January 24, 2007 In Ecuador, late Wednesday, the self coup/ auto-golpe of Rafael Correa was only partially completed. Rafael Correa’s government is staging a self coup to strong arm its own dictatorship into a faux legitimacy: if Ecuador’s Congress surrenders, it is a total win for Chavez’s regional communists, or whatever name they hide behind today.

The intrusion of Correa's paid thugs, some noted on Ecuadorean TV as sporting the Chavez-provided red berets and red shirts of the Chavez-paid team, to illegally bar the function of the courts/supreme tribunals, was only partly successful.

The judges acted responsibly under this illegal duress anyway and stood against Correa's well paid assault and passed full responsibility back to their constitutionally-backed congress – the 100 person unicameral Congress of Ecuador to uphold their constitutional procedures which Correa seeks by any means possible to destroy.

The Correa raid on democracy today is now completely focused on their Congress which is full of neophytes who have no capacity or strength to withstand the physical and mental raids underway by Correa while the globe turns a blind eye to this democracy-raiding attack.

The current president of Ecuador’s Congress, Cevallos, has to date delivered some of the most moving and compellingly poignant supports for constitutional democracy. Were any paying attention {a challenge when the media rushes to praise the Chavista golpistas in Ecuador and ignores the substantive], his noteworthiness and utterly admirable leadership would garner not only affection from freedom lovers but applause for his vision.

In fact, after yesterday’s end runs by Correa’s government, the Organization of American States (OAS) must move to be on the ground in Quito and confront Correa to pressure him to act responsibly and under their constitution which he is still refusing to do.

Correa has broken the OAS tenants by his own intrusion in to the hallways of justice in Ecuador, however nascent. Correa can choose to make efforts to succeed by acting legally and constitutionally under agreed upon legitimacy. To date, he has chosen the alternative path to act decisively, illegally and swiftly outside constitutional structures.

Today Correa will either back off from his assault on democracy and call off his paid political lawbreakers and private goon squads (incorrectly called protesters or NGOs) or he will expose his true dictatorial plans.

The OAS, the U.S. government, and every freedom loving Ecuadorean should be watching and cancel their ardent passivity as democracy is under attack in Quito. The self coup is one hair from completion.... and is now focused solely on their weakened Congress. Correa has set up a false attack on their Congress- replete with fake propaganda and a full blown KGB-style disinformation campaign- and has pledged to destroy their Congress by illegal, non constitutional means because he insists on total powers in Ecuador.

The Congress of Ecuador needs support. The pro-democracy Congress of Ecuador has been badly weakened by foolishly and ignorantly agreeing with the advocates of irresponsibly adolescent dependencia who, with the self assurance of the uneducated,  enjoy childishly blaming all their problems on someone/something else, typically the USA or some peculiar rote concurrence with the politics of hatred attacking neo-liberalism ( a definition that most Ecuadoreans can neither spell nor understand) or President Bush etc etc., which in fact is based on no facts at all and succeeds only because lazy and cynical actors refuse to review facts.

The constitutional leaders of the Congress of Ecuador have suffered a loss of support from the USA for their legitimate position that in order to move ahead, there must be structural democratic tools in place and not the full dictatorial power that Rafael Correa now demands by any means possible.

The USA has hurt its own alliances in the Andes by stubbornly extending publicly an embarrassing, gushing praise and affection for Rafael Correa's installation of a Chavez-style dictatorship. While the disturbing appearance and installation of Chavez, Morales and Ahmadinejad in full partnership with Correa’s dictatorial sweep on January 15, 2007 shows the folly of the previous U.S. love fest with Correa, it is noteworthy that the USA has yet to utter one word regarding any possible and responsible return to correctly encouraging constitutional democracy instead of embracing or retreating and enabling communist dictators, such as Correa, to enjoy U.S. support.

Unless and until the USA cancels its bizarre love fest with Rafael Correa’s determinedly non democratic activities, the USA remains squarely in his support-by- deception arena. It is no surprise that freedom lovers in Ecuador feel abandoned by the USA. Indeed, the U.S. presence in Ecuador has done all that it can- by word and financial support- to deliver support for the Hugo Chavez plan to acquire Ecuador, notably for its oil.

This has broken the trust and confidence of the Ecuadorean congress. They foolishly see no alliance/experience no support from or with the USA whom they believe has sold them out. This is a shallow analysis widely held by many Ecuadoreans because it is what they have experienced but in fact the USA is not subsumed by the Chris Dodd, Harry Reid style applause for Hugo Chavez and Rafael Correa's dictatorship.

