Ecuador, Indigenous Wants Govt Meet

Quito, Feb 6 (Prensa Latina) The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (CONAIE) of Ecuador urged President Rafael Correa to dialogue with them to prevent violation of their territories.

CONAIE President Marlon Santi told national TV that the talks would cover such problems as drying rivers and deforestation caused by prospecting and mining.

She stressed that they preferred dialogue before calling for any mobilization or strike and mentioned the government's intent to do away with organizations of regional development.

The indigenous leader mentioned severe environmental and cultural troubles that the government will not solve and announced a march late month to expose their views to the Constituent Assembly.

Ecuador: Indigenous Confederation Inaugurates New President and Announces National Mobilization

Written by Thea Riofrancos

From Upside Down World, Wednesday, 06 February 2008

On Thursday January 31st, Marlon Santi was formally inaugurated as the new president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), Ecuador’s most powerful social movement organization. By 10:30 a.m., nearly 300 people—mostly members of the confederation’s base in the highland, Amazonian and coastal regions, joined by the Guatemalan, Cuban, Venezuelan, Spanish, Brazilian, Norwegian and Argentinean ambassadors—packed into the third floor of the CONAIE’s north Quito office to witness the event. Many wore traditional dress, which the press eagerly photographed. People waited patiently for an hour after the scheduled time for the festivities and speeches to begin.

Maria Tamberla (right), President of the Kichwa Otavalo Community

In the front of the room, the incoming and outgoing CONAIE leadership assembled under a bright red CONAIE banner and a wiphala flag, a multicolored symbol of indigenous diversity across the Andes. In the middle sat new president Marlon Santi—in a traditional Amazonian Kichwa feather headdress and face paint—and outgoing president Luis Macas Ambuludí—wearing the customary striped poncho and feathered cap of the highland Saraguro Kichwa peoples. There was a palpable sense of anticipation in the crowd. The Ecuadorian indigenous movement is at a critical juncture: the Constituent Assembly convened by President Rafeal Correa has the historic opportunity to decolonize the nation’s political structure, but Ecuador’s indigenous people, accustomed to politician’s breaking promises, must mobilize to ensure that their voices are heard.

Santi faces the complex challenge of defending the Constituent Assembly from right-wing attacks while at the same time pressuring Assembly members to recognize Ecuador as a plurinational State. As president of the Kichwa Otavalo community Maria Tamberla notes, ¨Correa is a little better compared to other presidents. But we´re not convinced that he will defend the people, especially the indigenous people. And unfortunately, with respect to mining, we have seen no change.¨ Meanwhile, Santi must also reunite and strengthen the CONAIE, whose political arm Pachakutik took a beating in last year’s presidential elections.

Before the speeches began, CONAIE spiritual leaders presided over a series of indigenous ceremonies, transforming the drab meeting hall into a space filled with cultural significance. Speaking in a mix of Kichwa and Spanish while evoking pre-Incan symbolism, burning aromatic wood and calling on the sacred energy of the pachamama (mother earth) and generations of ancestors, the shaman proclaimed: "We are the cultures that defend the earth, defend the water, defend life!" The ceremonies were followed by a brief musical interlude, during which the otherwise stoic Santi energetically danced with an elderly woman who jumped up from the crowd.

Finally, the speeches began. Outgoing president Ambuludí began his long oration in Kichwa before switching to Spanish. He spoke in a reserved, scholarly tone, describing the CONAIE as a space for analysis and debate over the fundamental issues of constructing a plurinational State and transforming Ecuador’s colonial political structure. He warned against the Correa administration "capitalizing" on the indigenous movement’s victories and spoke strongly against the capitalist extractive model that is depleting the Amazon and impoverishing indigenous communities.

After representatives of the three regional indigenous organizations spoke, Santi took the stage. As he began to speak, his youth, energy and militancy were immediately apparent. As a leader formed in the fight against oil companies operating in the Amazonian province of Pastaza, the 32-year old Santi spoke strongly against the corporate sacking of Ecuador’s natural resources and the detrimental ecological impact of extractive industries. He demanded that the Constituent Assembly recognize and protect Ecuador’s biodiversity.

For the CONAIE, the only way to transform Ecuador’s political and economic structure is for the new Constitution to finally recognize plurinationality, a longstanding demand of the indigenous movement. In his speech, Santi argued that the affirmation of the diversity of peoples and cultures that constitute Ecuador is a fundamental precondition for real national sovereignty. He noted that the CONAIE has been at the forefront of Ecuador’s greatest movements for national sovereignty: successfully mobilizing against a Free Trade Agreement with the United States, for the cancellation of oil contracts with Occidental Petroleum and, of course, overthrowing corrupt business-friendly presidents.

[Photo: Panel of CONAIE leaders. In the center, Marlon Santi (left) accepts the CONAIE staff from outgoing president Luis Macas Ambuludí (right).]

Santi argued that without the recognition of Ecuador as a plurinational state, Correa’s discourse of the "Citizen’s Revolution" will in effect exclude its indigenous people. If Correa embraces the ideology of the "universal citizen", he will reinforce the colonial and liberal ideologies that at once oppress and erase the unique history of the 30 nationalities that constitute Ecuador. By emphasizing the primacy of individual rights, the liberal citizenship model has historically worked to deny indigenous peoples collective control over land and natural resources. Neoliberal economic policy has further exacerbated this situation by giving multinational corporations control over Ecuadorian oil.

Santi’s speech was a powerful challenge to neoliberal economic policy and to the modern idea of the nation-state. To ensure that the demands of the indigenous movement are heard, the CONAIE has planned a mobilization this March at the Constituent Assembly’s headquarters in Montecristi. Members of the ECUARUNARI (The Confederation of the Kiwcha Peoples of Ecuador), one of the three regional organizations that make up the CONAIE, will organize the demonstration. The CONAIE has a history of impressive mobilizations, which have blocked several attempted neoliberal reforms and helped depose three presidents over the last decade.

This could be a turning point in the Constituent Assembly and will surely mark a critical juncture in the relationship between the CONAIE and the Correa administration. It will also send a message to the right-wing Ecuadorian elite, who have stepped up their protests against the Correa administration. Hopefully, Ecuador will be able to avoid the extreme political polarization and elite mobilization that have frustrated the Bolivian Constituent Assembly and instead emerge as a plurinational, sovereign, and just nation.

Thea Riofrancos is living in Quito, Ecuador. She works for the Agencia Latinoamericana de Información (ALAI, www.alainet.org) translating and writing.

