister Ricardo Patino meeting with investors, discussing a plan to manipulate bond prices.

In February, Patino had said Ecuador lacked funds to make a US$135 million (€99 million) scheduled payment on Global Bonds 2030 before a Feb. 15 deadline. But two days later the government said it would make the payment on time, raising suspicions that officials were trying to devaluate the debt by sparking sharp fluctuations in bond prices.

The defamation case against Correa "has fundamental problems," said Alexis Mera, a legal adviser to the president. "From a professional and legal point of view, I'm not giving it much importance."

Ecuadorian Congress Queries Bank Prez

Quito, Aug 23 (Prensa Latina) Ecuadorian Bank Superintendent Alfredo Vergara will appear before the Ecuadorian Congress Thursday under threat of dismissal for possible conspiracy with private financial entities.

Ecuadorian deputies, who absolved Vergara in a political trial last month, now accuse him of not regulating interest rates and permitting banking costs to remain high.

A committee of deputies Ramses Torres, Luis Almeida, Jaime Estrada, Ivan Ortiz and John Argudo question the high banking costs in Vergara's entity despite financial regulation legisaltaion.

John Argudo questioned Vergara s work for allowing financial institutions to determine interest rates and new costs for their services.

Nelson Aguirre, a legislator from Ecuadorian Dignidad Nacional, held Vergara responsible for the nepotism, including relatives of congressmen, and a similar accusation was made by Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa in recent weeks.

Ecuador's President Makes Pitch for Socialism

From Prensa Latina
QUITO, August 23.-Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa spoke Thursday in favor of a 21st century socialism "born out of the hopes and needs of the people."

Speaking at an international forum on 21st century socialism taking place at the Quito city museum, Correa said that such a system "must be participative and radically democratic."

The president predicted the "political, economic and social defeat" of neoliberalism represented by the "Washington Consensus" economic policy prescriptions.

Correa said that socialism has the great challenge to present a new concept for development "in which living well, not living better, is sought, and in which issues like gender, regional and ethnic equality must be incorporated. "

Correa also defended his country's ties with Venezuela, Argentina, Uruguay and Bolivia. He noted how Bolivia had registered a surplus this year thanks to nationalizations.

Latin American scholars and politicians as well as several Ecuadorian government ministers attended the forum. (PL)

