Ecuador virus cases plunged 37% in August, the most in South America after Brazil (40%), according to the WHO.… Read More Flattening the Curve: Ecuador and Brazil Pull Ahead in August
Ecuador won approval to restructure about a third of its international bonds this week, alleviating part of the fiscal hangover from the Correa administration’s ruinous decade in power.… Read More Ecuador Credit Talks Silent on Debts to History
I’ve watched the coronavirus crisis unfold from a quiet street in the suburbs of Quito … Read More Dispatch from Quito: Coronavirus and La Cuarentena in Ecuador
(Published originally in Mediato) La mina de oro y plata Río Blanco, atacada y quemada este mes por manifestantes de la comunidad, es emblemática en la industria minera ecuatoriana por todas las razones equivocadas. Haciendo caso omiso a la resistencia de las comunidades locales, del Municipio de Cuenca y de la provincia del Azuay, el gobierno… Read More Minería: del dicho al hecho
(Published originally in Mediato) El informe borrador –el cual aún no es concluyente– de la Contraloría sobre la deuda pública, presentado el 14 de marzo pasado, es un triunfo estratégico para el presidente Lenín Moreno. No solo permite responsabilizar al expresidente Rafael Correa del despilfarro fiscal, sino que Moreno también puede hacer corresponsable a la… Read More Correa, China y la Asamblea, afectados por el informe de la deuda
(Published originally in Mediato) El referéndum del 4 de febrero fue significativo. En su nivel más obvio, le dio al presidente Lenín Moreno una sólida victoria política y al expresidente Rafael Correa una derrota asombrosa. Pero más allá de las reacciones en Quito, los votantes en las zonas mineras de la Sierra y el Oriente… Read More Ecuador habló: La minería es peor que Correa
Not even the endangered white-bellied spider monkey can escape the lingering consequences of Ecuador President Rafael Correa’s decision to default on $3.2 billion of debt four years ago. … Read More White-Bellied Spider Monkey Losing to $18 Billion of Oil
By Nathan GillNov. 3 (Bloomberg) — Forty-six years after he disappeared, the Nazi fugitive known as Dr. Death may be within reach of Chilean police tracking him down. A police task force is following leads in southern Chile that Aribert Heim, an SS officer accused of performing experiments on inmates at the Mauthausen concentration camp,… Read More Dr. Death Appearance in Chile Has Nazi Hunters Dangling Reward
June 27, 2008 (Southern Affairs) — One month ago the presidents of South America formally created the Union of South American Nations. While no one was fooled by the momentary goodwill for very long, the proposal to create a South American Defense Council did raise heads. Well, those heads can go back to whatever it… Read More Unasur Defense Summit Unable To Reach Consensus
The resignation of the president of Ecuador’s Constitutional Assembly, Alberto Acosta, on June 23 is the latest in a series of setbacks for Latin America’s 21st century socialists. With political conditions deteriorating in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador, it makes sense to ask – what happened to Latin America’s socialist revolution? Where is the change their… Read More Democracy Strikes Again: The End Of 21st-Century Socialism?
June 12 , 2008 (Southern Affairs) — This is a link to a radio show about Unasur and the state of US-South American relations called Unsure about Unasur. The show’s guests are Larry Birns, founder of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, and Nathan Gill, publisher of this page. It was produced by Your Call KALW… Read More Interview About Unasur With KALW 91.7FM San Francisco
June 7, 2008 (Southern Affairs) — It is unclear what the recent Unasur summit in Brasilia actually accomplished. Six months late and set against the backdrop of the worst regional conflict since the 1990s, the 12 presidents of South America tried hard to hide the growing divisions between their governments with lofty rhetoric of fraternity… Read More Unasur 2008 Summit: All Circus No Bread
(Apr. 14, 2008) Here are some of the big issues to follow this week around Latin America. The EU begins a visit to Bolivia Monday to help mediate in the conflict over the new national constitution; the lower eastern half of the country has threatened secession over the current draft. Ecuador and Colombia renewed the… Read More Latin America News Review
(Mar. 24, 2008) The Colombian government announced Monday that the second man killed and removed during its attack on a FARC base camp in Ecuador territory was in fact Ecuadorian. The announcement seemed likely to trigger further diplomatic protests by Ecuador’s government after President Rafael Correa threatened to reopen the case last Saturday if he… Read More Ecuador Threatens More Diplomatic Problems with Colombia
Mar. 21, 2008) The March 28th meeting of South American heads of state has been cancelled because of ongoing disputes between Ecuador and Colombia. Leaders had planned to sign a foundational constitution establishing the institutional procedures for UNASUR, a new union composed of the 12 nations of South America. The cancellation was not a surprise… Read More Unasur Founding Summit Cancelled Over Minor Regional Conflict