Ecuador Restructuring Territory

Quito, Feb 6 (Prensa Latina) A commission comprised of the Ecuadorian government and prefectures analyze Wednesday a proposal for decentralization and territorial restructuring of the country.

The group expects to create autonomous territories, which will have a regional authority entailing the elimination of provincial entities.

Correa proposed on his weekend radio how to have "a popularly-elected regional governor, with a regional Assembly, whose members could be the union of the Provincial or Cantonal Councils."

The statesman spoke out for dividing Ecuador into seven "equipowerful" regions to achieve a better distribution of resources.

"The aim is not to eliminate provinces, but advance towards a territorial restructuring that allows the government to strategize development and fairly deliver funds," Correa stated.

Not only prefects but also municipal mayors recognize that a centralist State generates inequalities, even in the territorial field, because there are some sites with no state presence, Fander Falconi, from the National Planning Secretariat, added.

The conclusions of this commission will be outlined to the Constituent Assembly, which must analyze and decide its inclusion in the new Constitution of the Andean nation.

The CONAIE concludes its 3rd Congress: For a Plurinational Ecuador

15 January, 2008
via alainet.org

In the early hours of January 13th, in the city of Santo Domingo of the Tsachilas, the Third Congress of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) concluded its deliberations. The Congress emphasized that Latin America, including Ecuador, "has begun a deep process of structural changes, but that this state-led process excludes the very social movements who have always fought against neoliberalism", since these political and economic reforms are based on "strengthening the State and not the social movements themselves".

Since the beginning of the event on January 10th, there was a sense of disenchantment with the State´s policies towards indigenous peoples. In his statement to ALAI, the new president of CONAIE, Marlon Santi, argued that Rafael Correa´s administration "does not prioritize the demands of the indigenous movement. For them, all we are citizens, but Ecuador--from the standpoint of peoples and nationalities--is "plurinational" and "pluricultural"; but they want to erase those words. I say, I am a citizen of diversity, we are diverse, with different cultural expressions, ways of life, territories, therefore the government must respect that diversity, which is the origin of the Ecuadorian state, before the creation of the Republic".

CONAIE vice-president, Miguel Guatemal, reminds us that in the 1990s, the indigenous movement was the first to demand a Constituent Assembly. He points out that it was "just in the last election that Correa picked up the idea of the Constituent Assembly. Correa, however, wants to put everyone in the same category, without distinction, with no regard for our identities." For example, if you ask "What will happen in the case of the natural resources? During the presidential campaign they talked about the nationalization of natural resources. Today, on the other hand, they speak of the development of natural resources. And how will development happen? Negotiation with Japan. But will they consult the Huaorani? Will they consult the Shuar, the Achuar?" These are the issues, among others, that the CONAIE wants to see guaranteed in the new Constitution, which is being developed.

A Call for Unity

The Congress, which registered 1,300 delegates of the 14 Nationalities and 18 Peoples of Ecuador, was marked by a desire to transform the leadership of CONAIE, to increase the representation of the different Nationalities and Peoples, and achieve a greater balance between the Sierra region (who are the majority), the Amazonian region and the Coastal region. In this sense, the election-by-consensus of Marlon Santi sent a clear message of the desire for change. Santi, seen as both a symbol of unity and as a leader formed in the struggles for territory, took part in the resistance against oil companies in Sarayacu, in the Amazon region.

Santi identifies two main challenges upon assuming the presidency. First of all, to "unite all the nationalities, call for unity and make CONAIE a strong movement again." To reinvigorate CONAIE, he plans to "to go from village to village, from town to town." The second challenge is CONAIE´s struggle "against the transnational companies that are dividing up indigenous territory and taking the petroleum, the mines, the water, the forest. We are going to fight against this because this is where we live, this is the future of our children, the future of our grandchildren and the future of humanity."

The recovery and defense of ancestral lands, the rejection of oil, mining, timber, hydroelectric and other concessions that affect indigenous peoples and nationalities, and the demand for environmental impact studies and compensation for environmental damages, stood out as the Congress's most important resolutions. The Congress also called for the restoration of indigenous control over natural resources and the democratization of access to water. Moreover, they demanded the demilitarization of indigenous territories.

In regards to the Constituent Assembly, vice-president Guatemal pointed out that the CONAIE has already presented a proposal for a new Constitution, drawn up by the organization’s bases. This proposal is "not only for the indigenous movement, but for all the country, for all sectors of society." As part of their proposal, the Congress demanded that the government make the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, approved by the UN in last September, a Law of the Ecuadorian Republic. In addition, the Congress called for the new Constitution to recognize Ecuador as a Plurinational State "based on the existence of a diversity of nationalities and peoples, that are themselves economic, political, cultural and historical entities with unique histories." (The current Constitution, of 1998, recognizes that Ecuador is a Pluricultural State).

The CONAIE also calls on the Constituent Assembly to declare Ecuador a country free of GMOs and to adopt CONAIE´s Law of Biodiversity. Guatemal thinks that there is a possibility of coming to an agreement with some of the Assembly members to ensure that these proposals are -at least partially- incorporated into the new Constitution. But any dialogue that occurs will go hand-in-hand with mobilizations in support of the indigenous peoples' demands.

On the international level, the CONAIE committed to participate in the World Social Forum´s Day of Global Action on January 26, with actions in solidarity with the government of Evo Morales and the Bolivian people, and against privatizing mega-projects like the IIRSA (The Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America). It denounced the "Chilean government´s policies of genocide and ethnocide against the Mapuche people, and the Colombian government´s attacks against indigenous peoples".

The 12 working groups also addressed the subject of genetic resources, the status of protected areas, and bilingual education. It was affirmed that indigenous genetic resources are the property of indigenous peoples, and that this should be recognized by the Constitution. The working groups discussed the return of protected areas (national parks and nature reserves) to indigenous peoples. Lastly, they discussed mechanisms to strengthen the bilingual education system, and ways to improve the curriculum.

On the subject of health, the Congress emphasized the need to rescue and strengthen the practice of traditional medicine as well as the importance of food security. They stressed the need to rescue traditional knowledge to ensure food security for this generation and future generations. Young people elaborated proposals to create their own spaces and to increase their participation in the CONAIE.

According to Jonson Cerda, who presided over the Congress, the Third Congress strengthened the CONAIE. In an interview with ALAI, Cerda explained that the Congress achieved more than just a set of agreements. According to him, there has been "a lot of pressure to weaken indigenous organizations by groups tied to extractive industries, by people tied to oil and mining companies. They succeeded somewhat in destabilizing [the indigenous movement]. But we have strengthened ourselves; we have witnessed the presence here of all the nationalities with their proposals. This shows us that we have survived this attack from these companies." (Translation by ALAI)

Latin America's democratic revolution and the greening of the Left

by Daniel Denvir
from alainet
Global warming, indigenous rights, energy sovereignty and Latin America's democratic revolution were on the top of Ecuador's colloquium celebrating the Action Week / 2008 World Social Forum here in the capital.