Ecuador: Reining in Canadian Extractive Companies

Written by Carlos Zorrilla

Upside Down World, Wednesday, 15 August 2007

Are the Canadian Stock Exchanges Helping to Fund Terror Tactics Against Mining Opponents? The Canadian Parliament will hopefully soon begin debating whether to adopt recommendations meant to regulate Canadian extractive industries overseas. I live in one of the most biodiverse places on earth: A land rich in primary cloud forests, exotic and endangered wildlife, and countless pristine rivers and streams. The region is also filled with small villages and farms, and good people. And the area has also been very peaceful; that is until a Canadian mining copper appeared on the scene. Ecuador’s Intag region, where Ascendant Copper Corporation’s mining project is situated, lies within two of the world’s 34 biological hotspots. In fact, scientists consider the Tropical Andes Biological Hotspot (nicknamed the "global center of biodiversity"), where Ascendant's Junin Project is located, as the most biodiverse of the 34. Intag, and especially the Toisan Range, where copper was discovered, is exceptionally rich in water resources. Its cloud forests are the home to dozens of threatened species of animals- including jaguars, spectacled bears, the critically endangered brown-headed spider monkey, and the spectacular plate-billed mountain toucan. The Junin mining project, in fact, could end up setting a record as far as the number of threatened species impacted by a single mining project. Intag’s magic doesn’t stop at its exceptional biodiversity. It is also dotted with dozens of small villages and hundreds of small farms where, due to the area’s great altitudinal range (from 600 to 5000 meters), small-scale farmers produce and sell a dizzying variety of agricultural products. Before Ascendant showed up on the scene, this was also an extraordinarily peaceful area. It was because of the combination of the peaceful, vibrant community life and great natural beauty, which led me to settle here in 1978 and raise my family. Then, in the 1990’s, copper was found and life for local residents have been turned upside down. After years of exploration, in 1996 Mitsubishi subsidiary Bishimetals discovered copper and molybdenum. In 1997, however, the communities rose in opposition and forced the company to abandon the project. The opposition movement was sufficiently fierce and widespread enough to prevent other responsible companies from continuing the project. That is, until May of 2004 when Canada's Ascendant Copper decided that widespread local opposition to mining was not a good enough reason to pass on what could be a very lucrative project for a few greedy executives and investors. Ever since, Intag has turned into a nasty battleground over mining. The company’s presence has created indescribable social chaos in this once peaceful valley. Community life has been severely disrupted, and several opposition members have received death threats while others have nearly been lynched by ex-employees of the company. In addition, others have been shot, and more than 10 criminal lawsuits have been filed against more than 70 locals opposing the project. The violence directed against anti-mining activist was enough for Amnesty International to issue an immediate action alert in July of this year. The mid-day assault of a young anti-mining activist mother at her home by someone wearing a ski mask was one of the motivating factors for Amnesty’s call to action. Ecuadorian and international organizations have denounced and documented many instances of human rights violations perpetrated against opposition to the mining company’s project. tFor instance, last December a paramilitary-like-force paid for by Ascendant Copper and supported by an army-hired helicopter, tried to tear gas and shoot their way past a community barricade. One of the community members was shot, but the communities were able to turn back the brutal attack. (A short video of the confrontation is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNaehHEiiS4) A few days later, 57 members of the paramilitary force was captured by the communities, and more than a few confessed to being hired by Ascendant or its contractor to build a mining camp. Early one morning six months ago I got a taste of that chaos and violence when 19 heavily armed police burst into my house looking for me. They came wielding a search and arrest warrant based on trumped-up charges made by someone I believe was working for the mining company. On not finding what they came for, they took numerous personal items, and left; but not before one of the police planted a gun and some substance we believe to be drugs in my home. Another, and similarly flawed, criminal lawsuit resulted from the gun charges, but after six months all charges were dropped due to lack of evidence. But in the meantime, I had to hide from the police for the 30 days that it took my lawyer to annul the arrest warrant. From evidence we’ve recently received, the main objective was to not only silence me, but to have me killed in jail. A fortunate call minutes before the police burst into my home, spoiled the plan. In spite of all the fear, violence and accompanying social upheaval- or perhaps because of it- all of the area’s local governments- including the provincial, county and all seven Parish-township governments, as well as the majority of communities and organizations in the area continue to oppose Ascendant’s ill-fated project. This is not to say that the climate of fear and even terror now in place in Intag, coupled with the company’s divide and conquer tactics has not, in part, succeeded in winning some support for the company. To some degree they have, but they have also created an even more determined and outraged resistance. The role that the Canadian stock exchanges are playing as the most important venues for companies like Ascendant to fund the type operations highlighted above is deeply troublesome. In another setting, the tactics and effect they are having on the populace might be classified as terrorism. The reason this is possible, seems to be due to the lack of regulations by the Canadian government to control who trades on the exchanges, and under what conditions. Nor does there seem to be effective monitoring of the information the companies publish on public sites. For example, Ascendant, just this last March, published their 2006 reports, in which they affirm having spent $3.4 million in exploration costs for the Junin site. This, in spite of the fact that no exploration has taken place there during the past 10 years, and that in another part of the report, the company acknowledges that it has been unable to access their concessions!! Not only that, but no exploration can legally move forward without the environmental impact statement being approved by the government- something which has eluded the company. One not familiar with the way Canadian cowboy companies operate overseas might wonder where the $3.4 million (today closer to 5), has really gone into. Those of us who have had to withstand the brutal campaign to destroy the opposition to the mining project harbor no such doubt. It would be wrong to infer that Intag is the exception when it comes to Canadian mining companies operating overseas. Just within Ecuador, the presence of another Canadian company, Corrientes Resources, also generated exceptionally violent confrontations involving the army, and which resulted in an Ecuadorian congressman almost dying in the hands of the military. The violence, in fact, led the Ecuadorian government to suspend all mining activities for these two Canadian operations in December. In the case of Ascendant Copper, the suspension has been repeatedly made in light of the company’s refusal to abide by the terms of the suspension. The Canadian Parliament will hopefully soon begin debating whether to adopt the recommendations coming out of the Round Table on Social Responsibility meant to regulate Canadian extractive industries overseas. As our experience shows, effective regulations are urgently needed. I also believe that the regulations will fall short unless they are also accompanied by effective oversight at the stock exchanges. In order for these controls to work, they must also count with strong criminal sanctions to assure that abuses like the ones in Intag never happen again- anywhere. Carlos Zorrilla is founding member of the grass-roots environmental organization DECOIN. He is a coffee farmer and has lived with his family in the Intag region since 1978.

New Bank Service Fees in Force in Ecuador

Quito, Aug 20 (Prensa Latina) The entry of new prices in the Ecuadorian banking services generated criticism from different sectors Monday, because of the high prices.

The maximum tariff for each financial service is high in most cases and is a consequence of the law approved a month ago by Congress.

Rodrigo Espinosa, from the Superintendency Bank (SB) said the new prices responded to the new legislation approved.

Espinosa pointed out that SB established the regulations for the services and the margin between the standard and the maximum cost lets customers to choose from one or the other financial entity.

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa also criticized these prices and advocated for banks to keep current public accounts and takes of money on cashiers for free.

Because of this situation the government expects the Assembly to set up a new financial regulation on October 30 to do away with all these tariffs.

Ecuador president gambles future on new assembly

By Alonso Soto

QUITO (Reuters), August 20, 2007 - Ecuador's President Rafael Correa is gambling his political future on securing a majority in a special assembly to rewrite the constitution and push a leftist agenda so far stymied by his opponents in Congress.

Correa, a political outsider who took office in January, has seen key proposals struck down or diluted by lawmakers who once supported his reformist agenda but are now among the harshest critics of the former finance minister.

Popular with Ecuadoreans fed up with political infighting, Correa vows to disband Congress if his party can pull off a majority in a 130-member assembly to revamp the constitution.

Correa has promised to quit should he lose the September 30 vote, threatening to reignite the political upheaval that has seen three presidents toppled by street protests in the last decade. But he could still try to build a majority with alliances even without an outright win.

"This is crucial for us. If we do poorly in the assembly, our government will do poorly," said Alberto Acosta, the head candidate for Correa's political alliance. "This is our chance to push our reformist agenda."

With no representatives in Congress, Correa briefly enjoyed sway over the legislature after a court fired 57 opposition lawmakers in March for obstructing his plans to create the popular assembly.

But in a show of independence, new legislators have turned against Correa, who has spooked investors with pledges to renegotiate oil deals and Ecuador's foreign debt and curb the power of traditional elites.

