Minister: Ecuador to review oil contracts

[struggle4progress]

Associated Press


QUITO, Ecuador - Ecuador will review all of its current oil contracts with foreign companies, the country's self-described "nationalist" energy minister said in an interview published Monday.

In an interview with the daily Expreso, Energy Minister Fausto Cordovez said if the contracts "are well formulated and within legal and ethical norms ... they will be respected."

He added that he was not trying to cause panic, but that "if the multinationals believe that a nationalist minister is going to do them harm, they will have to make a decision. I'm not going to be frightened by the threat of someone leaving."

Ecuador's government has sounded a more populist tone since Congress ousted ex-President Lucio Gutierrez, a fiscal conservative, and replaced him last month with his elected vice president, Alfredo Palacio, who advocates greater spending on social programs. <snip>

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/world/11662473.htm

[cestpaspossible]

1. You mean a country's oil wealth should actually benefit the people

of that country? what a concept.

[oblivious]

2. Who's afraid of the big bad wolf! Apparantly no one now.

[loudsue]

3. No, they're still afraid, and they should be.

The U.S. has a nasty habit of assassinating South American leaders who don't tow the corporate line.

I'm just hoping that all of these South American leaders will continue to form an ever tighter coalition against the neocon/corporatist agenda in the U.S., and increase their intelligencia to make sure the U.S.-supported trouble makers are sent packing.

Some day, in a galaxy further north, maybe the people will rise up and force FAIR, HONEST, TRANSPARENT elections, and oust the corporatists who are screwing the people.

:kick::kick::kick:

[Judi Lynn]

4. Oh, it's all Hugo Chavez's fault. Fidel Castro's, too.

If it weren't for a few "bad boy" leaders, the entire world would grovel at Neocon feet. That's their stock explanation for one whisper of dissent from Latin America and the Caribbean.

From the article, meanwhile:

In Bolivia, where President Carlos Mesa has refused to sign a law increasing taxes on foreign oil companies, tens of thousands of protesters marched in the capital Monday to demand the nationalization of the oil industry.

The protests were mostly peaceful but police used tear gas in some points to disperse the marchers,and police commander Gen. David Aramayo said "some people were detained, some drunk types," He did not give a figure.
(snip)

<sub>Bush + President Carlos Mesa apparently met near the boiler room for the official photograph
after Mesa went to all the trouble to wear a Bush matching tie.

Good, wise General Aramayo. Everyone who doesn't support the rape of Latin America is either a traitor (!) or a drunk.</sub>

[bemildred]

5. I must say, my opinion of Palacio is improving rapidly. nt

[Judi Lynn]

6. He's got a real challenge ahead....

article | posted May 11, 2005 (web only)
Ecuador Gets Chávez'd
Greg Palast

George Bush has someone new to hate. Only twenty-four hours after Ecuador's new president took his oath of office, he was hit by a diplomatic cruise missile fired all the way from Lithuania by Condoleezza Rice, then wandering about Eastern Europe spreading "democracy." Condi called for "a constitutional process to get to elections," which came as a bit of a shock to the man who'd already been constitutionally elected, Alfredo Palacio.

What had Palacio done to get our Secretary of State's political knickers in a twist? It's the oil--and the bonds. This nation of only 13 million souls at the world's belly button is rich, sitting on 4.4 billion barrels of known oil reserves, and probably much more. Yet 60 percent of its citizens live in brutal poverty; a lucky minority earn the "minimum" wage of $153 a month.
(snip)

That's not what the Bush Administration wanted to hear. Besides Condi's attack, Palacio got the full "Chávez" treatment from the New York Times, which ran the headline "Ecuador's New Chief Picks Cabinet; Leftist in Economic Post" after Palacio's new finance minister announced Ecuador would put social-services programs first ahead of payments to bondholders. The Times said Palacio's views "ruffled some feathers" (whose, we don't know) and that foreign powers questioned the "legitimacy" of his right to office. Palacio smiled, "They don't say which ones."
(snip/...)

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050530&s=palast



The article referred to a photo of "Dirty Lucio," his predecessor, and _Bush, holding hands, as being infamous in Quito. Cool!

[bemildred]

7. Yeah, so many countries to crush, so little time.

The Palast piece was excellent.

[Mika]

8. More proof that Bush is a uniter.

BushCrimeNazisInc Pinkertons at Work in Miami