Correa says Ecuadorian government package is part of neoliberal plan for Latin America — Paul Antonopoulos

Former anti-neoliberal president of Brazil is now in jail for corruption while in office. Rafael Correa, former anti-neoliberal president of Ecuador is under indictment for corruption while in office. Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro is under attack for imposing socialist dictatorship and corruption. Same with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. Anti-globalist president of the United States Donald Trump is facing impeachment. (Did I miss anyone?) These are the bad guys that "must go." Go figure.

Neoliberalism is joined at the hip with neo-imperialism and neocolonialism.

Fort Russ News
Correa says Ecuadorian government package is part of neoliberal plan for Latin America
Paul Antonopoulos

RT — ‘They want me dead’: Rafael Correa defies arrest order & talks ‘lawfare’ in emotional RT interview

Former President of Ecuador Rafael Correa has defied an arrest order, claiming the new government is waging “lawfare” to deprive him of a political future – and even life, in an exclusive RT interview.

Judge Daniella Camacho ordered the arrest of three-term President Rafael Correa on Tuesday over his alleged involvement in the 2012 abduction of a political opponent and requested that Interpol apprehend him for extradition. Correa, who now lives in Belgium, called the allegations “tremendously ridiculous” and dismissed Ecuador’s pressure on him in an interview with RT.

“That is called lawfare, you know,” Correa said. “They can’t defeat us in elections, so they try to defeat us using the judicial system. We have to stop that because this is not democracy.”

The former president, who also hosted a show ‘Conversations with Correa’ on RT Espanol, said that his adversaries “may invent whatever they want because they control everything – media, judicial system, the National Assembly [Ecuadorean parliament], etc. to pursue left leaders.”

“This is a regional strategy to pursue progressive leaders through judicial system – it’s called lawfare or judicialization of politics,” he said. Asked what he is going to do next, he replied: “Just waiting because there is no hope to have a fair [trial].”

He maintained that the prosecutor dealing with the 2012 abduction case was appointed against Ecuadorean law, which stipulates the post may only be filled after a nationwide selection. “He was installed with a mission to put me in jail,” Correa said, adding that he hopes that political situation in Ecuador will finally change....

RT
‘They want me dead’: Rafael Correa defies arrest order & talks ‘lawfare’ in emotional RT interview

Se also

The Unz Review
Washington Moves Against Rafael Correa
Paul Craig Roberts

Ecuador Under Lenin Moreno: an Interview With Andres Arauz — Joe Emersberger interview Andres Arauz

Backgrounder. Not looking good.

Detailed and nuanced report. Maybe more than you want to know. Cutting to the chase, a lot of backroom deals.

Looking at it structurally, our political project, the historic coalition that led to the Constitution of Montecristi [ratified by Ecuadorean voters in 2008] was gradually weakened over time by internal attrition. Contradictions were generated that made it difficult to keep the whole coalition together. During Rafael Correa’s last term in office the contradictions were visible, but Correa was the synthesis of that historic coalition that included the political movement [Alianza Pais], social organizations and other forces. The moment Correa left the scene a kind of vacuum of power was created. It has happened in many historic periods when strong leadership disappears through death or by succession. Disputes arise – some ideological and some not ideological – as we have seen. In my opinion, it was a huge mistake not to continue with Correa’s leadership. It was a mistake to believe the institutions would hold up; unfortunately our democracies are still too immature. In fact, throughout Latin America, the conditions under which progressive projects have developed have made it very difficult to sustain revolutionary changes. So that is the structural reading.…

“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”
Counterpunch
Ecuador Under Lenin Moreno: an Interview With Andres Arauz

Joe Emersberger interview Andres Arauz, formerly Deputy Secretary for Planning and Development and the Coordinating Minister of Knowledge and Human Talent in the Correa government

See also

Peru has in place the full set of democratic mechanisms: a constitution, opposition parties, regular elections, a presidential term limit, safeguards for the independence of the judiciary, and a free press. In the 1990s, Peru was run, in the name of President Alberto Fujimori, by its secret-police chief, Vladimiro Montesinos Torres. In the course of exercising power, Montesinos methodically bribed judges, politicians, and the news media. Montesinos kept meticulous records of his transactions. He required those he bribed to sign con- tracts detailing their obligations to him. He demanded written receipts for the bribes. Strikingly, he had his illicit negotiations videotaped.

In what follows, we use Montesinos’s bribe receipts and videotapes to study the breakdown of checks and balances. Montesinos and Fujimori maintained the facade of democracy—the citizens voted, judges decided, the media reported— but they drained its substance. We discuss how they went about undermining democ- racy: the negotiation and enforcement of the secret deals, the workings of covert authoritarianism....