Correa also wants to divide Congress in two chambers and ensure judges are appointed on merit instead of political patronage. He has not yet made clear his specific economic reform proposals.

Opposition leaders say Correa wants to use the assembly to bolster his powers and control key institutions as his ally Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez did after his 1998 election.

Correa remains popular but with 3,229 candidates vying for 130 seats, from a Roman Catholic priest to beauty queens, he may struggle to secure an majority in the assembly.

A panel of experts is reviewing constitutional reform proposals to present the assembly with an initial draft rewrite. A majority in the assembly must approve a new constitution before it is ratified in a referendum.

ELUSIVE MAJORITY

Experts warn the proportional representation method for assigning seats could lead to fragmented assembly and make it more difficult to secure a majority.

Polls show voters are confused about the complicated election process, and do not know the candidates well.

"I prefer to vote for thieves I know, than for new thieves I don't know," said Carlos Conejo, a 34-year-old taxi driver.

Pro-Correa candidate Acosta acknowledged it was unlikely his "Movimiento Pais" movement would clinch an ample win, but said he foresees negotiations with other groups to forge a working majority in the assembly.

"At the end of the day, this vote will measure Correa's approval ratings," said Carlos Cordova, a pollster with Cedatos Gallup. "His popularity is key to predict the results."

Correa's popularity dropped from a peak of 76 percent in April to 59 percent in July after his government was hit by a corruption scandal involving his economy minister and by his own confrontational style, a Cedatos poll found.

Other analysts say that even if Correa secures a majority, he will have a hard time keeping his candidates in line. Many of those backing Correa are dissidents from other parties, political bosses in provinces and political newcomers.

Ecuador Will Be Transformed, Affirms Ambassador

Jorge Petinaud Martinez

Moscow, Aug 19 (Prensa Latina) The Correa government will take to the end radical transformations Ecuador needs to eliminate secular impoverishment, that country's ambassador to Russia Patricio Chavez said Sunday.

"I represent an executive eager to solve dangerous social problems that provoke an abysm between a wealthy and corrupt oligarchy and the majority of Ecuadorians, the new chief of legation told Prensa Latina.

In his first declarations to a press media since his arrival to Moscow on August 1, Chavez stressed the important role the Constituent Assembly will play in those changes on September 30.

"There are powerful groups that try to curb people's conquers, but I trust that representatives of the purest national interests will win those elections," stated the official.

President Correa's popularity surpasses 60 percent, a figure never reached before by a chief of government after six months of mandate, said the diplomat.

The ambassador notes that the new legislative structure will determine in general a new course in the economic, energy and social policy.

Talking of the Russian-Ecuadorian political relations, Chavez termed them as good, and mentioned some perspectives of scientific collaboration in the economic field.

Correa Calls Nat. Congress a Shame

Quito, Aug 19 (Prensa Latina) Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa called Congress a shame for the country for changing cabinet projects to benefit the financial power by rising bank interest rates.

The president called Bank Superintendent Alfredo Vergara incompetent for fixing high rates on account management and money withdrawal, among other services that should be given for free.

Correa said he is working on a Law in Defense of Consumers and Competence to prevent two private companies giving public services from colluding to rise costs.

He added that due to his suspicion of Congress with Legislators selling their votes to harm the people, he will send it to the Constituency Assembly if he wins the September 30 elections.

If the progressive trend wins the elections he will call to disband Congress and let a Constituency Assembly Commission enforce some ten laws the country urgently needs.

Iran to open embassy in Ecuador

Press TV, 17 August, 2007
Iran will establish an embassy in the Ecuadorian capital Quito in a bid to strengthen its relations with the Latin American country.

Iran's government approved a proposal by the Foreign Ministry to open the embassy in Ecuador. Some 600,000 euros will be allocated to the ministry for launching the embassy.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad toured the Latin American country in January to attend the swearing-in ceremony of new Ecuadorian president, Rafael Correa. Ahmadinejad and his Ecuadorian counterpart, in a meeting in Quito on Jan. 15, agreed to follow up opening their embassies to boost bilateral ties.

Correa calls for the fusion of MERCOSUR and CAN

Quito, 16 ago (translated from Prensa Latina)
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa called for a merger of the South Common Market (Mercosur) and the Community of Andean Nations (CAN) on Thursday to further the integration of the South American continent.

Ecuador plans "to continue being an associated member of Mercosur and strengthen the Unity of South American Nations (Unasur) to overcome the existing mercantilist division in political and economic matters," said Correa.

During conversations with his Uruguayan counterpart Tabare Vazquez in Quito, Correa said that the current approach is far-reaching and comprehensive and as such, the South American people need to unify these two blocs.

Vázquez indicated that "Ecuador has a permanent invitation to, and is welcome to participate in the process of regional integration of, MERCORSUR, and with the agreements that maintain with the CAN", it hopes that it is managed to consolidate the UNASUR.

He emphasized that Ecuador deserves to be part of MERCOSUR "due to its geographic location and for the long history of work, suffering and joy of our peoples who seek to become a free and sovereign nation."

Vasquez, who arrived in Quito on Wednesday evening, stressed that the integration process must take place between peoples who want to see Latin America as a "great homeland."

For that reason, he said, Latin America cannot resign itself to work only with it has now, “nor to forget our people, professionals and technicians who we often lose because they leave for countries in the developed world”.

Neither must we forget biotechnological fusion, clean energy to replace fossil fuels, which constitutes the weaponry of the South American Union, he said.

