Article

2010-09-30 Caribbean-Latin America

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Fred 2010-09-30 15:47|| || Front Page|| [11130 views ] Top

#1 Gee, now I know what we've been missing. A return to the banana republics of yesteryear!!

Don't you all remember when Latin America was being touted as fully on the road to stable democracy? After years of caudillos and petty dictators things were starting to straighten out what 25 years ago?

Well looks like you can't keep a good banana down.

Posted by Alan Cramer 2010-09-30 15:56|| 2010-09-30 15:56|| Front Page Top

#2 Correa is a hard core lefty, so probably pushed a little bit too hard for a Venezuelan or Cuban state of affairs.

Posted by Anonymoose 2010-09-30 16:18|| 2010-09-30 16:18|| Front Page Top

#3 Correa's gov't defaulted on a bunch of international loans a couple years back, and now the country is running low on cash. The congress, dominated by Correa's own party, won't cut spending like Correa wants. Correa's been making noises about dissolving congress, which is legal in their system.

Now the cops are taking to the streets over payment of bonuses. Correa, showing the same shrewdness that got him into this, went out and confronted the cops, who gave him and the First Lady a teargas canister for his troubles. He went back inside, and the Army took over the airport.

Now, it's not clear to me that the Army and Police are working together here. They might be opposed... they might be on opposite sides. I simply don't know enough about Ecuador's power structure.

What is clear to me is that the threat to dissolve congress got the cops in the streets. That didn't go over so well.

Posted by Pstanley 2010-09-30 17:18|| 2010-09-30 17:18|| Front Page Top

#4 Apparently Correa canceled bonus payments to the National Police.

Posted by Frozen Al 2010-09-30 18:31|| 2010-09-30 18:31|| Front Page Top

#5 He went back inside, and the Army took over the airport.

Air Force elements assisted in taking over the airport. No mention of where the Army stands.

Posted by Pappy 2010-09-30 22:28|| 2010-09-30 22:28|| Front Page Top

#6 And I was on the phone (business) and emailing a guy in Ecuador today while this was happening... I even when to a couple of sites and explored the country further.

Posted by Sherry 2010-09-30 23:05|| 2010-09-30 23:05|| Front Page Top

#7 In the Zinn Socialist pseudo histories they never get around to the long and historical issue of cutting the pay of military. The record shows that its not one of the best played hands by pols [or as often is the case, former pols]. Or to paraphrase Hollyweird, "Let the Wookie win"

Posted by Procopius2k 2010-09-30 23:53|| 2010-09-30 23:53|| Front Page Top

23:57 anon1
23:53 Procopius2k
23:48 Procopius2k
23:43 Procopius2k
23:32 Barbara Skolaut
23:29 Barbara Skolaut
23:22 Mike Hunt
23:21 M. Murcek
23:19 anon1
23:18 Mike Hunt
23:05 Sherry
23:03 Mike Hunt
22:57 Old Patriot
22:56 Throns Ebbeque9685
22:51 Old Patriot
22:48 notascrename
22:35 SteveS
22:29 SteveS
22:28 Pappy
22:15 Pappy
22:08 Pappy
21:54 Anonymoose
21:51 Anonymoose
21:10 Barbara Skolaut