The set of panel discussions, entitled "Another Latin America: Where Are the New Revolutions Going?" took place on Friday January 25th, at the Simon Bolívar Andean University. The Ecuadorian celebration of the 2008 Forum will close at today's Global Day of Action event in solidarity with the Bolivian people today at noon.

This past Thursday, several of the panelists visited Ecuador's Constituant Assembly, meeting with a variety of the working groups and assembly members, including Assembly President Alberto Acosta. The new government of Rafael Correa convened the new Constitutional Assembly in response to demands to address Ecuador's persistent poverty, environmental degradation and social exclusion, among other issues. The Correa government is considered a step in the right direction by most social movement activists but is bitterly opposed by the nation's wealthy and largely European elite.

The first panel of the colloquium focused on the environment, indigenous rights and the necessity of building alternatives to the system of industrial capitalism where "growth" is premised on resource extraction.

Esperanza Martínez, of Acción Ecológica (Ecological Action), emphasized that Ecuador's Left was one of Latin America's most environmentalist. Although there are still tensions between environmentalists and some sectors of the Left, a type of "ecologismo popular", or popular environmentalism, has emerged in recent years. Ecological populism connects environmentalism with the struggles for economic justice and indigenous rights. This framework implies that Ecuador cannot just shift an unsustainable industry from private to state control. Martínez implored the Constituant Assembly to consider the economic, ecological and human costs of Ecuador's petroleum-based economic model.

The indigenous and campesino leadership of Ecuador's Left is one of the main reasons that social movements here have such a green hue. Marlon Santi, the new president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities and Peoples of Ecuador (CONAIE), focused his talk on the demand that the Constituant Assembly explicitly declare Ecuador as a plurinational state, recognizing the country's indigenous and afro-descendent peoples. He warned the Assembly that the new Constitution would amount to nothing if it excluded the diverse peoples of Ecuador. He pledged that the CONAIE would mobilize to make their voices heard.

Santi argued that a plurinational State would be a more sovereign one, noting that the Ecuadorian "government has long subjected itself to global economic powers," premised on a neoliberal ideology developed in Washington, D.C. In contrast, a State that recognized indigenous and afro-descendent people and their territories would increase participation in the democratic process and in the control of Ecuador's natural resources and thus be sovereign. Santi is from the Amazonian region of Ecuador, where indigenous communities and rainforest ecosystems have been devastated by Texaco's oil extraction.

Venezuelan intellectual Edgardo Lander's speech drove home the urgent demands of global warming: radically change our economic relationship with the environment now or cease to exist. Referring to the current arrangement of the global political-economic order as a "systematic war against life," Lander argued that rich countries must cut energy use by 90% and that marginalized countries like Ecuador should not repeat the error of "wanting to consume just like the United States." Lander emphasized that there is only a finite amount of natural resources. The overexploitation of resources by wealthy countries exhausts the planet's reserves and leaves the planet's poor majority with the table scraps, without potable water or healthcare. Despite the pronouncements of global elites, this problem does not have a "technological or market fix." A revolution that overthrows the model of industrial resource extractive capitalism is our only hope for survival.

In the second panel, Bolivian intellectual Elizabeth Peredo discussed Ecuador's process of constitutional change from the vantage point of Bolivia's ongoing and conflict-ridden Constituent Assembly. Peredo joked that Thursday's right-wing demonstrations in the Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil made her "feel right at home." Bolivia's draft constitution, which recognizes plurinationality and the rights of indigenous people, workers, campesinos and women, has been met by a determined elite reaction that has brought the nation into gridlock. Peredo warned Ecuador that they had only seen the beginning of elite counter-mobilization in defense of the political and economic status quo. She advised Ecuador's social movements to be ready.

Venezuela, Ecuador to construct US$5.5 billion (€3.7 billion) refinery

IHT, 1 February, 2008

QUITO, Ecuador: Venezuela's and Ecuador's state oil companies will team up to build a US$5.5 billion (€3.7 billion) oil refinery in Ecuador, the Oil and Mining Ministry said Friday.

A joint venture by Petroecuador and Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, the refinery in the coastal province of Manabi will have a processing capacity of 300,000 barrels a day, the ministry said in a statement.

The proposed oil refinery is part of "Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa's and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's commitment to energy integration," the statement said.

In a speech last month marking his first year in office, Correa, a close ally of Chavez, blamed Ecuador's 2.67 percent 2007 economic growth — one of the lowest rates in the region — on a 9.8 percent decline in oil production.

Delegates from Petroecuador and PDVSA plan to sign a shareholders agreement in March to formalize the venture, known as the Pacific Refinery Mixed Economy Company.

Ecuador is South America's fifth-largest oil producer, with a daily production of about a half-million barrels of crude.

Ecuador studying mining royalties and windfall tax

By Alonso Soto

QUITO, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Ecuador is analyzing whether to set mining royalties based on gross output or net profits for firms reworking their agreements with the government, which is seeking to boost its control over the growing sector.

Deputy Mining Minister Jose Serrano told Reuters the country plans to use current metals prices and banks' lending rates to the industry to set a base price for minerals in new deals to comply with a recently approved windfall tax.

The windfall tax will force mining companies, most of which are only exploring, to share 70 percent of their revenues above the base price in deals once they start production.

Foreign mining firms are worried that a low base price and more state intervention could hamper the nascent sector in a country that has $130 billion worth of precious metals.

"There are several elements that will help us set this base price ... we are going to be very pragmatic on this issue," Serrano said.

President Rafael Correa has said he would allow big mining, if it brings billions in revenues to state coffers, and started negotiations with Canada's Aurelian Resources and Corriente Resources to rework their deals.

But some members of a powerful legislative assembly that is rewriting the constitution, including its chief, Alberto Acosta, have said they oppose large-scale projects.

Serrano said Canada's International Mineral Corp, which plans to develop two gold-silver projects in southwest Ecuador, also wants to renegotiate its deal.

The company's spokeswoman, Wendy Yang, said the firm wants to start talks to "have some clarity."

The government has proposed the assembly issue a decree to overhaul the mining industry -- revoking most of the country's concessions, but sparing the sector's biggest players. It also calls for future royalties to be at least 3 percent.