Freedom lovers are assured that in the near future, the foolishly awarded support for Correa’s dictatorship by Senator Reid and his cronies will vanish with the light of day because it is impossibly aberrant for elected U.S. officials to encourage non-democratic dictatorships. U.S. Department of State’s Tom Shannon was correct to state on 1-23-07 that the USA stands to work with Correa’s regime toward progress. Today that commitment warrants direct interaction to defend the constitutional democracy of Ecuador from further attacks. Clearly, Correa can choose to act legitimately or he can choose to act outside of legitimate paths. It is clear that Correa has chosen the illegitimate and must turn his actions toward a corrective posture today.

Indeed, Correa’s success depends upon the Congress of Ecuador acting as a lazy, compromised, ineffective, cynical and badly educated entity. The complicity of the lazy and ignorant Congress of Ecuador will hand Correa what he seeks: total control of Ecuador under his new constitution, which has already been written.

There remains not much hope of success at all for democracy in Ecuador unless and until Ecuador’s freedom lovers take a well educated leap and reach out responsibly to their allies and supporters in Washington, Latin America, and Europe. This they have failed to do and in so doing have irresponsibly failed themselves and their future. Ecuadoreans have not been sold out by their friends and allies. In fact, Ecuadoreans sell themselves out by refusing to act responsibly and suspend their own games of dependencia…blaming others.

The sole antidote to Correa’s totalitarianism underway is education, commitment, informed debate, and uniformity of purpose to protect and defend all components of functional democracy against the rising communist state in Ecuador. To combat the KGB-style controls already being installed by Rafael Correa in his real time purge of democracy’s last vestiges in Ecuador today will require something that most every Ecuadoreans refuse to do: become engaged, well informed, and committed to legitimate progress for their nation and for the good of the whole, not just some narrow self serving agenda.

This is responsible maturity and would restore confidence in that nation. While it appears that self absorbed cynicism and excuse makers will hand Correa exactly what he seeks- total communism- Ecuadoreans must reach out and solidify their real  allies and supporters who do exist in real time, however much many ignorant, self serving comments are made to the contrary.

Rafael Correa has purged Ecuador’s military brass to install his pet military actors relying on a bottle blonde with no other job qualification than servicing Ecuador’s communist-socialist party as its president, and currently called their Minister of Defense.            Correa forced out the head of Ecuador’s national police because he refused to compromise national law enforcement and deliver complicity to Correa’s planned removal of law and order.

Correa’s governmental-backed paid actors forced their way in to Ecuador’s tribunals and courts yesterday even as well organized proxies or paid governmental actors attacked provincial attorneys general across Ecuador, viciously barring justice. Correa’s goons were neither restrained nor detained for their acts of violence because it is well known that they are backed by President Correa to act to create harm to legitimate defenders of democracy.  Because these thugs are Chavez and Correa paid thugs, the OAS must act and Ecuadoreans must defend their constitutional legitimacy from such determinedly non-democratic actors.

Security must be returned to provide safety to all Ecuadoreans and law breakers must be apprehended and charged for their crimes, even if they are wearing again today their red berets and red shirts. The coup de grace in this self coup is the ouster of Ecuador’s congress to hand Correa total powers to legislate and install his own kangaroo courts under his non functional plan for a kangaroo congress under his full control.

Indeed, the hallmark of Correa’s effective deception and propaganda against democracy is seen this week by the sad poll numbers claiming that a large majority of Ecuadoreans actually support a new constitution, although the ink is barely dry on their last one. This is an abusive and false polling because the public of Ecuador has never once seen one scrap of paper about this new Correa constitutional vision which will indeed purge all democratic vestiges and intends to install and enshrine full communism.

It would be appropriate to actually inform the public about what they may or may not support. Instead, the public is deceptively sold a false reality, not unlike a used car dealer hawking a used car as terrific and one buys the car only to find out its engine runs on hot air and nothing mechanical.

The newest CEDATOS poll seems to believe that Ecuadoreans are willing to buy whole cloth the Correa plan for communism without a reality check to support blindly the installation of their own demise- communism.

However much we know well that there are many who enjoy being duped and tricked to avoid their own responsibilities, it remains that not once did the CEDATOS pollsters act appropriately and question if any polled had actually studied that which they support. This defies the core legitimacy of the CEDATOS company, which has a long track record of support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (US AID) and sadly places it squarely as an instrument of propaganda and not legitimate polling.