Correa ally named to Ecuador central bank board

QUITO, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Ecuador's Congress on Thursday named an ally of leftist President Rafael Correa to the central bank's board, boosting his influence over an institution he has vowed to strip of its autonomy.

Sixty-three of the 80 lawmakers present in the session voted to name Miguel Ruiz, a 36-year-old economist who works in the country's Internal Revenue Service, to the bank's five-member board. Correa proposed Ruiz to the job whose term expires in September of 2010.

The bank has little say in the oil-producing country's monetary policy after it adopted the U.S. dollar as its official currency in 2000 during a crippling financial crisis. However, it has sway in banking policy.

The bank's chief, Jorge Davalos, who was appointed in June, has publicly backed Correa's economic views and it's related to a government top minister.

Correa, a leftist former economy minister, has worried investors with pledges to eliminate the autonomy of the central bank and limit foreign debt payments.

Correa has said the bank is a burden to the Andean country's coffers.

Ecuador Elections Red Hot

Quito, Aug 15 (Prensa Latina) Ecuador Constituent Assembly election drive turned red hot as the candidates tour neighborhoods and public markets to attract voters for the September 30 elections.

The government party Alianza Pais strategy sent its 14 candidates to visit different areas, with goals set on a political, economic, ethical, social and sovereignty revolution.

They will lead a similar drive at coastal areas to outpace the conservative Social Christian and Renovador Institucional parties that traditionally control those areas.

Organizations like Izquierda Democratica (ID) and Sociedad Patriotica (PSP) of ex President Lucio Gutierrez ready cultural and political events like a rally at Plaza del Teatro Wednesday and Friday.

Both try to recover their deteriorated image and call for changes other than those led by President Rafael Correa that calls to dismiss Congress once the Assembly is installed October 30.

March kicks off MPD Campaign

Translated from the MPD site, August 14, 2007

To cries of "Popular Democratic Movement to the fight", leaders, candidates for the national Constituent Assembly, supporters, militants and friends of List 15 [the MPD electoral list] , made a long march to the center of the Capital of the Republic to officially begin their electoral campaign for the Constituent Assembly.

Support for the policies and candidates of the revolutionary left was widespread during their passage through different streets; hugs and handshakes for the firm promise and the commitment that when arriving in the Constituent National Assembly it will fight for the changes that we Ecuadorians need, to build a new motherland and socialism.

The march was led by the candidates for the Constituent Assembly for Pichincha and by Cecilia Jaramillo, second national candidate of the MPD. Edgar Isch, first candidate for Pichincha, in statements to the mass media, affirmed that the policies and the candidates of List 15 are a guarantee for change, and that there will need to be a good representation of progressive sectors in the Constituent Assembly who will work to achieve the changes that the workers and the peoples of Ecuador yearn for.

Latin American and Caribbean countries approve Quito consensus

Via CaribbeanPressReleases.com
August 14, 2007 -- With the approval of the Quito Consensus by 33 participating governments, the 10th Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean concluded August 10 in Ecuador. Convened by the Economic Commission for Latin America and Caribbean (ECLAC), the conference is the region's leading intergovernmental forum for the analysis of public policies from a gender perspective.

In the Quito Consensus, countries agree to adopt all necessary affirmative action measures and mechanisms, including legislative reforms and budgetary measures, to ensure the full participation of women in public office and in political representative positions, with a view to achieving parity in the institutional structure of the State (executive, legislative and judicial branches, as well as special and autonomous regimes) and at the national and local levels, as an objective for Latin American and Caribbean democracies.

The document calls upon countries to develop electoral policies of a permanent character that will prompt political parties to incorporate women's agendas in their diversity, the gender perspective in their content, actions and statutes, and the egalitarian participation, empowerment and leadership of women with a view to consolidating gender parity as a policy of State.

It reaffirms the necessity of adopting measures of co-responsibility in family and working life that apply equally to women and men, bearing in mind that sharing family responsibilities equitably and overcoming gender stereotypes create conditions conducive to women's political participation.

The Quito Consensus calls for the implementation of comprehensive public social security systems, with universal access and coverage, linked to a broad spectrum of public policies capable of ensuring women's well-being, quality of life and full citizenship. In labour issues, it seeks to guarantee the elimination of all discriminatory, precarious and illegal labour conditions and to encourage women to participate in creative, innovative occupational sectors that transcend sexist forms of labour segregation.

The Consensus seeks to equalize the labour conditions and rights of domestic work with those of other types of paid work in accordance with ratified International Labour Organization conventions and international standards of women's rights. It calls for the elimination of the income gap between women and men and wage discrimination in all areas of work, and the abrogation of legislative and institutional mechanisms that give rise to discrimination and precarious working conditions.

Countries agree to adopt measures that contribute to the elimination of all forms of violence and their manifestations against women, especially homicide of women, femicide and feminicide, as well as to the elimination of unilateral measures that run counter to international law and the provisions of the United Nations Charter.

The document calls for the development of comprehensive, non-sexist public education programmes designed to counter gender and racial stereotypes and other cultural biases against women, and promote relationships of mutual support between women and men.

Countries agree to undertake efforts to sign, ratify and disseminate the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Optional Protocol as a means of ensuring its application.

Countries also instruct the Presiding Officers of the Conference to devote one of the meetings they hold each year to an evaluation of the fulfilment of these commitments and agree that at the next session of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean -- scheduled for 2010 in Brazil -- a general assessment of progress should be undertaken. They also request that ECLAC, together with other organizations in the United Nations system, create a gender equality observatory.