Monica Chuji, the head of the assembly's natural resources committee, which will draft the decree to boost state control, said the panel was evaluating the government's proposal.

Chuji said she favored banning open pit mining and extraction in nature reserves, near Indian settlements and near water sources. However, she said the group has not yet reached a consensus.

"We are debating, and in this process that is crucial," Chuji told Reuters in an interview. "We want to finish this (decree) as soon as possible ... most likely in February."

The 130-member assembly, controlled by Correa's party, will have to vote on the decree drafted by the committee. In a previous decree, the body closed down the opposition-led Congress and took over its powers.

Government officials expect to introduce a mining reform bill before the assembly drafts a new constitution by the second half of this year.

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.

Correa: Ecuador/Bolivia Opp in Tandem

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa

Quito, Jan 30 (Prensa Latina) Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said on Wednesday that the Ecuadorean and Bolivian opposition are in permanent touch with each other and have the same separatist strategy.

There exists one plan of the separatist Ecuador Guayaquil oligarchy and that in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to forge the defeat here of the new Constitution in the referendum and also destroy the government of Evo Morales, the president declared.

In remarks to Radio Cristal, Correa said these oligarchs are represented by the Social Christian Guayaquil Mayor Jaime Nebot, who defends the outdated partycracy model.

That system is falling to pieces, but the economic powers do not want to lose the privileges they have had for decades, he noted.

During his radio program on Saturday, Correa said "the oligarchy in Guayaquil and that in Santa Cruz have even signed agreements to turn these regions into autonomies, which in fact is separatism.

He stressed that his government wants to change the current situation, generate employment and fairly distribute the country's wealth; and so it is facing the oligarchy's opposition.

Ecuador, Nicaragua to Reject Venezuela Alliance, Universal Says

By Steven Bodzin

Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Ecuador and Nicaragua won't join a military alliance against the U.S. proposed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, El Universal reported.

Ecuador Defense Minister Wellington Sandoval told radio station Democracia that while President Rafael Correa would make the decision, he was sure that his country would ``maintain its line of peace and respect for the self-determination of the people,'' Universal said, citing the Associated Press.

The president of Nicaragua's congress, Edwin Castro, ruled out the possibility of the Nicaraguan army fighting with Venezuela against the U.S. as the Central American country's constitution makes the military a purely defensive agency, the newspaper said, citing Deutsche Presse Agentur.

Bolivian defense minister Walker San Miguel said the proposal hadn't yet been considered, Universal reported, citing Agence France-Presse.

Ecuador Govt to Control Food Prices

Quito, Jan 29 (Prensa Latina) Ecuadorian Agriculture Minister Walter Poveda asserted on Tuesday that the government will control the prices of rice, milk corn, banana, and wheat flour, to protect the citizenry.

Criticizing the excessive rise in basic produce prices, he stressed "we understand price and market freedom, but not licentiousness."

The minister complained about the "dramatic situation of farmers, with prices continuously decreasing; there is no market intervention, and the farmers go bankrupt."

Thus he defended state intervention, as a regulating entity to guarantee agricultural production and prevent, "prices from continuous rising" in businesses.

He stressed that the government seeks "to protect consumers and producers to save crops, preserve them properly, and have a sustainable exportable offer."

Poveda also questioned the proposal to internationalize the prices of produce, when "salaries are not internationalized."

The minister made the statements after a rise in the price of basic produce was called harmful speculation to destabilize the government by President Rafael Correa.

Ascendant Copper Loses Mining Concessions in Ecuador

Written by Cyril Mychalejko

UpsideDownWorld, Tuesday, 29 January 2008

Ecuador’s government announced on Friday that it was revoking Ascendant Copper’s mining concessions for the controversial Junin Project.

Mining and Petroleum Minister Galo Chiriboga told reporters that the government decided to revoke a total of 587 mining concessions for reasons that include companies’ failure to pay proper fees on concessions.

“As an Intag resident, I am ecstatic to be rid of a source of conflict that was tearing our communities apart,” said Carlos Zorrilla, executive director of Defensa y Conservación Ecológica de Intag (DECOIN), a local grassroots environmental organization. “In our particular case, it is a clear triumph of community-based resistance over the destructive power of transnational corporations.”

Ascendant Copper accused the government of leftist President Rafael Correa of bowing to pressure from environmental groups. John Haigh, Ascendant's investor relations chief, said that the Ecuadorian government’s actions were “astounding”, “absolute bologna” and that the decision was “rushed.”

“We feel that there is no validity in this at all…we are going to protect those concessions with every legal alternative open to us,” said Haigh.

The company also denies any wrongdoing. "According to Ascendant Copper's records, all concession payments regarding each of its projects have been made, on time, as stated by Ecuadorian law," the company stated. "The company has complied with all government requests, abided by all Ecuadorian mining regulations and remains in compliance with all laws."

Heads in The Sand, Hands in Violence

But the decision shouldn’t have come as a surprise to Ascendant. Just four months earlier the government ordered the company to suspend all activities at its Junin project for violating the country’s mining laws. The government also warned at the time that the company’s concessions could eventually be revoked.

"We will see how the facts evolve, but eventually this could lead to a revocation," Minister Chiriboga said at a press conference in September of 2007. "For those concessions that have violated legal and constitutional regulations...we will apply the law and that will be our mining industry policy."

Using the same tactic as they did this year, Ascendant immediately responded with a press release denying any wrong-doing. This suggests that either company officials are running their business with their heads in the sand, or more likely, that they are attempting to deliberatly mislead not only the Ecuadorian government and the public, but their own investors as well.

The mining project, which would cause massive deforestation, climate change, and contamination of the local water supply in a part of Ecuador considered by scientists as a “global center of biodiversity,” has met resistance since the time the company bought the concessions. Human Rights lawyers representing people affected by the project in Intag filed lawsuits claiming that Ascendant’s purchase of the concessions were illegal because the government failed to consult with local communities as mandated by Article 88 of Ecuador’s constitution.

In addition, the company’s activities have caused social discord with local communities in the area and have been tainted by human rights abuses. In December of 2005, some residents upset over the government’s inability (or refusal) to protect their rights and interests, burnt down a building owned by the company (nobody was injured), mirroring actions taken a decade earlier against a Japanese company which left only after their camp was burnt down.

Then their have been local protests, marches in the capital and public decrees issued by local government officials demanding the company leave. But rather than respect the wishes of a majority of the local public, Ascendant chose to continue the battle, a decision which would eventually lead to violence.

