Ecua-Nomics

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/jan/19/ecuador-radical-exciting-place

I read the above article earlier today and it got me thinking about the country I've lived in for the past three-plus years. Given it's title, I imagined an article on the incomparable biodiversity I've been privileged to experience or maybe a nod to the strong emphasis it's citizens place on honoring and embracing their cultural heritage. Ecuador's beauty is both visually unforgettable and contemplatively impressive: it is a testament to the incredible efficiency and perfect logic of nature. Given it's size, it's like a microcosm of the biological and physical possibility found here on Earth. From an anthropological perspective, there are cultures here who've had little to no contact with the outside world and others, direct descendants of the Incas. As a tourist, you can go from trekking in the Amazon to summitting one of the snow-covered volcanoes prominent throughout the Ecuadorian Andes to sunning yourself at one of the beautiful costal beaches to cruising through the Galapagos Islands within a week. In terms of beauty and culture, Ecuador has so much to offer.

Unfortunately, this article chose to focus on Ecuador's current president, Rafael Correa, a person I find hard to understand, mainly because I don't believe him to be up to the task of protecting this country's irreplaceable sense of identity and natural gifts. I'll be the first to admit that I do not have a complete grasp of the political situation here, something that is compounded by the fact that it is such a drastically different political reality than that of my country. That being said, I do believe President Correa to be a vain, paranoid, power-hungry schemer,  a prime example of the new breed of pseudo-dictator found in countries rich with resource and fraught with a political instability bred from a lack of infrastructure and oversight. In the age of globalized (social) media and the moderately free flow of information made possible by the internet, the threat of physical force is no longer openly available to them as a method of control and so they rely more and more on the support of political shenanigans, like cronyism and intimidation tactics aimed at outspoken media outlets..

From my point of view, the Guardian article came off like the official party propaganda spread by Correa's Allianza Pais. Maybe she intended to be polemical and polarizing and close-minded in such a way as to destroy the credibility of her argument(s)? I do understand that from an economist's perspective, Correa and his policies may seem "exciting" and without a doubt could be considered "radical". But when does radical become risky? Is his government going about things in such a way as to preserve growth and achieve sustainability or are they in it for more self-centered reasons, willing to act without much vision to the future? And what are the more immediate social effects of policy such as Correa's?

Again, mine is an under-informed, outsider's perspective. I can understand how Ecuadorians can view "Rafico" in a positive light. He builds roads, he gives money to the poor, he maintains the image of a beneficent populist leader guiding the progress of his patria with much cariño. He has been able to produce some concrete results, like bridges and new hospitals, but the test comes with sustaining such improvements. He is undoubtedly charming but also quite manipulative and emotionally unstable (any disputes as to that last claim must defend his rant ("If you want to kill me, here I am! Kill me!) during the September 30 "Coup Attempt" before receiving a reply).

Ecuador's reality is still a somewhat bleak one. I say this from personal experience, as someone who's integrated himself into the culture to a certain degree, not just a passing tourist, and as someone with experience as to the not-so-publishable aspects of the Correa regime. Ecuador remains a dangerous place where corruption and the single-minded greed of those in power have just as much to do with determining the reality of it's citizens as an economic policy does. To that end, I'm adding a few links that should help substantiate my claim:

1). Study on Economic Freedom done by the Heritage Foundation
http://www.heritage.org/Index/country/Ecuador

2). The 2011 "Corruption Perception Index" by Transparency International
http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2011/results/

3). The President and Freedom of the Press
http://en.rsf.org/ecuador-court-confirms-el-universo-21-09-2011,41033.html


I do believe that Rafael Correa has contributed in no small part to the progress of his country. I do not believe he is acting in the best interests of his country's future. As the next Presidential election approaches, it will be very interesting to see if he can avoid the fate of his predecessors or if his claim to the throne will also end in an ignominious flee from the masses clamoring for his arrest and imprisonment.