(March 10, 2008) The crisis that erupted last week over Colombia’s bombing of a FARC base camp inside Ecuador seems to have come to an end. A political solution was reached between the region’s foreign ministers at the OAS special session while a more personal agreement was reached between the presidents of several Latin American… Read More Counting the Chips: Political Solution Reached Between Ecuador and Colombia
(March 5, 2008) On Sunday Colombia’s military bombed a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) military camp in Ecuadorian territory. The attack killed an estimated 23 rebel combatants, including FARC’s second in command, Luis Edgar Devia, a.k.a. Raúl Reyes, reportedly the first secretariat member to be killed in combat during more than 40 years of… Read More Colombian Attack Sets Off Unexpected Alarms Around South America
(Dec. 12, 2007) The signing of the “founding act” of the new Banco del Sur raises so many questions that it is difficult to know where to begin. Set against the backdrop of the assumption of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the meeting highlighted the continued difficulties South America faces as it… Read More Banco Del Sur – A Reality Check On The State Of South American Relations
(Dec. 6, 2007) Violent protests continue to rock Bolivia as politicians refuse to compromise on a new national constitution. President Evo Morales has proposed a national recall vote for himself and the country’s nine prefects to help end protests that began after his political party Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) railroaded a new draft constitution through… Read More President Proposes National Recall Vote As Bolivia Slides Further Into Chaos
(Nov. 30, 2007) Without delay, Ecuador’s new Constitutional Assembly approved President Rafael Correa’s proposal to close the national congress until the assembly concludes its broad reorganization of the state in what officials are calling a “Citizen Revolution.” Ecuador is the third South American country to call a Constitutional Assembly this century, joining Venezuela and Bolivia… Read More 21st Century Socialists Turn Tables On Opposition
(Nov. 28, 2007) For anyone interested in the state of South America’s regional relations, this week was full of news. Argentina and Uruguay appear to have given up on political dialogue and have closed their borders until The Hague gives them a reply sometime in the next 2 years, Venezuela froze ties with Colombia and… Read More Is South America Sliding Into Chaos Or Is It Just Business As Usual?
(Nov. 26, 2007) Last Friday Bolivian President Evo Morales and his MAS party in the National Assembly approved constitutional changes by a simple majority vote in an irregular session without the presence of opposition parties. According to the former Vice President Victor Hugo Cádenas the meeting took place in a military barracks in Sucre where… Read More Bolivian Assembly Approves Constitution In Irregular Session
(Nov. 25, 2007) Riot police shot a group of students from the Universidad Monteávila on Friday for handing out pamphlets protesting the upcoming constitutional referendum in Venezuela. El Observador Online reported that eight students were wounded in the attack. Police firing small pellets and tear gas forced students to seek protection inside their university. The… Read More Venezuelan Police Shoot Students Protesting Chávez’s Constitutional Reforms
Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister, Nicolás Maduro, announced that the Nov. 3 meeting of the Banco del Sur will be postponed until Dec. 5th. Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela were supposed to have met next week to sign on as members of the new regional bank. No reasons were given for the postponement.… Read More Banco del Sur Postpones Signing Until December
Brazil and Ecuador gave a combined press conference today announcing their intentions of joining the Banco del Sur, a new regional financial institution created by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Feb. 21, 2007 to replace institutions like the IMF and World Bank. The announcements come one week before a Brazilian sponsored summit in Rio de… Read More South America Announces New Banco del Sur
(May 27, 2006) Representatives from Barrick Gold, a Canadian owned gold mining company announced that they were backing out of the Cerro Casale project and leaving the way open for two other mining companies interested in the project. The Cerro Casale project is a series of open-pit gold and copper mines located in Region III… Read More Barrick Gold Backs Out Of Cerro Casale Project
(Sept. 29, 2005) Barrick Gold Corporation’s attempt to buy citizen support for the development of its US$1.5 billion Pascua Lama gold mine has not satisfied government officials in charge of reviewing environmental legislation. Paulina Saball, director of the Region III National Environmental Commission is still concerned about the proposed mine project even though Barrick has… Read More CONAMA Raises Qyestions About Barrick Gold Deal
(Sept. 23, 2005) If you are looking for that distinctive taste of Chile, Carmenenère may be what you’ve been waiting for. Ten years after Chilean vineyards invested heavily in the distinctive wine, connoisseurs around the world are ready to taste the fruits of their labors. There was a “rediscovery” of Carmenenère wines in Chile in… Read More Chilean Vineyards Bet of Carmenere
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