Americas

Ecuador

  • Latin America
    Latin America This Week: August 16, 2023
    Latin America’s anti-incumbency wave rolls through Argentina; Governments look to lithium to spur industrialization; assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate reveals state capture by organized crime.
  • Latin America
    The President’s Inbox Recap: Latin America’s Crime Surge
    Latin America is facing a post-pandemic crime wave.
  • Latin America
    Latin America’s Crime Surge, With Will Freeman
    Podcast
    Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin America studies at CFR, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss spiking crime rates across Latin America and their consequences for the region and the United States.
  • Ecuador
    A Surge in Crime and Violence Has Ecuador Reeling
    Ecuadorians say crime and public authorities’ inability, or unwillingness, to stop it is what they are most worried about. 
  • Latin America
    Latin America This Week: May 30, 2023
    Debt-for-nature swaps gain traction in Latin America; To fix U.S. migration woes, the government needs to go big; Venezuelan organized crime now stretches across the continent.
  • Ecuador
    Crisis in Quito: President Guillermo Lasso Heads to Impeachment Vote 
    Polarization is pushing Ecuador to the brink of a constitutional crisis
  • Economics
    Guest Post: Rafael Correa’s Smooth Road to Victory
    This is a guest post by Stephanie Leutert, a research associate here at the Council on Foreign Relations who works with me in the Latin America program. In less than a month, Ecuadorians will head to the polls to elect their next president, and will likely usher in another four years for Rafael Correa. For a country that famously went through seven presidents in the ten years before Correa took office, the administration’s longevity is a feat in itself. Many observers attribute his durability to the vast expansion of “bonos” or cash transfers to the poor, which now reach almost one in seven Ecuadorians. Others see his charisma, which resonates with so many Ecuadorians, as the key to his success. But Correa has another more unexpected ace card up his sleeve—the country’s roads. When Correa entered office in 2007, he inherited a country with outdated infrastructure—roads full of potholes and dilapidated or altogether nonexistent bridges. In response, the new government immediately poured hundreds of millions of dollars into building, fixing, and expanding the country’s transportation infrastructure. By Correa’s third year in office, the amount of money spent on building roads was triple that before his arrival to Ecuador’s highest office. In fact, in 2011 the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works’ budget (dedicated to improving and building roads) roughly equaled the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Healthcare’s budgets combined—some $800 million dollars for transportation infrastructure, poured into an economy the size of Nebraska’s. These upgrades in roads and bridges boosted Ecuador’s economy. According to the World Bank, from 2007 to 2010 port container traffic more than doubled, as trucks laden with Ecuador’s main exports (oil, bananas, shrimp, and timber) sped quicker than ever to cities and boats headed abroad (substantial investments in port infrastructure helped as well). And roads allowed employers and employees to move their equipment and teams to new sites with greater efficiency. Tourism also likely reaped benefits—as buses are the main transport means for both domestic and international travelers exploring the country. These infrastructure investments have big political reverberations too. The government frequently touts these achievements, as do Correa’s campaign videos. One such advertisement follows Correa as he bikes along a smooth road, then flashes images of new bridges, alluding to Ecuador’s development. And Ecuadorians have noticed. During a recent trip to Ecuador, more than a few Guayaquil residents mentioned the new transportation infrastructure to me (unprovoked) as an example of a very positive way that Correa has changed their country. These investments in roads and other infrastructure are important for Ecuador’s long-term development and for its economy. They are also a shrewd political tactic—providing tangible results of Correa’s presidency and benefits that are felt by almost everyone. By appealing to Ecuadorians of many ideological leanings, Correa looks to ride these roads to a second term.
  • Politics and Government
    Press Freedom and Democracy in Latin America
    Last Wednesday, Ecuador’s Supreme Court upheld sentences handed down in July 2011 for four members of the El Universo newspaper’s staff in the latest chapter of a lengthy and controversial trial. Three of the newspaper’s directors, Carlos, César, and Nícolas Perez, and an editorialist, Emilio Palacio, face three years in jail and $40 million in fines. All have fled the country or sought asylum abroad, and many expect that the fines (if collected) will bankrupt the 90-year-old periodical. The February 2011 article that incited the controversy, entitled “NO a las Mentiras” by Emilio Palacio, alleged that during the September 2010 uprising Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa ordered troops to fire on a hospital filled with unarmed civilians. President Correa vigorously denied these claims and filed a libel suit in March 2011. He claims that the defendants are part of a powerful private media aiming to undermine his government and said a court victory “would represent a great step forward for the liberation of our Americas from one of the largest and most unpunished powers: the corrupt media.” The case has been a messy back-and-forth, full of demands for written retractions, refusals of retraction offers, and accusations of judicial corruption—capturing the attention of international human rights organizations and free press advocates. Newspapers such as the New York Times and the Washington Post have published highly critical op-eds on the case, saying that Correa is conducting “the most comprehensive and ruthless assault on free media under way in the Western Hemisphere.” This is just one of several clashes between Correa and the press. This month Ecuadorian journalists Juan Carlos Calderón and Christian Zurita were both fined $1 million for their book, Gran Hermano, which detailed government contracts given to Correa’s brother Fabricio. The government recently passed a law that bans the media from “either directly or indirectly promoting any given candidate, proposal, options, electoral preferences or political thesis, through articles, specials or any other form of message.” Ecuador isn’t the only Latin American country with tense government-media relations. Hugo Chavez’s battles with opposition-leaning television and radio stations are well-known, and the Kirchners of Argentina have had legendary fights with long-standing newspapers Clarín and La Nación. President Cristina Kirchner recently nationalized the only domestic supplier of newsprint (leading many to worry that this will increase the state’s influence over these news outlets). Granted, in some places and cases the press hasn’t been guilt free. In many countries it is concentrated in a few hands, and those individuals have at times chosen to present biased views of politicians and events. These aggressive attacks on ideological opponents have not fostered a more open and inclusive society. What is true is that a strong, independent, and responsible media is vital for Latin America’s democratic future. The challenge now is to both encourage and enable the press to play the role of watchdog. To become substantive (versus just electoral) democracies, Ecuador and other nations must think beyond the ballot box. I look forward to your feedback via twitter, facebook or in the comments section.
  • Colombia
    The Border Crisis Between Colombia and Ecuador