WikiLeaks paper reveals Ecuadorian private business elites declared war on Rafael Correa right after his election and asked for US support
The
WIKILEAKS
Public Library of US Diplomacy (PlusD)
holds
the world's largest searchable collection of United States
confidential, or formerly confidential, diplomatic communications. As
of April 8, 2013 it holds 2 million records comprising approximately
1 billion words. The collection covers US involvements in, and
diplomatic or intelligence reporting on, every country on earth. It
is the single most significant body of geopolitical material ever
published. The PlusD collection, built and curated by WikiLeaks, is
updated from a variety of sources, including leaks, documents
released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and documents
released by the US State Department systematic declassification
review.
A cable
from March, 2007, only two months after the election of Rafael Correa
as President of Ecuador, provides impressive details about the
campaign that the Ecuadorian private business elites already started
against the new Leftist president.
A group
of business leaders rushed to design a certain strategy that included
a series of actions. It appears that they requested US assistance to
confront Correa's policies. Apart from that, they were organizing
propaganda campaigns on radio and TV stations using even specific
techniques - like provoking Correa to respond in an inappropriate
manner in order to harm his popularity. Finally, they clearly admit
that they should put a lot of money to opposition political figures
to challenge effectively the Correa administration in Constituent
Assembly.
It
appears that the leader of this business cabal is Guillermo Lasso who
has been also the leader of Ecuador's right-wing opposition in the
latest presidential elections. Recall that Lasso vowed
to end asylum for Julian Assange in case he would
have been elected. This strongly indicates that Lasso made some kind
of deal with the US to get strong support and deliver Assange to
Washington's hawks in exchange.
Correa's
successor, Lenin Moreno, finally won the elections, but he appears to
be a traitor
who increasingly slips towards the control of the US empire. Now,
Ecuador is going after not only Julian Assange, but even Rafael
Correa under the pretext of some false accusations, as it seems.
It's
also quite interesting the comment at the end of the cable by the
then US Ambassador to Ecuador, as it seems. According to this, the
"Traditional leaders of the Ecuadorian business community"
are "very frustrated with their limited access to the Correa
administration, blocked from exercising "politics as usual"
in guiding policy-making (often to advance particular rather than
national interests)."
Key
parts:
A number
of Ecuadorian private sector contacts have approached the Embassy and
Consulate to air their concerns about President Correa's political
and economic intentions. Mostly, the concerns have been heartfelt but
lacked specificity. The most common theme is that Correa intends to
follow Chavez's model of "21st Century Socialism" by
increasing presidential control over other democratic and economic
institutions, but there is great uncertainty over actual measures
Correa would seek to implement.
Typical
of a tradition of looking to others to do their heavy lifting, some
hope and urge that the United States will take a leading role in
challenging Correa's policy. We have emphasized the importance of
domestic sectors working toward consensus and offering responsible
alternatives as a necessary pre-condition before any international
engagement can be truly effective.
Guillermo
Lasso, President of the Banco de Guayaquil, on March 12 briefed the
Ambassador on a systematic effort he is coordinating to develop a
cohesive private sector response to the Correa administration's
policy. A group that he had formed, Ecuador Libre, has worked with
former El Salvadoran President Francisco Flores to analyze the risks
that Correa administration might take. He stressed that the analysis
was completed before Correa took office, and noted how the
threats are now indeed being realized.
Lasso
said that he had shared the analysis with the business community in
meetings with the Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Quito,
Guayaquil, and Cuenca. Initially the business contacts were nervous
about doing anything, but one by one they called him to sign up to an
effort to counter Correa's policies.
Lasso
said that he also talked to opposition leaders Lucio Gutierrez
(former president), Alvaro Noboa (presidential runner-up), and Jaime
Nebot (mayor of Guayaquil), but there are real limits to working with
these political leaders. Gutierrez is willing to work with the
business community, but only on his terms. According to Lasso, Noboa
does not understand what is going on in Ecuador. Nebot is the
smartest of the three, but has chosen to frame his role as defending
local Guayaquil interests (e.g., the status of the Guayaquil port),
rather than seeking the mantle of leader of the national opposition
to the Correa agenda.
Lasso
reported that the business community had launched one series of radio
spots, which featured a Venezuelan voice discussing the situation in
Venezuela and an Ecuadorian voice responding that she would not want
the same situation to develop in Ecuador. He also cited the spot
as an example of how the Correa administration will attempt to
exercise control ) he said that the government called up the radio
stations and told them to pull the spots (although it lacked legal
authority to do so) and that the company that designed and placed the
spots quit out of fear.
Lasso
said that when the government learns of the private sector's efforts,
it will respond with a "hard blow." He did not ask for
extensive support from the Embassy, except to request that the USG
echo the private sector's appeal for individual freedoms should the
private sector come under fire from the government.
In a
meeting with the Ambassador on March 27, three newly elected
officials of the Pichincha (i.e., Quito) Chamber of Industries
(President of the Board Francisco Roldan, Vice President Diego
Fernandez-Salvador, and Executive President Sebastian Borja) echoed
the same themes, although they did not make any reference to an
organized, Ecuador-wide business response to Correa. They said
that they would seek to avoid confrontation with Correa, which would
only increase his popularity. Instead, they would pursue a
positive message focused on democratic and economic principles.
On March
30, the Guayaquil Chamber of Commerce published an advertisement
directed at Correa, entitled "No, Mr. President." The ad
said that any member of the Chamber that demands respect for his or
her rights is not an enemy but an Ecuadorian, and demanding liberty
of association, expression, judicial security and other basic rights
is not opposition, but a way to build the country.
Maria
Gloria Alarcon, President of Guayaquil Chamber of Commerce, told the
Ambassador on March 29 to look for the advertisement. She said the
Chamber was placing the ad on Friday in hopes of provoking a strong
reaction by Correa during his Saturday radio show. Alarcon said that
polling shows that Ecuadorians do not like Correa's aggressive
attacks, which lower his popularity. Thus the ad has the double
purpose of presenting a positive message while potentially getting
Correa to respond inappropriately.
Maria
Gloria Alarcon said that she views the Constituent Assembly as
inevitable, and noted that an internal poll of her chamber's
membership showed a surprising 68% supported the Assembly. However,
she said, the business community intends to raise questions in the
public mind about Correa's objectives for the Constituent Assembly )
she mentioned the radio spots, and said the business community is
also planning to place television ads. She echoed Pena in saying
that the business community is examining candidates for the
Constituent Assembly, saying that it is a careful balancing act of
identifying candidates who can win votes, have the right views on
constitutional changes, and are sufficiently strong to resist
pressure and overtures from the Correa administration. She said
that whomever business community decides to support will "have a
lot of money" to support their campaign.
Alarcon
asserted that Ecuador is not Venezuela, noting that Venezuela does
not have a "Guayaquil" to serve as a bastion of opposition
to the government's policies. In contrast, she said, Bolivia does
have its "Guayaquil" (in Santa Cruz), implying that
opponents of radical change in Ecuador would be able to stymie
Correa's more radical agenda.
Traditional
leaders of the Ecuadorian business community are deeply concerned
with the possible direction of the Correa administration's economic
and political policies. They are also very frustrated with their
limited access to the Correa administration, blocked from exercising
"politics as usual" in guiding policy-making (often to
advance particular rather than national interests).
Full
cable:
Comments
Post a Comment