The countries express their gratitude to the President of the Republic of Chile, Michelle Bachelet; the First Vice President of Spain, Teresa Fernández de la Vega; the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa; and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ecuador, María Fernanda Espinosa, for their participation in Conference. They also thank the people and Government of Ecuador for having provided the facilities for this Conference and for their generous hospitality.

Source: eclac.cl

Latin America at the Crossroads

A Critical Moment for Regional Unity

By CLIFTON ROSS

Counterpunch, August 14, 2007

Quito, Ecuador.

Hugo Chávez arrived in Quito, Ecuador on his tour through South America on August 9th, making this the penultimate stop before he heads out to a conference with President Evo Morales in Boliva this coming week. His calls for unity and regional integration were part and parcel with his critique of the U.S. empire which he qualified as a "bloodless Count Dracula before the breaking dawn (alba)."

With his usual impeccable sense of timing, Chavez arrived just as celebrations were underway for Ecuador´s Independence Day on August 10th, and at a propitious moment for Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, giving him a much needed boost, especially among the increasingly disenchanted middle class. But President Rafael Correa's popularity, as serious as it may be, is the least of the problems facing Latin American unity. The Bolivarian project of Latin American unity has taken an even greater hit from President Lula of Brazil who has been making his own tour through Latin America with proposals that might ultimately divide or water down any alternatives to the neoliberal proposals of the U.S. empire.

Last year the people of Ecuador made a clear choice for a left alternative to the neoliberalism under which they have suffered for years. Dollarization of the economy, meant to attack runaway inflation under the regime of the sucre, brought new problems. Poverty increased and the governments continued to fall like dominoes until the elections of November, 2006 when the 44 year old Rafael Correa won, in a run-off with Ecuador´s richest businessman, banana tycoon Alvaro Noboa. The parallels with Venezuelan President Chavez´s first term are noteworthy: like Chávez, he won with over 56% on a platform that was moderately left and he began his term wildly popular with an agenda aimed at bringing aid to the poor and writing a new constitution.

However, like Chavez, Correa has yet to polish his diplomatic skills and he tends to speak his mind without reservation and this quality, along with his recent decision to allow the "harvesting" of "incidental" catches of sharks in protected areas, has alienated the environmentally conscious and traditionally polite middle class of Ecuador. His popularity in the past month has plummeted from 80% to somewhere in the lower 60% range. Worse still, his harsh comments have been directed at the press and, a sector that a president with none of his own media (Ecuador doesn't even have a public television station) simply can't afford to alienate. Calling reporters "wild animals" may evoke an affirmative nod or two from sympathizers, but referring to a particularly persistent reporter as "horrible fatty" ("gordita horrorosa") is sure to alienate nearly everyone.

Unfortunately, in just a little over a month before the referendum on Ecuador´s new Constitution in which voters will choose between a president advocating a "socialism of the twenty first century" suited for Ecuador, and an, at best incompetent, and clearly corrupt, parliament. With middle class voters concerned over their president's ability to control his tongue and keep his promises to protect the environment, there could be trouble ahead for those wanting a new constitution.

Chavez's arrival comes as a mixed blessing for Correa. Wildly popular among the poor throughout Latin America, Chavez will consolidate and inspire Correa's most devoted followers: the poor. Even though Chavez is unlikely to affect Correa's support where he needs it most, that is, among the middle class, he arrives with real projects that promise to help Ecuador in the near to long term. The joint PDVSA-Petroecuador refinery that Venezuela will construct in Manabí will enable Ecuador to refine its own gas and gain a great degree of economic independence. Other agreements on economics that Correa and Chavez have signed and will sign in the coming days, will insure the same thing and consolidate regional unity.

But there are more significant problems facing the region as a whole, and these involve increasing divisions between Venezuela and Brazil. While Bolivarian Venezuela seeks to build an anti-imperialist, sustainable regional economic, social, political and military power, Brazil has increasingly flirted with the empire, most notably during George Bush's recent visit to Brazil. Tensions increased when the Brazilian Parliament criticized President Chavez for not renewing RCTV's license and, of course, Chavez shot back with his own criticism of Brazil's Parliament, calling it "a parrot that repeats what Washington says."

But the problem is not merely between Chavez and the Brazilian parliament. Worker Party President Lula of Brazil, one in whom many progressives vested great hopes when he was elected in 2002, has been touring the region with a rival agenda. While Chavez promotes a solidaristic sharing of fossil fuels with his neighbors for the development of national and regional economies, Lula is proposing, along with Bush, the use of biofuels in the countries he visits. While both are problematic in terms of the effects on the environment, biofuels have the additional problem of burning up food calories in an area where hunger is still a catastrophic problem. In addition, according to Ecuador´s newspaper, El Comercio (August 10, 2007), Lula "promoted closer commercial [relations] of Mercosur with Mexico, a country that is recognized as an intermediary of the United States."

The problems confronting the anti-imperialist project of regional unity as envisioned nearly two centuries ago by Simon Bolívar and a hope for the masses of Latin America are still nascent and potentially surmountable. President Correa can still change his policy of effectively allowing the hunting of sharks in waters he swore to protect and Lula´s project of the cultivation of biofuels could go belly up as a result of a drought that could spell disaster not only for the Amazon forest, but also for Brazil's agriculture ­ at best, a mixed blessing.

