August 11, 2007 The Editors of ECrisis approve the consistently high standards for reporting about the Andes notably seen in Walter Molano's analyses of Ecuador. He does not disappoint and in light of recent events, we repeat a previous article- a must read, which is Molano's 7-26-07 piece, Ecuador Hurts its Potential, here. 
 
Molano is spot on: Rafael Correa has sold out the best interests of Ecuadoreans to service his political ambitions in the brave new world of corruption called Chavez's Venezuela. Rafael Correa is a nimble young princeling whose own lack of education exposes him as a willing, willful accomplice for all the inane, insane and inept activities of the Chavez conspiracy to corrupt. And corrupt they do.
 
Molano writes that..."Ecuador could be doing better. It could be reaping large inflows of foreign direct investment. Instead, the constant barrage of Bolivarian rhetoric, political intrigue and corruptions scandals are preventing it from realizing its full potential...At the same time, there is a good chance that Ecuador could fall off the dollar peg if it defaulted. A run on the banks could create a monetary squeeze, whereby the central bank would be forced to introduce a new currency. Unfortunately, President Correa's motivation is purely political, since he appears to gain in strength from episodes of controversy and confrontations.

A weak Administration, with no major political party, President Correa gains strength from keeping the opposition on the defensive. Unfortunately, some of his machinations were caught on tape. Most of the attention converged on Economy Minister Patiño, who is the president's closest advisor. The maelstrom began when Patiño was filmed discussing, with a pair of investment bankers, the implications of a possible default on the prices of Credit Default Swaps (CDS). Although Ecuador vowed to default on its external debt, it serviced its obligations on time. It now appears that the threat was a ploy to manipulate bond and CDS prices.
The second incident again involved Economy Minister Patiño. This time it was with Jorge Cevallos, the President of the Congress. The minister and congressional leader were filmed negotiating a loan for a special pet project in return for Cevallos' support for a constitutional assembly. Many people were surprised when the congressional leader agreed to the constitutional assembly. However, now it seems that the congressional leader was bought off. “In other words, Correa's team is completely corrupted, however much some might enjoy their dancing prowess.
 
While Correa is busy putting the finishing touches on Ecuador's mutual suicide pact with Hugo Chavez and the Russian mafia, sometimes called Iranian mullahs,
some in Washington are already calling Ecuador already dead. We believe that Ecuador is only mostly dead. Molano is, we believe, overly optimistic about Ecuador's financial picture which is....almost dead for all purposes. A dead nation takes a long time to rebuild and this is extremely expensive. A dead zone where sleepless zombies somnambulate is a horrifying drama. Best to quick pass Correa some of Chavez's lithium and some more treatment for bi polar disorder before his insane, inane and inept criminal activities gain. Insulza of the OAS calls this a New Moment. This is, we remind, not new and it is not democracy. Insulza did not speak the truth. What is the truth is that Jimmy Carter's team just opened a swank new office in Quito to help Hugo Chavez add Ecuador to the galaxy of failed states where the Code of Chavez is set: corruption, conceit and deception. That alone is killing Ecuador's chances for a future- any future. Does anyone seriously believe that any real, open media will be allowed to cover this mess other than the Iranian News Service, Castro's propagandists all of whom are now on what is magically called TeleSur? There are no freedoms without rule of law which contains the guarantee of free speech.
Hugo Chavez could care less. He wants to sell you on his latest investments in corruption with the Iranian mullahs which in turn are backed by mighty weaponry from Russia's weapons mill. Rafael Correa agrees. We do not.
 
- The Editors, ECrisis