In December, the Ecumenical Human Rights Commission (CEDHU) (a human rights organization based in Ecuador) denounced violent actions by “paramilitaries” reportedly linked to the company. The paramilitaries wore camouflaged uniforms, were armed with machine guns and handguns, and used tear gas and fired shots at unarmed community members from Junin (some of which was captured on video).

That same month the United Nations decided to investigate whether pro-mining factions had framed DECOIN member Carlos Zorrilla for an alleged robbery and assault in order to silence mining opposition in the region. Zorrilla, who was found innocent of the charges, went into hiding minutes before his home was invaded by local police, some wearing ski masks and heavily armed. He remained in hiding for several months.

Then in July 2007, Amnesty International issued an action alert for ongoing death threats and attacks against mining opponents. These are just a few examples of high profile cases.

Changes Urgently Needed

With the government in the midst of re-writing the country's constitution through a popular assembly, more changes to mining laws can be expected.

“Large-scale mining needs to have clear rules, but the big question remains if we really want open-pit mining," said Alberto Acosta, head of the government-controlled assembly.

He suggested that other changes, in addition to banning open pit mining which what Ascendant wanted to use in Junin, would include prohibiting mining in nature reserves and requiring community consent for any mining project.

This departure from Ecuador’s previous subservience to transnational capital has the international business community seething. Luke Penseney, CEO of Ontario-based Markets Intelligence, that the government’s actions are dangerous. "You risk becoming a pariah, which is what Ecuador's in danger of becoming," said Penseney.

But Karyn Keenan, Program Officer at the Halifax Initiative, a Canadian Coalition working to create a global economy that prioritizes human rights, labor rights and environmental sustainability over narrow corporate interests, believes Ecuador’s recent actions should motivate the Canadian government to make changes to reign in the often irresponsible behavior of Canadian companies in the extractive industries abroad. She said that one thing which could be done is the adoption of recommendations made by the Canadian Roundtables on the Extractive Industries (something the government has thus far refused to do), a multi-stakeholder group that brought representatives of civil society and the business community together.

“The Ecuadorian example illustrates why it’s such a disappointment it hasn’t happened and why it’s so urgently needed,” said Keenan. “It’s a call for the Canadian government to make some policy changes.” In the meantime, Ecuadorians have more work to do.

“Until the government declares areas like the Toisan Range here in Intag, and the Condor Range in the south of the country as permanently free of mining, we will continue our struggle,” said Zorrilla. “Our main focus now is to support the national push to declare all of Ecuador free of large and medium scale metallic mining.”

Cyril Mychalejko is an editor at www.UpsideDownWorld.org. He can be reached at Cyril(at)upsidedownworld.org.

Ecuador Prioritizes Mining, Oil

Quito, Jan 28 (Prensa Latina) Changes in the oil and mining sectors are the Ecuadorian government's top priorities on Monday, aimed at increasing income and guaranteeing that those resources are State-run.

President Rafael Correa has given a 45-day term for the conclusion of renegotiations of contracts with foreign oil companies with investments in the country.

Over the weekend, Correa deplored plundering in the sector in which previous social-Christian governments changed the modalities of agreements to the detriment of the Ecuadorian people.

The president offered three choices to the entities: sign agreements for the provision of services, keep delivering 99 percent of surplus income resulting from the costly commercialization of oil, or end their operations.

Referring to the last choice, he pointed out the State promises to return investment funds, and Petroecuador state oil company will assume exploitation of those fields.

Ecuador wants to end oil negotiations in 45 days

QUITO, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said he wants oil firms to strike an agreement with the government to overhaul their contracts in 45 days as the state seeks to increase its control over the key sector.

Ecuador started negotiations with five oil firms to switch from contracts that allow companies keep part of the oil they extract to deals in which the state will keep all the crude in exchange for a service fee.

Correa said that if companies are not willing to strike a deal they can either leave the country or continue to pay a windfall tax that the firms said makes their business unviable.

"If they are not happy there is no problem, we don't want to swindle anybody. How much have they invested? $200 million. Here are your $200 million and have a nice day because (state oil firm) Petroecuador will exploit those fields," Correa said during his Saturday radio show.

"We are not going to allow them to keep taking our oil," said Correa, a former economy minister who last year grabbed nearly all windfall revenues generated by oil firms above a set contractual price.

The companies participating in the negotiations include Spain's Repsol, China's Andes Petroleum, Brazil's Petrobras's, France's Perenco and U.S.-owned City Oriente.

"I don't see this a threat, this is actually good for us," said a top industry executive who asked not to be named. "The government has been delaying negotiations and we want to reach an agreement now."

He added that negotiations could lead to a hybrid contract in which companies will still keep part of the oil, but the government receive a bigger share of their revenues.

Ecuador, Opec's smallest member and South America's fifth largest oil producer, has an output of around 500,000 barrels per day.

Ecuador President Correa Sets March 8 Deadline for Oil Talks

By Stephan Kueffner

Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Ecuador's President Rafael Correa set a March 8 deadline for oil companies to agree to changes in terms for oil contracts with the smallest member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

``We have to put a limit on these negotiations: 45 days,'' Correa said in his weekly radio address today. The talks began on Jan. 21. Even with a long-running rally in crude oil prices, Ecuador's oil production shrank by 9.8 percent in 2007, weighing on gross domestic product growth, according to the central bank.

The companies will have the option of agreeing to be paid for getting the oil out of the ground, as the government wants, or to continue under present terms and pay the government a 99 percent tax for windfall profits above contracted prices.

Companies also may leave, in which case the country will pay them for investments carried out to date, said Correa, a U.S.- educated economist.

Five negotiating teams for the government are meeting on weekdays with the companies, which include state-owned Petroleo Brasileiro SA; France's Perenco SA; Spain's biggest energy company, Repsol YPF SA; Chinese-owned Andes Petroleum Co.; and the U.S.'s City Oriente Ltd.

To contact the reporter on this story: Stephan Kueffner in Quito at skueffner@bloomberg.net .

Ecuador revokes hundreds of mine concessions

Reuters, Friday January 25 2008 via The Guardian

By Alonso Soto and Alexandra Valencia

QUITO, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Ecuador's leftist government revoked hundreds of mining concessions on Friday, highlighting its determination to boost control over the Andean nation's natural resources.

Shares of Canada's junior mining company Ascendant Copper plunged 28 percent in Toronto after it lost a high-profile project. But the measure had little effect on some of the biggest players in the sector.

Mining and Petroleum Minister Galo Chiriboga told reporters the state was revoking 587 mining contracts because companies failed to pay fees on concessions for reserves of copper, gold and other metals.

"Based on legal norms, (the government) decided to revoke these contracts," he said.