Nevertheless, at present the division between Latin America's "neoliberal left," which includes Uruguay, Peru, Chile and Brazil, allied with right wing regimes in Mexico and Colombia, and the anti-imperialist left, the "Axis of Good" as Chavez calls it, Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Cuba, is increasingly distinct and the gulf between what might now be emerging as two regional powers, could potentially grow. Nations like Argentina and others which, until now, have taken a middle course may find themselves increasingly having to choose one side or another. Perhaps this is precisely the designs the empire has for the future of Latin America.

Clifton Ross is the co-editor of Voice of Fire: Communiques and Interviews of the Zapatista National Liberation Army (1994, New Earth Publications). His book, Fables for an Open Field (1994, Trombone Press, New Earth Publications), has just been released in Spanish by La Casa Tomada of Venezuela. His forthcoming book of poems in translation, Traducir el Silencio, will be published later this year by Venezuela´s Ministry of Culture editorial, Perro y Rana. Ross teaches English at Berkeley City College, Berkeley, California. He can be reached at clifross@gmail.com .

3,000 candidates from all walks of life seek chance to write Ecuador's new charter

IHT, August 13, 2007

QUITO, Ecuador: Professional athletes, television celebrities and the brother of a disgraced president are among the odd crop of candidates for the assembly that will rewrite the Ecuadorean Constitution.

About 3,000 candidacies were announced Monday — many with no government experience at all. Ecuadoreans will have six weeks to weed through the sea of wannabes to elect 130 representatives to the constitutional assembly.

President Rafael Correa, Ecuador's eighth president in a decade, called for a new constitution to reduce the power of the "political mafia" he says runs the country.

Gilmar Gutierrez — the brother of former President Lucio Gutierrez, who was ousted in April 2005 amid massive street protests — launched his campaign for the assembly by promising the impoverished nation economic stability.

He told Ecuavisa television on Monday that he would seek a constitution that punishes presidents who want to "wash their hands" of political failings "like the current one."

Correa has insisted the assembly have the power to dissolve Congress, which he has called "a sewer of corruption," and dismiss any elected official. That proposal drove the country into a legal crisis that left Congress closed for more than a month earlier this year.

On Monday, Interior Minister Gustavo Larrea reiterated that the government will seek to dissolve Congress should it win control of the assembly.

Correa's critics fear the Correa could wind up controlling the assembly and seeking dictatorial power.

Candidates for the assembly are given campaign funding from the state — private funding is prohibited — and will have equal air time for political advertisements.

Chevron: US Victory, Ecuador Doubts

A US court has dismissed an Ecuadorean lawsuit against Chevron, but the firm is concerned about an even bigger case in Ecuador.

BY CHRONICLE STAFF
Latin Business Chronicle, Monday, August 13, 2007

U.S.-based oil company Chevron chalked up an important victory recently when a U.S. federal court threw out a lawsuit from three Ecuadorians claiming they had cancer caused by oil spills in Ecuador. However, the company is now concerned about an even larger case - the $6 billion suit against Chevron in Ecuador, claiming that the company is guilty of contaminating a portion of the Amazon. Chevron, which has denied all wrongdoing, has objected against the court-appointed expert and his investigation methods.

"The work he's doing is without scientific merit," says Ricardo Reis Veiga, managing counsel for Chevron Latin America. "If the process continues like this, it will become a judicial farse. We don't see this as a serious process."

US CASE

On August 3, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco threw out complaints against Chevron Corporation filed on behalf of three Ecuadorians, finding that the plaintiffs fabricated their claims that they or their relative had cancer caused by the former operations of a Chevron subsidiary, Texaco Petroleum Company, in Ecuador.

"We are very, very pleased that the court not only has stated that the allegations are false, but also has proven that the lawyers have formed part of the fabrication process," Veiga says.

Judge William Alsup rebuked the lawyers and said the fraud formed part of a larger scheme against Chevron. "This is not the first evidence of possible misconduct by plaintiffs' counsel in this case," he said in a statement. "It is clear to the Court that this case was manufactured by plaintiffs' counsel for reasons other than to seek a recovery on these plaintiffs' behalf. This litigation is likely a smaller piece of some larger scheme against defendants."

Cristobal Bonifaz, a U.S.-based attorney, filed both the United States and Ecuador lawsuits. The U.S. lawsuit was also filed by Terry Collingsworth of the International Labor Rights Fund, who has previously represented Ecuador state oil company Petroecuador in its defense of an arbitration claim brought by Chevron.

ECUADOR

Texaco operated an oil field consortium with Petroecuador from 1964 to 1990, when the Ecuadorian company took over management of the oil field. Texaco continued with a minority stake in the consortium until 1992. In 1995, Texaco agreed with the Ecuadorian government to conduct a $40 million environmental remediation in the area of the former concession. Three years later, the government of Ecuador declared that the remediation was completed according to the terms and parameters agreed upon and released Texaco from any future liability.

However, in 1993 a group of Indians in the affected areas - represented by Bonifaz - filed a lawsuit against Texaco in the United States, claiming the U.S. company had contaminated the area. That case was dismissed by the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Second Circuit in 2002, but another lawsuit was filed in Ecuador. That lawsuit has garnered support from Ecuador's current president Rafael Correa and various international celebrities like Daryl Hannah and Trudie Styler (see Celebrities in Latin America, Latin Leaders Travel).

Veiga is harshly critical of the legal process in Ecuador. Chevron has taken 1,300 samples from the Amazon area where the company previously operated, showing that the contamination was below requirements from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A report from five independent investigators appointed by the Ecuadorean court confirmed those results.