Journal of Economic Perspectives
How to Subvert Democracy: Montesinos in Peru
John McMillan and Pablo Zoido

teleSUR — Ecuador’s Correa Leaves Office With 62 Percent Approval Rating

The survey, conducted between April 22 and 24, found that Correa’s approval rating never fell below 50 percent.

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa is set to leave office on May 24 with a 62 percent approval rating, El Telegrafo reported on Thursday, citing new findings from a survey conducted by Public Opinion Ecuador.

The survey, conducted between April 22 and 24, found that Correa’s approval rating never fell below 50 percent. Approximately 2,270 people aged 16 and over were chosen randomly across the country for survey interviews.

Correa, who took office in 2007 representing the leftist Alianza Pais party, is considered to be one of Ecuador’s most popular presidents. In 2014, his approval rating peaked at 83 percent.

“It's an interestingly high rating after so much time,” Public Opinion Ecuador Director Santiago Perez told El Telegrafo....

teleSUR
Ecuador’s Correa Leaves Office With 62 Percent Approval Rating

Stansfield Smith — Ecuador’s Accomplishments Under the 10 Years of Rafael Correa’s Citizen’s Revolution

Ecuador’s economic collapse and social explosion was similar to Greece’s a few years later. But in 2006, after nine presidents in ten years, the Ecuadoran people elected Rafael Correa, who was no capitulating Greek Syriza Prime Minister Tsipras or Berrnie Sanders. Correa’s government carried out programs that peoples in progressive social movements have advocated throughout the West, if not the world. Ecuador provides an example for what Greece could have done when its crisis hit, if it had a firm anti-neoliberal, anti-imperialist leadership....

Ecuador’s Citizens Revolution, not a socialist revolution as in Cuba, arose from a popular repudiation of neoliberalism and neocolonialism, similar to Chavista Venezuela and Evo’s Bolivia. It shows what can be accomplished with social programs and infrastructure investments when national wealth is redirected to benefit the majority instead of the 1%, while still confined in a capitalist system.

As long as a capitalist system remains in place, those gains are tenuous and likely only temporary, as in Brazil.

Counterpunch

Ecuador’s Accomplishments Under the 10 Years of Rafael Correa’s Citizen’s Revolution

Stansfield Smith

Robert Mackey — Ecuador Cuts Internet Access for Julian Assange to Preserve Neutrality in U.S. Election

Correa is not neutral himself. "I want Hillary to win."

The Intercept
Ecuador Cuts Internet Access for Julian Assange to Preserve Neutrality in U.S. Election
Robert Mackey

Zero Hedge
Ecuador Admits Censoring Assange Over "U.S. Election"; Denies "Yielding To Pressure From Other States"

teleSUR — Ecuador's Correa: 'Neoliberalism Has Failed, Not Socialism'

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa rejected the notion that the leftist and revolutionary governments in Latin America have failed and instead posited that the real failure in the region has been the neoliberal economic model.

“Inequality in a poor country means misery, generalized misery. We must seek out other forms of developing ourselves that are distinct from those fantasies of trickle-down theories,” said President Correa in an interview Sunday.

For Correa the negative press regarding Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador—all led by governments that are proponents of socialism—is partly driven by the political agenda of private media outlets, which have been historically hostile to leftist regimes.…

“Growth is important … but not just any kind of growth, it must be quality growth, growth that favors the poor, growth with social justice, growth with equity,” said Correa.
For the president, the successes of socialism of the 21st century can be seen in the reduction of inequality and poverty experienced in the aforementioned countries.…

teleSUR
Ecuador's Correa: 'Neoliberalism Has Failed, Not Socialism'

telesur — 'We Have Proof' of CIA in Ecuador: President Correa

In a special investigation, teleSUR revealed how U.S. agencies directed attacks against the progressive government with the support of the international right wing.

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa Wednesday described as “powerful” the reports issued by teleSUR on the CIA’s involvement in the country and its relation with journalists, media and politicians to destabilize his government through smear campaigns.

In a press conference, the Ecuadorean head of state affirmed he had evidence proving teleSUR's reports were true.

“The National Endowment for Democracy is the CIA’s financial branch—like in Venezuela, in Bolivia—it does not fund the Red Cross anymore, it funds groups providing training on democracy, this means, destabilizing the government and other opposition movements,” Correa claimed.

telesur
'We Have Proof' of CIA in Ecuador: President Correa

See also

For More Than 50 Years, CIA Went Deep into Ecuadorean Society

Macri Gov't to Take teleSUR off Argentine TV Service in 15 Days


Bolivian Opposition Leader Admits Election Plotting with US Embassy

teleSUR — The People Should be More Powerful than Capital, Says Correa

Ecudorean President Rafael Correa participated in a special conference at the Vatican Friday, where he spoke to Catholic leaders, politicians and academics about the growing problem of capitalism and global inequality.