Ascendant, which lost its Junin project, accused the government of President Rafael Correa of bowing to pressure from environmental groups.

"None of this is true ... the government was rushed into this," John Haigh, Ascendant's investor relations chief, said in a telephone interview.

Ecuador has little precious metal output, but dozens of foreign companies are exploring in the sector where nearly 4,000 concessions have been awarded.

By scrapping concessions, Correa sent a signal to the private sector that he wanted to overhaul rules for the industry. But the ally of Venezuelan's leftist President Hugo Chavez also avoided a battle with the most important foreign investors who generate revenue for the impoverished nation.

Last year, Correa moved more aggressively against foreign oil companies, ordering them to hand over almost all of their windfall profits from high prices.

Since then, Correa has shown signs of moderating his radical policies as his popularity ratings have fallen mainly due to perceptions he is too confrontational.

CORREA RULES

Ecuador's Deputy Mining Minister Jose Serrano later told Reuters that Friday's move was "not an action against mining but a move to put the sector in order."

He warned that the government could revoke more concessions later this year as part of an ongoing probe.

Those concessions will be later auctioned, but he denied speculation that revoked concessions will be later awarded to a planned state mining company.

Serrano said the move would not affect the country's biggest companies, which include Canadian miners Aurelian Resources, Corriente Resources and Iamgold Corp.

In the case of Ascendant, the government had already limited the company's work. Last year, it ordered the company to halt the Junin project's operations on charges it had violated mining regulations.

Serrano said Ascendant can appeal the order.

Friday's announcement should help appease environmentalists and residents across southern Ecuador, where most of the mining concessions are located. They have lobbied Correa to increase control over mining concessions following complaints the state was indiscriminately handing out contracts in previous years.

The government has already started negotiations with Aurelian and Corriente on their terms for doing business in Ecuador and boost state participation in current deals.

In general, it wants to rewrite rules for the industry by introducing royalties, making it more difficult to grant concessions and setting a windfall tax that should ensure more state revenue.

Ecuador Assembly Clear on Salaries

Quito, Jan 25 (Prensa Latina) Constituent Assembly member Maria Paula Romo highlighted on Friday the need to publish the full duties of that authority regarding a salary ceiling for the public sector.

"It is important, above all that the Constituent Assembly does not lose sight of the need to communicate clearly what it is doing," said Romo.

That established ceiling does not affect most of the Ecuadorians of the public sector, only a small number known as the golden bureaucrats.

The assembly member clarified that with this legislation, which will come into force on March 1, they seek to improve equality, and highlighted that this constitutional duty does not freeze the public sector's salary.

"This does not mean a general decrease in salaries," rather the entire opposite, he asserted.

He said compensations in the sector, due to dismissals or another measures will have a $42,000 ceiling, and travel allowances and bonds will be eliminated as a component of the new salaries.

The resolution will mainly affect officials of the autonomous entities, the salaries of whom exceed $8,000 dollars and have been criticized by President Rafael Correa, for working to the Ecuadorians' disadvantage.

According to official statistics, Ecuador has 467,000 public employees, and hardly over ten percent have salaries that exceed $5,000.

Ecuador lifts visa rules for Chines

PressTV, 25 January, 2008

Ecuador has decided to eliminate the visa requirement for Chinese tourists who travel within 90 days in this South American country.

According to the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry, the decision was made on behalf of Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa.

The move is to strengthen bilateral relations and help promote tourism industry, Xinhua reported.

The new rule is to become effective as of February, 15, 2008.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, bilateral trade and economic relations have made new headway. China mainly imports banana, prawns and fish meat from Ecuador and mainly exports to Ecuador light industrial products, industrial and agricultural tools and mechanical equipment.

Ecuador to avoid exploitation of oil field in Amazonian forest

QUITO, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa Thursday ordered the creation of the ITT Yasuni Project Technical Secretariat to avoid the exploitation of the Ishpingo Tambococha Tiputini (ITT) oil field in an Amazonian natural reserve.

The Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry said in a communique that the ITT Yasuni Project Technical Secretariat, created as a temporary branch of the Foreign Ministry, will be in charge of obtaining contributions to a trust fund among other activities.

The Ecuadorian government wants to establish the "Yasuni ITT Trust Fund,"an autonomous patrimony that will allow the adequate administration of contributions to use them for investment plans and utilize its resources to finance Ecuadorian Government Development Plans.

The Ecuadorian government expects that the secretariat would contribute at least 350 million U.S. dollars annually to avoid the exploitation of the oil field in ITT within Yasuni National Park, a highly bio-diverse Amazonian forest considered as one of the "world's lungs".

Petroleum is Ecuador's main export which finances 35 percent of the government's budget.

Powerful mayor challenges Ecuador's Correa

By Alonso Soto

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (Reuters) Jan 24, 2008 - Carried on the shoulders of supporters, the mayor of Ecuador's largest city led a march of tens of thousands on Thursday, cementing his new role as the top opposition threat to President Rafael Correa.

Jaime Nebot has leveraged his popularity in the business city of Guayaquil to challenge the leftist Correa's plans for greater state control over the economy.

Thousands of backers waving the city's blue and white flag swarmed the streets of the sultry port city chanting "Long live Guayaquil, dammit," and "Down with Correa.".

"As long as you are alive and I am alive, he will never push us around," Nebot shouted to the crowd. "We will not be guinea pigs of a failed experiment."

One in six Ecuadoreans live in Guayaquil, the country's richest city. It is also Correa's birthplace and has become a key political battleground for the ally of Venezuela's left-wing president, Hugo Chavez.

Last week, Correa gathered a similar crowd of about 40,000 cheering supporters in Guayaquil to mark his first year in office, in which he has wrested most institutional powers from a fragmented opposition but also seen his popularity ebb.

The U.S.-trained economist's popularity dropped to 57 percent this month, near the lowest point of his presidency, with pollsters saying more voters have been turned off by his abrasive style and a flagging economy.

OPPOSITION LEADER

Nebot, who has less influence outside Guayaquil, says he has no plans to run for president if a new assembly rewriting a constitution calls presidential and legislative elections as early as this year.

He is expected, however, to run for mayor again and will use his popularity in Ecuador's coastal region to call on voters to reject Correa.

Nebot agrees with Correa's promises to overhaul Ecuador's foreign debt and renegotiate oil contracts but complained the president seeks too much power.

"If the government does something good I do not oppose that but if they seek to destroy Guayaquil and if the president wants to become an emperor ... then I will fiercely oppose that," he told Reuters while cruising the city on Thursday.