Sadly, US AID Ecuador itself continues blindly to encourage the Correa-Chavez dictatorship installation activities underway and has noticeably failed in 2006-07 to stand to encourage functional democracy in any meaningful sense. It is impossibly irresponsible of the Correa team to claim public support viz the flawed CEDATOS poll for their trickery to pledge democratic reform and rule of law in Ecuador by constitutional change when their actual plan is to destroy democracy and replace it with rule by dictatorship- Chavez’s dictatorship.

To secure dictatorship, Correa knows that he must act swiftly- in under 90 days or well before anyone actually reviews his activities. Correa depends on the complicity of the shallow media, the effective campaign under the politics of hatred to blame everyone else, and the reluctance of the lazy and self absorbed to ignore his machinations. Ecuadoreans need not encourage their own demise in a suicide pact with Correa’s foot soldiers of communism.

Ecuadoreans must rally to honorably support constitutional democracy and stand united with the members of their Congress to protect Ecuador from the installation of the non-democratic and increasingly violent Hugo Chavez regime by Rafael Correa. Today, the media claims that Correa’s supporters believe that the Congress of Ecuador will hatefully attempt to “water down” Correa’s totalitarian power grab by constitutional replacement.

Watering down implies that there is common ground between a dictator and his undemocratic aspirations. There is no middle ground between communism/ totalitarianism and democracy and anyone who says differently is either ignorant or a double agent for communism’s new princelings of the Andes. It is also worth remembering that megalomaniacs with bi polar disorders are rarely rehabilitated however much they are medicated but there is no cure and no middle ground.

The communism-installing self coup as engineered by Chavez and Correa is almost completed in Ecuador. Things are in motion as few irresponsibly pay attention. Ecuadorean freedom lovers must show their mature response and defend their constitutional democracy.

-Pedro Camargo

-------------------

Ecuador court sends Correa vote to Congress

24 Jan 2007 01:06:43 GMT

Source: Reuters

 (Recast with court ruling, adds Congress's comments, Correa quotes)

By Alonso Soto

QUITO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Ecuador election officials decided on Tuesday to allow the opposition-controlled Congress to rule on President Rafael Correa's request for a referendum that aims to change the constitution, a move government supporters fear could weaken the plan.

Earlier, dozens of protesters waving the lime green flags of Correa's political movement climbed over walls and forced their way into the election court building chanting "Say 'yes' to the Assembly" before they were controlled by police.

The election tribunal was forced to meet outside the court building and ruled to send the request to Congress, a court judge told Reuters.

Correa, ally of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, was elected in November promising sweeping reforms to curtail the influence of traditional parties which many Ecuadoreans blame for the Andean nation's political turmoil.

Supporters of the left-leaning president believe that if the court sends the proposal to Congress, opposition lawmakers would try to water down Correa's plan for a vote on whether to call a popular assembly to rewrite the constitution.

More than three-quarters of Ecuadoreans support Correa's plan, a Cedatos Gallup poll showed this week.

The court protests and demonstrations at the attorney general's office underscore growing political tensions between Correa and Congress in a country where lawmakers have helped topple three elected presidents in the last decade.

Opposition political parties are opposed to Correa's ideas for constitutional reform because they believe he will seek to bypass them and undermine their authority. Correa, a U.S.-trained economist, says the reforms are needed to curb party influence in the courts and other institutions.

Congress president Jorge Cevallos said Correa was pushing the country to the brick of chaos and anarchy while emulating the dictatorial practices of his friend Chavez.

"Congress has to denounce this disrespect to democracy," Cevallos told reporters.

On the other hand, Correa said he would not "allow a dictatorship of political parties."

He told reporters only the tribunal could approve the referendum and he has sent election officials a decree to make a few changes on the assembly's statute.

The charismatic leader has an approval rating of 73 percent while Congress has only 13 percent, according to another Cedatos poll released over the weekend.

International investors are worried over heightened political turmoil rekindled by Correa's aggressive drive to overhaul his country's political system.

"This highly confrontational strategy carries the risk of eroding even further the institutional backbone of the country," wrote Alberto Ramos, economist with Goldman Sachs.

In separate turmoil, a decision by lawmakers last week to appoint an attorney general close to Correa's former election rival, Alvaro Noboa, sparked street protests by government supporters to demand his removal.

Ecuador's chief police commander also resigned on Tuesday as the new government attempted to reform the police, hit by corruption scandals.