In his speech titled Changes in the Global Political Situation Since 1991, Correa said the ongoing struggle against capitalism and neoliberal policies – which favors free market economics, generally at the expense of social institutions – is particularly pertinent today. “We live in a world that is now the empire of capital, and the great challenge of the century is to achieve the supremacy of people over capital,” said the Latin American president.

I would say, "people and the environment." We are fouling the nest.

Correa also warned that Latin America is suffering from an invasion of foreign non-governmental organizations, which is “dangerous for democracy.”
“Many of them are not spontaneous, they’re not non-government organizations but organizations from other governments, and powers that want to impose a political agenda with no political responsibility, with no democratic legitimacy and that is really dangerous for democracy,” he said. He then warned people to be careful with this aspect of civil society.
According to Correa, non-governmental organizations and institutions enrich discussion and decision-making, but the final decisions should be made by “politicians with democratic legitimacy and political responsibility.”
Correa then affirmed that they aim at discrediting the political power, which is necessary to change unfair structures like those existing in Latin America.“Many of them are not spontaneous, they’re not non-government organizations but organizations from other governments, and powers that want to impose a political agenda with no political responsibility, with no democratic legitimacy and that is really dangerous for democracy,” he said. He then warned people to be careful with this aspect of civil society.
According to Correa, non-governmental organizations and institutions enrich discussion and decision-making, but the final decisions should be made by “politicians with democratic legitimacy and political responsibility.”
Correa then affirmed that they aim at discrediting the political power, which is necessary to change unfair structures like those existing in Latin America.

teleSUR
The People Should be More Powerful than Capital, Says Correa

See also

Bolivia’s Morales Praises Bernie Sanders 'Anti-Capitalism', Tells Him to 'Be Careful'

Bolivia’s Morales Praises Bernie Sanders 'Anti-Capitalism', Tells Him to 'Be Careful'

This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address: 
 "http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Sanders-Anti-Capitalism-May-Put-Him-At-Risk-Bolivias-Morales-20160415-0052.html". If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english

teleSUR — Nearly 2 Million Ecuadoreans Lifted out of Poverty in 6 Years

Ecuador's multidimensional poverty rate was reduced to 35 percent in December 2015 from 51.5 percent in December of 2009. Ecuador's National Institute of Statistics and Censuses reported Friday that the country's multidimensional poverty rate dropped 16.5 percent between 2009 and 2015, translating into 1.9 million Ecuadoreans who no longer live in poverty. “Socioeconomic poverty will be fundamentally solved through changes in the relations of power … through political processes,” said Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa. The reduction of both urban and rural poverty has been one of the major objectives of the Correa government since his arrival to the presidency in 2007. The country is working to eliminate extreme poverty completely, having already successfully done so in the capital region.

 teleSUR
Nearly 2 Million Ecuadoreans Lifted out of Poverty in 6 Years

teleSUR — Socialism vs. Neoliberalism: Ecuador’s Correa Debates Opposition

Correa, a trained economist who received his doctorate from the University of Illinois in 2001, was joined by the Ecuadorean Coordinating Minister of Political Economy Patricio Rivera and Finance Minister Fausto Herrera. Former Economy Minister Mauricio Pozo; former President of the Ecuadorean Social Security Institute Ramiro Gonzalez, and the former Ecuadorean Vice President Alberto Dahik represented the opposition in the debate.

teleSUR
Socialism vs. Neoliberalism: Ecuador’s Correa Debates Opposition

teleSUR — Rafael Correa Advocates for Redistribution of Wealth

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa delivered the closing remarks at a three-day conference held in Quito on Wednesday in which he gave a passionate speech advocating for a redistribution of the country’s wealth.

Speaking at the conference, President Correa argued that in order to eliminate economic inequalities, the country must introduce policies aimed at redistributing the country’s wealth.

He also went on to defend the government-led inheritance tax proposal which he stated would put an end to the “illegitimate accumulation of wealth,” by the country’s economic elite.

During his speech, President Correa criticized the role of the media in its attack against the tax proposal, which sparked violent protests from sectors of the Ecuadorean elite earlier this year.

The Ecuadorean leader condemned Latin American media outlets for what he described as “defending the commercial interests of elites,” arguing that a genuine democratization of media begins with diversifying the ownership of media.