BIAS AND INCOMPETENCE

However, following requests from Chevron's opponents, the judge in the case then appointed Richard Cabrera to do a second evidentiary phase of the suit. Although he ordered Cabrera to take samples from 314 sites and 19 areas, the new expert is instead looking at 120 areas that aren't on the official court list and has stated that he will take only 80 samples, Veiga says.
Even worse, Cabrera began his investigation by inspecting a site which Texaco never used. "This poorly intended act committed by Cabrera, to choose a site that has never been operated by [Texaco], is yet another demonstration of the bias he displays towards plaintiffs including his intent to manipulate historic information to try to favor the interests of plaintiffs," Chevron said in a complaint filed with the court last month.

Cabrera is following a reverse examination, Veiga says - first blame Texaco, then find the evidence. Chevron also charges that Cabrera has shown bias by having received money from an organization affiliated with the plaintiffs and by disregarding Petrocuador’s exclusive 17-year operations of the oilfields when he blamed Texaco for all environmental impacts within the former concession area. This despite Petroecuador's track record of 882 oil spills in the seven-year period from 2000 to 2006, according to Chevron.

Veiga also questions Cabrera's technical qualifications. "He's a mining engineer [and] doesn't have the qualifications to do this type of investigation," he says.

It is still unclear when the case will go to trial in Ecuador, but should Chevron lose the trial, it will appeal within Ecuador first and then internationally, Veiga says.

© Copyright Latin Business Chronicle

Ecuador: Getting Ugly

The erosion of Ecuador's political and macroeconomic conditions is putting it on a trajectory to debt default - or the end of Correa's presidency.

BY WALTER T. MOLANO
Latin Business Chronicle, Monday, August 13, 2007

The situation in Ecuador is becoming ugly, as the country gears up for the Constitutional Assembly. The next two months will be turbulent as the parties vie for seats. President Correa is preparing for a showdown, and he is taking a page out of President Chavez's Bolivarian Revolution. However, President Correa may find himself with an undesired outcome.

After an auspicious start, President Correa's popularity is faltering. His initial approval rating was 73 percent, and it reached 76 percent in April after he won overwhelming support for a Constitutional Assembly. However, that was the peak, and it has been declining ever since. Last week, Correa's approval rate was 59 percent and falling. His disapproval rate was 34 percent. A decelerating economy may be partially to blame. The Ecuadorian economy grew 1.2 percent y/y during the first quarter, the lowest growth rate in four years. Political noise and constant threats to default drained credit from the marketplace.

Construction dropped 1.3 percent y/y during the first quarter. The expansion of consumer credit was one of the major benefits of dollarization. It allowed households to take long-term loans for automobiles, homes and spending. As a result, private consumption boosted Ecuador's GDP. However, President Correa's aggressive posturing, and former Finance Minister Patino's constant threats to default, forced the banks to trim their lending activities. Likewise, many Ecuadorian banks found themselves with less access to external credit lines, adding to the loss of liquidity. The Ecuadorian central bank recently lowered its 2007 growth forecast to 3.4 percent from 4.1 percent, and many economists are cutting it below 2.5 percent.

More importantly, Ecuador's balance of payments is eroding. Exports dropped 2.4 percent y/y during the first quarter, despite high oil prices. In theory, Ecuador's external position should be in excellent condition. Commodity prices are high, the dollar is weak and Ecuador has an enviable competitive advantage against its neighbors. However, the government's interference in the energy sector and the nationalization of the Occidental facilities led to a slowdown in oil production. The value-added component of oil-related activities fell 14 percent during the first quarter, and investment into the oil sector is evaporating. Therefore, Ecuador may find itself in a tough situation.

NOOSE TIGHTENING

The noose is tightening. Already under fire for corruption, President Correa is witnessing the erosion of his country's macroeconomic fundamentals. This is pushing down his popular support, and it could signal the demise of his presidency. Hence, President Correa is taking a page from President Chavez's Bolivarian Revolution by co-opting the military. He lavished large wage increases to the military and awarded the Army Corps of Engineers the concession to repave the nation's highways - a contract that will be a windfall for many senior officers. Moreover, President Correa is calling on the military to perform their patriotic duty to maintain stability. Instances of social unrest are rising as Ecuador gears up for the Constitutional Assembly. Given the tenuous environment, the Correa Administration softened its rhetoric on default-vowing to remain on current on debt payments. Instead, government officials suggested that they would like to reprofile the foreign debt by 2010.

Ecuador may no longer be threatening to default, but the erosion of the country's political and macroeconomic conditions is putting it on a trajectory where it may have no other choice.

Walter Molano is head of research at BCP Securities.

Ecuador announces plan to reduce illiteracy

Peoples' Daily Online, August 11, 2007

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said Friday that the country will launch a program to reduce illiteracy and strengthen adult education.

The "basic education plan for youths and adults 2007" will be presented by Correa and Education Minister Raul Vallejo next Tuesday in the indigenous town of Colta, 300 kms south of the capital Quito.

Ecuador registers a nine percent absolute and functional illiteracy (some 2.4 million Ecuadorians), according to official statistics.

The literacy campaign intends to guarantee effective access, permanence and conclusion of studies by the indigenous population, gender equality, ecosystem conservation and sustainable resource management, Correa said.

The government intends to reduce illiteracy from 9 to 3.5 percent.

The plan will cover adolescents lacking regular education, those who did not conclude studies, indigenous people with different native languages and the Afro-Ecuadoran population.

Prisoners and migrant refugees will also be included in the plan.