In almost eight years as mayor, the two-time presidential contender is credited with turning Guayaquil into a model of urban renewal with wide highways and towering glass buildings.

Nebot, who says he is a distant relative of Correa, has a 90 percent popularity rating in Guayaquil and is the best-known political figure in Ecuador after the president, according to pollster Informe Confidencial.

"Nebot could take votes from Correa in upcoming elections ... hurting his influence over a new Congress and in local governments," said Gandhy Espinosa of the polling firm.

Nebot's Christian Social Party and other traditional parties have lost much of their influence and won few seats in a powerful new assembly set up to rewrite the constitution.

With the power of other opposition leaders waning, Correa has focused his attacks on Nebot, saying he is part of a political old guard he dismisses as corrupt.

Correa compared him to a shantytown hit-man and Nebot fired back by saying that Correa is one of the "three stooges" along with Venezuela's Chavez and Bolivia's leftist president, Evo Morales.

"Correa's constant attacks have pushed Nebot into the ring," said Patrick Esteruelas, an analyst with Eurasia Group of political risk consultants. "He is the opposition's great white hope."

Ecuador Protests to Colombia

Quito, Jan 24 (Prensa Latina) Ecuador has made representations to Colombia in the wake of remarks by Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos, and denied that guerrilla leader Raul Reyes is in its territory.

"Colombia is aware that the Ecuadorian state does not know Reyes' whereabouts and would not accept the presence in its territory of any people who organize or commit violent acts affecting a third country," a note from the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry said.

Therefore, Santos' remarks about the stay of the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) leader in Ecuador may distort the international image of this country, the document adds.

The text of the Ecuadorean Foreign Ministry notes that this nation is suffering the consequences of the Colombian internal conflict and the harmful effects of spraying with glyphosate.

This territory is exposed to problems arising from drug cultivation and trafficking in the neighboring country, and receives a significant flow of refugees and displaced people fleeing from armed conflict, the official note says.

The Foreign Ministry reiterates its commitment to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of Colombia, and will defend its sovereignty, security and territorial integrity against third parties

Ecuador Betters South American Union Treaty

Quito, Jan 23 (Prensa Latina) Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa improved the constituent treaty of the South American Union of Nations (UNASUR) with representatives from Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina and Bolivia.

The event, held at Carondelet Palace (Presidential headquarters) took place before next weeks meeting in Cartagena, Colombia, with foreign ministers, members of UNASUR.

The government's digital note revealed the meeting tackled aspects of the constituent treaty of the South American Union of nations but without details.

A few days ago, Ecuador sent a proposal of integration aspects of that organization and Correa discussed them with officials in charged of the countries previously mentioned, revealed the communication.

Foreign ministers from Ecuador Maria Isabel Salvador and Venezuela Nicolas Maduro also attended the talks, including UNASUR pro-tempore secretary Pablo Solon from Bolivia

Ecuador Rules Out FTA with US

Quito, Jan 23 (Prensa Latina) Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Maria Isabel Salvador ruled out a Free Trade Agreement with the United States but defended a commercial deal with that country.

We don't want a FTA, but we are working to reach a commercial agreement with Washington that is beneficial for both parties, Salvador noted.

She also ruled out that Ecuador would beg the US Congress to renovate the ATPDA (Law for Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication).

The Ecuadorean foreign minister pointed out that it is a right gained by the country's success in fighting drug trafficking, and the government is just making efforts for an extension.

Salvador said the country would sign a commercial agreement with Chile to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

The accord will be penned in March, during Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa's official visit to Chile.

Finally, she repeated Ecuador's decision to consider the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) and the National Liberation Army as irregular groups

Ecuador Seeks Greater Control Over Oil

QUITO, Ecuador
Forbes.com, 22 Jan, 2008 - Ecuador's leftist government has begun renegotiating contracts with five international oil companies to boost state control over the country's crude, the oil minister said on Monday.

President Rafael Correa's administration is seeking to replace service contracts with foreign companies that extract crude oil, allowing the state to pay firms a fee for their service, but making sure the government owns all the crude, Oil and Mines Minister Galo Chiriboga told reporters.

Under the current contract, foreign companies own the oil they extract.

"We are the owners of this resource, and we are convinced that this is the best mechanism, as much for us as it is for them, at the moment," Chiriboga said.

Correa, a close ally of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, signed a decree in October that nearly doubled the state's share of windfall oil profits - earnings on oil sold above prices fixed in company contracts.

The five companies with which officials are negotiating are: U.S.-based City Oriente, Spain's Repsol YPF, Brazil's state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, French-owned Perenco SA, and the Chinese company Andes Petroleum Corp.

Ecuador is South America's fifth-largest oil producer, churning out an average of 510,000 barrels of crude a day.

Last week, Correa's government announced it would invest $2 billion in its oil industry this year to increase production by 11 percent. Correa has blamed the country's less than 3 percent economic growth rate in 2007, one of the lowest in Latin America, on declining oil production.