“The Latin American press are some of the worst. They are only subservient to the powers that be,” Correa said.

Media in Latin America have traditionally been consolidated into the hands of a few wealthy families and large media conglomerates.…

teleSUR
Rafael Correa Advocates for Redistribution of Wealth

Andes — The opposition in Ecuador is not democratic: analysts

Analysts agreed on the fact that the political opposition in Ecuador does not act democratically and coordinates with an extreme right-winged NGO, finances by foreign countries to destabilize the government.

“We do not have a democratic opposition, it has to be clear: there is a subversive opposition attempting against the Ecuadorian State security, against democracy, against the Constitution. It must be clarified, it’s not a democratic opposition, it’s a subversive opposition,” Ramos, director of the Andean Center for Strategic Studies, said.

Ramos participated along with Carlos Baca Mancheno, former president of the commission in charge of probing a coup attempt (registered on September 30, 2010), in the program “Ecuador no para” broadcasted by El Ciudadano TV channel.

The analyst went beyond and stated that there is a methodology aimed at “destroying democratic processes with a deep legitimacy” based on non-lineal operations of wide-spectrum, including all types of subversion.

On the other hand, Carlos Baca, expert in criminal law, agreed on the fact that the opposition is not democratic and since it is not possible to have a “classic” coup attempt (the army taking over power) they use other “subtle” ways or “sophisticated processes” to break the democratic order.

La información y el contenido multimedia, publicados por la Agencia de Noticias Andes, son de carácter público, libre y gratuito. Pueden ser reproducidos con la obligatoriedad de citar la fuente. http://www.andes.info.ec/en/news/opposition-ecuador-not-democratic-analysts.html

Andes
The opposition in Ecuador is not democratic: analysts

TeleSUR on Brazil and Ecuador

TeleSURtv.net

UPDATED: Anti-Dilma Protesters Play Down Low Turn Out in Brazil

A segment of those demonstrating have openly called for the military to mount a coup against the democratically-elected president.

Opposition Demonstrators Shoot, Injure 11 Ecuadorean Officials

“I've never seen them be so violent, so aggressive,” said Correa of Thursday's opposition protests.

Low Turn-Out Marks Start of Anti-Dilma Marches in Brazil

A segment of those demonstrating have openly called for the military to mount a coup against the democratically-elected president.

teleSUR — Ecuador's President Correa Warns of Further Destabilization

The South American country has recently been witness to often-violent protests by opposition forces, who are demanding that Correa’s government proposed tax reforms, that would make the wealthiest pay more, should be scrapped. The government has delayed the measures pending a national dialogue and retains strong support according to recent polls.

teleSUR

Ecuador's President Correa Warns of Further Destabilization

Correa — National Strike in Ecuador Part of Destabilization Plans

Haves versus have-nots.

“What they could not achieve at the ballot box they want to achieve through force, with violence, through manipulation,” said Correa.

teleSUR
Correa: National Strike in Ecuador Part of Destabilization Plans

See also

Poll Reaffirms Two-Thirds of Ecuadoreans Support Correa

Bill Black — Murdoch Warns Pope Francis about Ecuador’s President Correa

Another good one by Bill, who has been in Quito.

Note to conservatives — Be advised. The pope is the third rail.

New Economic Perspectives
Murdoch Warns Pope Francis about Ecuador’s President Correa
William K. Black | Associate Professor of Economics and Law, UMKC

teleSUR — Pope Francis to Correa: 'You Can Always Rely on the Church'

“Mister President, you will always be able to rely on the Church to support your people who stood up with dignity,” said the Pope to the Ecuadorean leader.

Pope Francis landed at the airport of Quito, the Ecuadorean capital, on Sunday, where President Rafael Correa and other officials welcomed him. Upon leaving the plane, the pope continued his campaign to uplift the poor in his first speech, saying that as a representative of the Catholic Church, he cannot disassociate himself from the struggles of the underprivileged. “The Ecuadorean people has stood up with dignity,” he said, as Pope Francis has been holding a continued discourse of social justice toward the poor.

The Pope’s visit to the South American country comes amid a series of month-long opposition protests, which have been at times violent. The opposition took to the streets after President Correa announced two tax laws aiming to redistribution wealth....

Big shift. The Church has always remained officially non-political in Latin America, often taking criticism for it.

teleSUR
Pope Francis to Correa: 'You Can Always Rely on the Church'

Also

Pope Francis to Promote Social Justice in Latin America Tour

teleSUR — Ecuador Government Reveals More Details on Opposition Violence

Ecuador’s Justice Minister provided further details on the violent attacks by opponents of the government that took place on Thursday night during protests in the nation's capital. 