The Education Ministry will provide books covering subjects ranging from civil rights, health and the environment to culture and family.

Source: Xinhua

President Chávez offers drills to Ecuador in the middle of Venezuelan crisis

According to Venezuelan President, a drill assembly plant could be built in Ecuador (File photo)

There are plans to remove from Tomoporo field one of the drills made available to Ecuador. A second drill is part of a Chinese shipment expected to arrive by the end of 2007.

EL UNIVERSAL, August 10, 2007

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez offered to send Ecuador two drills next October and November, as part of multiple energy agreements executed during the president's South American tour.

The head of state gave the news during a ceremony last Thursday along with his Ecuadorian counterpart Rafael Correa at Carondelet presidential palace, reported official news agency ABN.

Chávez explained that the drills would help Ecuador increase its oil output by 10,000 bpd. Ecuador is planning to get back this year to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). One of the pieces promised is to be taken from Tomoporo, a successfully expanding area, located in the eastern coast of Lake Maracaibo, western Zulia state. The second one is part of a set of 13 pieces that will be delivered by Chinese CNPC to state-run oil holding Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) this year.

The president's offer came at a time when Pdvsa Vice-President Luis Vierma is facing charges at the National Assembly (AN) in connection with a recent bidding of drills in 2006-2007. Only five out of the 12 bidders completed the delivery of the equipment.

As a result, in the depths of a "significant operational crisis" as labeled by Pdvsa, the corporation is working on an emergency bidding of 53 drills. The equipment is expected to join at least three Chinese drills set to arrive this year and raise the number of operational drills from 112 to 191.

The delay has been concomitant with a fall in the oil domestic output, from 3.3 million bpd in 2006 to 3.07 bpd in 2007, following a cut at 195,000 bpd, as instructed by OPEC. But the drop is related also to a new contracting method, which includes the commitment to engage in activities for the sake of local communities. Multinationals have refused to accept such requirement, and this has shown Pdvsa vulnerability in this regard, according to Pdvsa CEO and Minister of Energy and Petroleum Rafael Ramírez.

Chávez pondered on the possibility to build in Ecuador a drill manufacturer, a project similar to the project intended in Venezuela along with CNPC and which may help Pdvsa assemble its own equipment next year.

mparraga@eluniversal.com

Translated by Conchita Delgado
cdelgado@eluniversal.com

Uruguay to Invite Ecuador Joining MERCOSUR

Montevideo, Aug 10 (Prensa Latina) An invitation for Ecuador to join the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) will be made by Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez to his Ecuadorian counterpart Rafael Correa when the former visits Quito next week, government sources reported here Friday.

According to reports from the Uruguayan Foreign Affairs Ministry, Vazquez will visit the Ecuadorian capital August 14-16, to analyze with Correa new ways of complementation and cooperation, sign several accords and a final declaration.

Among issues is Ecuador's entrance to MERCOSUR, whose pro-tempore presidency is in charge of Uruguay.

This regional bloc is also made up of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, while Venezuela's entrance has still to be resolved, because it expects ratifications by Brazilian and Paraguayan parliaments.

The Uruguayan president will visit Ecuador accompanied by Foreign Minister Reinaldo Gargano and Industry, Energy and Mining Minister Jorge Lepra.

Ecuador/Venezuela plan largest oil refinery in Pacific coast

Mercopress, August 9, 2007

Ecuador and Venezuela subscribed Thursday an agreement for the construction of the largest crude refinery in the South American Pacific coast with a capacity of 300.000 barrels per day.

“This is a piece more of Venezuela’s energy integration strategic plan for the region”, said Hugo Chavez.

The cost of the project is estimated in 5 billion US dollars and will have an additional conversion plant to comply with all international environmental and technical requirements.

Ecuador Energy minister Galo Chiriboga said the project is open to the participation of government owned oil companies from the region.

Venezuelan Popular Economics minister Pedro Morejon said that Caracas is promoting an agreement for the region to ensure energy supply “for the next hundred years thus helping economic development and social justice”.

Morejon said this was the main reason behind the current tour of President Chavez which begun in Argentina, continued in Uruguay and Ecuador and is scheduled to conclude in Bolivia Friday where several energy agreements will be signed. The agreement was subscribed by the two countries government owned and managed oil companies PDVSA and Petroecuador, acting as witnesses’ Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez.

Chavez, Correa strike USD 5b deal

PressTV Iran, August 10, 2007

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has arrived in Ecuador after making stops at Argentine and Uruguay, as part of a four-nation tour.

On Thursday, Chavez and Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa signed an agreement for construction of a giant oil refinery on Ecuador's Pacific coast expected to cost nearly USD 5b.

Chavez stressed the importance of energy integration in South America and remarked in a news conference on the difference between his efforts and "the savage hand of imperialism" in Iraq, referring to the United States.

The United States is like "Count Dracula," he said. "It wants to suck (the blood) of the world."

Correa, an admirer of Chavez, said the Venezuelan leader was acting out of solidarity with countries in the region and had no interest in earning a profit from the cooperation.

"Venezuela is the one that is pushing hardest for energy integration and it is one that least needs it," Correa said.

Chavez and Correa signed an agreement to begin technical studies on the refinery, which would process 300,000 barrels of oil a day.

The agreement contemplates the possibility of adding a petrochemical plant at an estimated cost of USD 10b.

Although Chavez is a popular figure in Ecuador, some Ecuadorians are concerned about close relations with Venezuela.

Chavez's next and last stop is Bolivia where his ally Evo Morales awaits him.