Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

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Colombia: What the hey, Santos?

First Santos is named in the Odebrecht corruption scandal.

Now he’s thanking Ecuador’s Rafael Correa for his support in the “peace” process

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Wednesday reiterated his thanks to his Ecuadorian counterpart and host, Rafael Correa, for the latter’s support of Bogota’s peace process with the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas.

“Many thanks for all the support that you have been giving us, support in the peace process. Your generosity, your vision, your commitment to peace in the region and peace in Colombia is something that we will never forget,” said Santos upon his arrival in the city of Guayaquil to meet with his Ecuadorian colleague.

Correa said that it was “an honor” to welcome the Nobel Peace Prize winner, a recognition – he said – that was “well deserved for being the author of peace in your beloved Colombia and in the region.”

“You know you can count on us,” said Correa, adding that “Ecuador is the facilitator and guarantor of this negotiation process. I hope it has resounding success and seals a comprehensive peace in our beloved Colombia.”

What precipitated the lovefest?

On Feb. 7, the Colombian government and the ELN in Quito began an historic dialogue with an eye toward ending the confrontation they have pursued for more than 52 years, after the peace accord signed on Nov. 24 with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Ecuador’s presidential election is next Sunday. The Ecuadorean Opposition Looks Ahead to Second Round to Build Coalition.

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Ecuador: The spending campaign

Ecuador will be holding a presidential election next month, on February 19. Rafael Correa is not running, but his appointed successor, Lenín Moreno, is (emphasis added):

Mild-mannered Moreno, 63, who has used a wheelchair since a botched robbery in 1998, is running on a platform of continuing his boss’ policies. And, so far, the promise is working.
. . .
In some ways, Moreno is in a race against time. As oil prices have tanked, the administration has been able to hold off a deeper economic crisis by taking on more debt and loans against future oil exports. It’s racked up almost $14 billion in debt in 2016 alone, said Jose Hidalgo, with the conservative economic think-tank CORDES.

In a country with a total GDP of US$94 billion (a little over the GDP of New Mexico), that’s a big chunk of change.

Moreno’s running-mate and current Vice President Jorge Glas was in charge of Petroecuador when allegedly at least eight current and former officials were involved in bribery and money laundering by manipulating contracts. Glas maintains he was not involved.

The election may  go to a second round if the opposition rallies around a candidate. The latest poll showed Moreno leading with 35.6%, 13 points ahead of former banker and center-right candidate Guillermo Lasso, with 22.3%.

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Ecuador: Correa was not pleased

Prof. Steve Hanke, who masterminded Ecuador’s dollarization several years ago before Rafael Correa came to power, recently visited the country. During his stay, Hanke criticized the electronic currency Correa is imposing on the country:
Ecuador’s Dollarization Architect Doubts Correa’s Pledge

With the country facing a record budget shortfall, a new currency may undermine confidence in the monetary system, said Steve Hanke, a professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, who advised Ecuador on adopting the dollar in the late 1990s and early 2000s. His concerns were echoed by Ruth Arregui, a former general manager at the central bank, and the University of Georgia’s Myriam Quispe-Agnoli, who wrote about dollarization as an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Correa was not amused and took to Twitter:

“Young people: avoid mediocrity like the plague. They bring us Steve Hanke to insult our intelligence . . .”

“. . . the “gringo Cavallo” (with apologies to Cavallo). His CV: advisor to Abdalá Bucaram, Carlos Menen [sic] and a number of former Soviet republics that . . .”

“. . . brutally embraced neoliberalism. His “pearls of wisdom”: “inflation would have been worse if it weren’t for dollarization.” That is, Colombia . . . .”

“. . . devalues when it feels like it.
It’s really embarrassing.
But this is just the beginning. Let’s strengthen the stomach.
To victory always!”

About that last tweet, I can’t say that I understand what, if anything, Colombia has to do with Ecuador’s new electronic currency, what Correa is embarrassed about, or what is “just the beginning.”
“A fortalecer el estómago” (Let’s strengthen the stomach) may (or may not) be the equivalent of “gird one’s loins,” but again, what about?

But I do know that ¡Hasta la victoria siempre! is the motto of the Cuban communists, and of Che Guevara.

Related:
Steve H. Hanke: ‘La dolarización funciona en Ecuador, pero el dinero electrónico no’

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Ecuador: Correa sends the Cubans back

Ecuador deports 75 more Cubans seeking help to reach the U.S. amid protests

Salazar also mentioned that on Monday Ecuadorian authorities will continue to determine whether other Cuban citizens still in Ecuador should be deported.

The deportations were carried out after three weeks of protests by a group of Cubans who camped near Mexico’s Embassy in Quito, asking the country to conduct a special operation to help them reach the United States, just as they did with Cubans staying in Costa Rica and Panama.

Thousands of Cubans have arrived in Ecuador in recent months, most of them with the intention of reaching the United States, and going on a dangerous trek through Colombia and Central America to do so.

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Ecuador: Stop yer bellyaching, says prez

Following the devastating earthquake that hit Ecuador, president Rafael Correa visited one of the affected areas. The crowd was very apprehensive. Correa was caught on camera reacting to their demands (my translation, starting at 0:18 in the video, emphasis added),

“Let’s see, gentlemen. We’re in the middle of a national emergency. No one loses their calm, no one yells, or I’ll have them arrested, be it young or old, man or woman.

