As millions across the globe expressed their opposition to U.S. plans for War, president Bush recieved some support from Ecuadorian president Lucio Gutierrez, while he was on an official visit to Washington last week. Gutierrez proclaimed that Ecuador "wants to become a major ally and friend of the United States in the struggle for world peace, to strengthen democracy, reduce poverty, combat narco-trafficing, and to finish with the other evil, terrorism."
While Ecuador has never taken huge priority in terms of U.S. interest, Gutierrez�s visit is significant. One of the Bush administration�s top priorities is the passage of the FTAA (Free Trade of Area of the Americas), which means expanding NAFTA for the whole Hemisphere, save Cuba. Colombia, and the Andean Region in general, represent important geopolitical interests for the U.S., as evidenced by U.S. sponsored Plan Colombia and the Andean Regional Initiative. Moreover, it has long been feared that the "War on Terror" could take greater focus on Colombia, which would involve Ecuador to a much greater degree. However, the election of Gutierrez puts much of that into question, who campaigned on a platform of "radical change through constitutional means". To back that up, Gutierrez made a political alliance with CONAIE, Ecuador's national indigenous organization. Indigenous comprise between 30-40% of the population. As a result of this unique alliance, Gutierrez nominated Nina Pacari, an indigenous woman, to be the new Minister of Foreign Relations (the first time an indigenous woman has had such a powerful position in Ecuador's history) and Lucio Macas, former president of CONAIE, as Minister of Agriculture.
To many, Gutierrez symbolized another example - like Chavez in Venezuela and Lula de la Silva in Brazil - of the growing trend in Latin America that is questioning neoliberal economics set forth by the World Bank, IMF, and the U.S. Nevertheless, Gutierrez has gone to great lengths to distance himself from Chavez and assure the United States and international investors that he will not undermine their interests in Ecuador and the Andean Region. However, it is unclear whether Gutierrez is playing prudent politics on his road to reform or whether he has no real intentions of challenging the status quo.
News Highlights on Gutierrez visit to U.S. and other news from Ecuador:
1) Gutierrez meets with Attorney General John Ashcroft
2) Ecuador strikes deal with International Monetary Fund (IMF).
3) Internal divisions emerge within Gutierrez political alliance.
4) President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia calls for aid to battle terrorism.
1) In a meeting with Ashcroft Gutierrez layed out his desire to extradite Ecuadorian bankers implicated in the 1999 banking crisis which culminated in the closure of most banks (some permanent) and corruption charges against high level banking and government officials (including then president Jamil Mahuad). Gutierrez, a former Colonel, was one of the protagonists in the military/indigenous uprising that resulted in the overthrow of Jamil Mahuad in January, 2000. According to Gutierrez, a group of bankers, under the not so watchful eye of Mahuad?s government, left Ecuador with 1.8 billion dollars and are now living comfortably in the U.S., mostly in Miami. Reports say that Ashcroft was given a list of seven names that Gutierrez wants extradited to Ecuador. However, it is not clear whether Jamil Mahuad was one of them, who faces corruption charges in Ecuador.
2) While Gutierrez was in the U.S. a ?letter of intention? was signed between the IMF and Ecuador. The letter means that Ecuador will receive a stand-by loan of 200 million dollars and a credit line of 300 million will be opened through other multilateral lending agencies. The previous administration, under Gustavo Noboa, broke off talks with the IMF, saying that the conditions the IMF required were too harsh. As a presidential candidate Gutierrez was an outspoken critic of IMF ?structural adjustment? policies. Evidently, he changed his opinion. According to the ?letter of intention? Ecuador must complete 22 conditions before receiving IMF funds. According to the new budget for the fiscal year of 2003, in line with IMF requirements, roughly 33% of the national budget, about 2.24 billion dollars, will go to pay interest on Ecuador?s foreign debt. The price of gasoline and natural gas will increase by almost 40% to increase government revenue; cuts will be made in the Social Security budget to decrease government expenditure.
3) As Gutierrez brings Ecuador closer to the IMF, there have been waves of criticism against him. Pachakutik, the political arm of CONAIE, which shares power with Gutierrez, called for the removal of the economic team, principally Mauricio Pozo, the Minister of the Economy. Pozo, who has a Masters degree in Economics from Notre Dame University, has close ties to the banking sector. While criticism from Conaie (and Pachakutik) has settled some over the past week while Gutierrez was in the US (with Nina Pacari, the indigenous Minister of Foreign Relations), other social organizations have expressed their frustration with the national budget. They cite the fact that Education is getting less than 11% of the national budget (the constitution mandates that education receive 30%). These cuts parallel increases of 40% and 61% for National Defense and Foreign Relations, respectively.
4) After recent bombings in Bogota and southern Colombia, Colombia?s president Alvaro Uribe has been urging neighboring governments, the UN, and Organization of American States (OAS), to declare the armed groups in Colombia as terrorist organizations. Gutierrez, from New York, has been in phone communication with Uribe. While Gutierrez has said he seeks to stamp out terrorism and is open to the possibility of the U.S. expanding its military base on the Ecuadorian coast, he believes in a peaceful solution to the Colombian conflict, which has raged for over four decades. Gutierrez has offered Ecuador?s collaboration, but emphasized peaceful means, and using Ecuadorian territory for dialogue between the Colombian government and rebels. Currently, there are 16,000+ Ecuadorian troops along its northern border with Colombia and the U.S. Southern Command has expressed its desire that Ecuador become more involved militarily.