Indigenous leaders take steps to make UN declaration law

Posted: January 21, 2008

by: Rick Kearns / Indian Country Today

QUITO, Ecuador - Indigenous leaders and other supporters from Ecuador and elsewhere are developing strategies to help all Native peoples turn the United Nations' declaration on indigenous rights into law across the hemisphere. From Dec. 16 to 18 in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador, the leaders met for the ''International Conference: Formulation and Implementation of the Strategic Plan for the application of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.'' Organized by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE in Spanish), the Native-based School of Government and Public Policy, the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany and the Esquel Foundation, the conference addressed the issue through five ''work tables'': democracy, politics and autonomies; territories and natural resources; administration of justice; economics and development; and identity, culture and patrimony (which included intellectual, spiritual and cultural aspects). In the first work table, participants reported that they needed concrete plans and programs to define how they would participate democratically and how they would construct or reconstruct their own forms of government. No specific plans were mentioned, however, in the report. One idea was announced in the realm of economics. ''As we are living in a capitalistic system, the question of community enterprises or businesses'' was discussed, according to the events coordinator, Luis Maldonado, an indigenous activist and scholar at the School of Government and Public Policy. This type of business is being developed more quickly in Bolivia, where the nationalization of natural resources is progressing; and in Ecuador, Maldonado noted, ''a new conception of nationalization or 'citizenation' of the economy'' is approaching. (As of last November, Ecuador has a functioning Constituent Assembly that has, among other things, taken over the role of the national Congress and whose majority has pledged to develop pro-indigenous articles in the new constitution.) Identity and cross-cultural initiatives were announced as fundamental objectives that can be brought forward through education, which involves more than just involving bilingual studies to include intercultural approaches. Details on those approaches, which would include not just the indigenous peoples but all sectors of the respective societies, were not available at press time. For all societies, participants proposed two general strategies for the administration of justice: work toward enactment of the U.N. declaration as law of their respective republics, and formulation of proposals for laws to be presented to the national congresses. It was again noted that Bolivia had adopted indigenous rights as law of the land by adopting the U.N. bill as national legislation. Legal enforcement of these measures was addressed in a section dedicated to creating a system of inspectors or comptrollers for the effective application of indigenous rights. Maldonado pointed out that ''this has to do also with the diverse plans established by the United Nations, for example, with respect to the second decennial of the indigenous peoples and the proposals that are being formulated at the regional and sub-regional levels.'' ''The declaration is an important international instrument,'' Maldonado continued, ''that must be taken up by the indigenous peoples and their governments in spite of the limitations it still has.'' One of the limitations, according to the coordinator, involved the issue of free determination. Even though it is listed in the declaration, it remains constrained by the various national states and it does not permit ''a re-grouping of the different peoples and existing nationalities that are dispersed throughout different states.'' Another item of concern involved natural resources, which is causing conflicts throughout the hemisphere. ''The indigenous peoples only have the right to the free determination of the use of the ground on the surface and not of the sub-ground or underground, then this also is a fundamental limitation of what the declaration established,'' Maldonado stated. While the indigenous peoples of Ecuador have some cause for optimism, there are still unresolved issues involving their allies in the current government and the mining industries. The new Constituent Assembly, for instance, includes some indigenous members, and it is under the control of the Acuerdo Pais party of President Rafael Correa; Correa ran on a pro-indigenous platform in his campaign and has a few indigenous people in his cabinet. The Acuerdo Pais, along with allied groups, hold 80 of the 130 seats of the Constituent Assembly. Correa has introduced and helped pass some laws that partially nationalize some natural resources, and he is considered a strong ally of President Evo Morales of Bolivia, but there are still serious problems involving huge mining operations in the country. Many of these mineral businesses operate in indigenous areas where allegations of human rights abuses and severe pollution continue. Despite these limitations, Maldonado stated that the passage of the declaration involves ''a process, to continue advancing and to achieve the full range of rights that all people have in the international arena.''

Ecuadoran leader basks in pro-reform demonstration

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (AFP) 19 Jan, 2008 — Waving from a convertible to thousands of his followers lining the main avenue of Ecuador's most populous city, President Rafael Correa Saturday celebrated his first year in office, predicting a tough fight ahead for his socialist reforms.

"Get ready to continue fighting," the populist president told 100,000 people -- according to his own estimate -- who gathered around a makeshift stage where he sang and danced with his Foreign Minister Maria Isabel Salvador before delivering a speech.

"Confrontation is inevitable with party-run politics, mafias, corruption. But I'm convinced that, same as in 2007, every victory will be ours, every success will belong to the people of Ecuador and that the people's revolution will be irreversible."

Correa, 44, rose to power last year on a wave of leftist sentiment spreading through Latin America since Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was first elected in 1998.

Like Chavez and Bolivian President Evo Morales, Correa proposes to rewrite the constitution to institute socialist reforms and allow for presidential reelection. Currently he is serving a non-reelectable five-year term.

His first major confrontation came when all 57 members of Congress were fired in March of last year for opposing his reform plan. By plebiscite in September, a special assembly was created to draft a new constitution, which will be put to referendum in mid-July.

Correa hopes the new constitution will help regulate the economy and end the political volatility in a country that has seen eight presidents come and go in the past decade.

Correa on Saturday spared his followers no grief.

"I don't want to bring you down, but I'll be honest: the fight is just getting started and 2008 will be more difficult ... because together with the Constitutional Assembly we're going to change the system; once and for all we'll put an end to all these old structures" of power.

He also predicted failure for an anti-reform protest the opposition has organized for Thursday.

"Nobody pays any attention to them any more," Correa told his cheering followers. He called his opposition enemies "bullies, hoodlums and rich people who take the side of corrupt bankers" against the working class.

Opposition leaders claim Correa is destroying civil rights and local autonomy, and seeking to wield more power through his constitutional reforms.

Left-Wing Movement Ratifies Support for Ecuadorean Govt

Quito, Jan 19 (Prensa Latina) Thousands of supporters of the MPD (Democratic Popular Movement) and university students marched in this capital to support the government of President Rafael Correa.

After the buses bringing the MPD delegates from other provinces arrived at El Arbolito park, in downtown Quito, demonstrators marched to the Carondelet Palace (Presidential Palace) to reaffirm their support for Correa.

We are here to march in support of the Citizens' Revolution that the head of State is promoting with his process of change and reform in the country and for the construction of socialism, said MPD leader Ciro Guzman.

He pointed out that they will march in Guayaquil to celebrate the first anniversary of the Correa government.

We will express our unconditional support for the president as long as he continues to rule in favor of the needy people, he stressed.

Thousands of university students, who announced their participation in the march in Guayaquil, took part in this demonstration in support of Correa.

Marcelo Rivera, leader of the Federation of University Students of Ecuador, said some 3,000 youths would travel to Guayaquil to commemorate the first anniversary of the Citizens' Revolution.

We support Correa and the majority of Ecuadoreans who are determined to fight for a new homeland and socialism, he noted.

Ecuador Decentralizes and Reorganizes

Quito, Jan 18 (Prensa Latina) The new state administrative structure that establishes Ecuador's division into seven regions to guarantee better distribution of resources, is attracting the attention of the citizenry Friday.

The proposal of territorial decentralization, regionalization, and reorganization was presented to the national media by the chief of SENPLADES (National Planning and Development Office) Fander Falconi.

He explained that the plan is to group several provinces in an administrative region, considering their demographic, social, fiscal, risk, and infrastructure components.

This reform is part of President Rafael Correa's project to change the State, and should be included in the Constitution that the Constituent Assembly is elaborating.

The initiative is an attempt to end social and regional inequality and move toward a decentralization process of competence and resources.

Falconi said this would favor a progressive transference of attributions and functions from the central Executive to the local and intermediate governments of each region.

According to the proposal, there would be seven administrative regions and the cities of Quito, the capital, and Guayaquil, which has more than two million inhabitants, would be metropolitan districts.

The Galapagos Islands, due to its specific characteristics, will have a special administration.

Provincial and municipal governments fear losing their autonomies under the project, but Falconi said the new administrative division would not negatively affect the territories at all; rather it will benefit them, because greater assistance to the populations will be possible.