“No one start crying or complaining about the missing people unless it’s about their loved ones.”

The guy is all heart.

Correa later said to the BBC that he was quoted out of context by people who want to harm him.

The death toll is up to 654 people. About one in every 30 Ecuadorians, or half a million people, were in need of food assistance after the quake disrupted their livelihoods.

RELATED:
A tragic end for hero Labrador who saved seven lives in the wake of Ecuador earthquake: Brave dog dies from exhaustion after working tirelessly to find survivors

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Ecuador: 6.0 aftershock

I hadn’t posted on the 7.8 earthquake. Here are a few headlines,

Story image for ecuador from Financial Times

Ecuador despairs after quake and seeks urgent funds to rebuild

6.0-Magnitude Aftershock Strikes off the Coast of Ecuador

In Ecuador, Political Aftershocks

Ecuador quake death toll rises to nearly 600; country faces massive rebuilding
Ecuador’s President: Earthquake Recovery to Cost Billions of Dollars

Which of course, lead to this, Ecuador quake: Millionaires to be taxed more to pay for relief

Left-leaning President Correa said all levels of society would be expected to contribute to rebuilding funds, even if they did not live in the worst-hit Pacific region.

Among the measures he announced in a televised address late on Wednesday:

  • The sales tax is to be increased from 12% to 14% for one year only;

  • People with more than $1m in assets is to pay a one-time sum equivalent to 0.9% of their wealth;

  • Anyone who earns more than $1,000 a month is to pay the equivalent of one day’s pay; anyone getting more than $2,000 pays two days and so on, up to $5,000 a month and five days’ worth

  • Unspecified state assets to be sold

A total of 657 aftershocks, with more expected.



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Ecuador: Trump good for propaganda, says Correa. Trump Nation?

Ecuador’s Rafael Correa looks forward to using President Trump (heaven forbid!) for propaganda,

Ecuador’s Correa says Trump presidency would benefit Latin American left

The leftist Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said a Trump presidency might be bad for the United States, but it could be good for Latin America. Especially its progressive political movements.

“I think it would be very bad for the U.S.,” Correa said of a possible President Trump, according to Telesur. “However, since Latin America is quite independent from the U.S., I think we may even see an increase in the progressive trend here. That would be a major positive of a Trump victory.”

Correa feels the Bern and likes Hillary,

The Ecuadorean president had high praise for both Democratic candidates running for president in the U.S., especially Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont – saying he is “breaking ways of thinking” with his anti-establishment politics.

I could not find a news source in English to confirm the following: This report (in Spanish) claims that Trump says he’d rather buy Ecuador rather than Peru because Ecuador would be cheaper to buy, and then he would name it Trump Nation. If it gets him off the ballot, I know people who would actually help him get there.

Crazy season indeed.

 

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Argentina: Scenes from an inauguration

Ungracious to the end, spouting propaganda, and plastered in inches of make-up,

Don’t cry for her, Argentina!

Cristina Kirchner holds massive farewell party as Falkland islanders look forward to better days. Thousands took to the streets of Buenos Aires to thank Cristina Kirchner for her presidency, or celebrate her departure. Falkland islanders simply breathed a sigh of relief

White lace dresses must be a thing in Argentina right now. Mrs. Macri wore one the following day. Macy‘s has Cristina’s dress on sale for $85.

She moaned, “At midnight they are turning me into a pumpkin,” when a judge issued an order that ended her presidency at midnight on Wednesday, and did not leave her car when confronted by protestors in front of her house after the rally,

(“Chorra” means thief.)

In keeping with her character, Cristina ransacked the Casa Rosada of telephones, TVs, computers, and bed linens. Sound familiar?

The water heater‘s not working, either.

As mentioned earlier, Cristina didn’t show up for Macri’s inauguration. Macri showed up on time, catching the media (which had grown used to hours-long waits for prima donna assoluta Cristina) by surprise, gave a brief speech, and did a little dance when urged by the crowd.

Evo Morales, Juan Manuel Santos and Michelle Bachelet were on their best behavior. Former king of Spain Juan Carlos did not bring any ivory souvenirs.

Rafael Correa, on the other hand, tripped on the red carpet at Macri’s inauguration on Thursday and had to grab on to him to avoid falling

“I nearly brought down the government”, quipped Correa at a reception for foreign heads of state after Macri’s swearing-in, which ended 12 years of leftist populism in Argentina.

“Not so quickly,” Macri shot back, to the laughter of onlookers in the elegant San Martín Palace.

During the lunch, security removed Correa from the premises when he loudly protested that they were being served crappy wine,”It’s the limit when we’re served wine that’s not even worth $100 a bottle.”

Correa insisted that he does not inflict cheap hooch upon his guests, serving instead wine worth $300 a bottle.

Bonus question:
Guess which of all the above items is from a humor/satire website. (Macy’s dress still available on most sizes)

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In more serious news, the new Minister of Justice announced the creation of a department for the investigation of Alberto Nisman’s death.

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