Ecuador: 2008 will see system change established

Translated from Resistenze,
19/01/2008

The President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa said that the new year will be decisive in changing the current system, and ending the old structures, for the benefit of all citizens.

In Guayaquil, October 9, the head of state celebrated the first anniversary of his government in a crowd of demonstrators.

The president thanked the crowd, and numerous festives, indicating that the situation decidedly contradicted the predictions of his political opponents:

"The country belongs to everyone, so this is the homeland".

In the course of the event Correa outlined the plans of his progressive government.

"It will be a difficult year, full of obstacles where the fight will be against those who attempts to maintain their privileges (..) But we are finished with the old structures of power, with the gangs, the corrupt elite (.. ) with the Constituent Assembly to change this perverse system and we have the People's Revolution, both of which the people want. "

The Ecuadorian president has warned about enemy countermeasures, referring to the demonstration against the government on January 24, the opposition is beginning to react against the wage increase, against the elimination of the hourly contracts and against the social benefits.

The event was attended by prefects, mayors, representatives of the parish, social groups, movements and political parties, assemblistas, students and workers from throughout the country.

About the future concrete steps his government, Rafael Correa has announced that it will establish a single wage system for the public sector, to try to eliminate the privileges of certain sectors of the bureaucracy and pseudo-autonomies. It is clear that there is inequality in the existing State agencies, where a manager can earn between eight/ ten thousand US dollars and use just 200. The proposal was confirmed by news spread by radio from Mount Santa Elena, in the town of the same name, and the Organic Law of Civil Service and Administrative Career (Losca) will be reformed

Correa says: "We want to rationalise salaries in the public sector to have a real administrative sector, which stems from a true meritocracy, and to do away with this pseudo-autonomy."

In fact, some institutions have not followed the decree signed in January 2007, the decree which stipulates that all civil servants must earn less than those in government.

Correa, has therefore lowered the salary to just over four thousand dollars.

The Correa government is investing in the culture and social development of the country.

The Ecuadorian president has inaugurated the building of the Ministry of Culture, in the headquarters of Continental Bank, one of the banks closed during the financial collapse of 1999.

"This will prove, even symbolically, that we want to really change things, and we will do it with other majestic structures belonging to corrupt bankers, such as the seat of the Popular Bank, now used by the Central Bank, which will be delivered to the Ministry of Education .

The change we are beginning to see today is of more cultural venues that can count on appropriate structures to house exhibitions for artists and craftsmen, both national and international.

"In these twelve months moves have been made to break the economic power, which culminate with the Constituent Assembly.

We will make a new Magna Carta for the country, for all Ecuadorians, completely free from the power of the mafias who destroy the nation and squander the natural resources of the nation. ".

The budget for the first year of government is positive, Correa has defined:

"Absolutely innovative, didactic and with surprising figures and data, so that we can say that on the economic front we had a very good year". Other news: growth has been registered in areas unrelated to oil, and in various social sectors.

"I will not be satisfied until there are no more unemployed or poor in the country.

We have started to walk, but this is just the beginning, we still have a long road ahead of us".

In the budget we should take account of the recovery of hope by the people who bet on change and voted for a Constituent Assembly in which 80 of its 130 members belong to the project of the government.