The violence followed revelations that the right-wing opposition supporters, in collaboration with former Chief of Military Intelligence, were seeking to use Thursday's protests as cover to take over the presidential palace as part of actions that also included blockading the nation's major airports, as well as the bridges located on the Colombian and Peruvian borders....

The Minister said that despite attempts by the right-wing to force out the Correa government “we will continue in this process of change in the country” In recent weeks, a wave of opposition protests, initially only calling for the ending of new tax laws on the wealthiest, have increasingly turned violent, with many demanding the ousting of the Correa government. President Correa announced June 15 the temporary withdrawal of the tax laws and the start of a national dialogue on the future of the Ecuadorean economy.

teleSUR
Ecuador Government Reveals More Details on Opposition Violence

teleSUR spoke to some of the thousands of people who filled the plaza, to support the government of President Rafael Correa in the face of right-wing destabilization attempts. Michelle Moreano told teleSUR English, "Coup plotters will not come near us. This is something that was planned a long time ago. President Correa already knew about this. And we are the people here defending this revolution, defending what is ours, principally what are the inheritance and capital gains laws.
Because this does not affect the middle class. It is only 2% of the population." Government supporter Moises Obando told teleSUR English, “The opposition will never be able to break through these barriers which we, the Ecuadorean people, have put up. They are against millions of Ecuadoreans who support this process of the Citizen's Revolution. This is a government which has served the interests of the poorest, of the oppressed, and of the popular classes."

Meanwhile, leaders of the opposition such as Mayor of Guayaquil Jaime Nebot, Mayor of Quito Mauricio Rodas and head of the Azuay province government Paul Carrasco met in Guayaquil Thursday and told the press that they are planning for marches to continue following the visit of Pope Francis to the country from July 5 to 8. Mayor of Quito Mauricio Rodas told the press, "If they are not able to respond to the demands of the people of Quito and of other cities in Ecuador, if the voices of citizens are not taken into account, if they are not considered, or valued, we will convoke a massive march in the city of Quito."

Correa Supporters Defiant as Opposition Violence Hits Quito

The same playbill in different countries headed by left-wing governments.

Furthermore, evidence from WikiLeaks cables show that those who are heading today's protests in Ecuador are closely linked to the U.S. government and intelligence services....

For several years now, left-wing and progressive movements and parties have been gaining ground throughout the region.

With the failure of neoliberal policies that were applied throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, the right wing has found itself isolated as the mainstream consensus drifts to the left.

Largely divided and debilitated, the right wing throughout the region is beginning to re-accommodate, to re-organize, and to understand the current situation and the ways in which it can go back to power — by any means necessary.

Correa has put forward the theory that violence is being deliberately employed in order to provoke a response from security officials in order to accuse the government of having violated civil rights in order to invite foreign intervention in the form of sanctions, as was done to Venezuela in earlier this year when the U.S. government labeled Venezuela as a threat to its national security.

President Correa has warned that coups are still a very real threat in the region and violent street protests are part of a coordinated and deliberate campaign by right-wing forces in the region to destabilize the progressive and revolutionary governments of Latin America.

Ecuador's Opposition and Right-Wing Strategies in the Region

How Ecuador Transitioned From 20th Century Neoliberalism to 21st Century Socialism

This bait-and-switch was typical of Latin American heads of state during the Washington Consensus era: Neoliberal reforms were quite unpopular with the electorate, so campaigning against them was often a prerequisite to election. However, indebtedness to Western creditors, compounded by political pressure from Washington, left them with little choice but to create investment-friendly policies and to emphasize debt servicing over social service provision.

Ecuador was typical in this regard. Since the 1980s, the country had received dozens of loans from Washington-based international financial institutions - loans that included structural adjustment conditions, such as trade and financial liberalization, spending cuts and privatization of state-owned industries. Moreover, Ecuador relied on the United States for most of its foreign direct investment and depended on US-based importers to buy the bulk of its exports over this period. Indebtedness and economic dependency left Ecuador with little choice but to implement Washington Consensus-type domestic policies.

That Rafael Correa's presidential campaign in 2006 promised a shift away from the Washington Consensus should have surprised no one familiar with bait-and-switch politics in Latin America. The surprise was that he, unlike Bucaram and Gutiérrez, actually followed through on these promises. Much to the chagrin of Washington, the Correa administration has raised taxes, increased social service provision, brought regulatory reforms to the public and private sector and written off much of the country's external debt....

Truthout | Op-Ed
How Ecuador Transitioned From 20th Century Neoliberalism to 21st Century Socialism
Jonas Gamso | Ph.D. candidate at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs