The recent resounding election victory of leftist Rafael Correa as president of Ecuador opens new horizons for the left in Latin America. Now Ecuador is set to join Venezuela under Hugo Chavez and Bolivia led by Evo Morales in a formidable economic and political bloc. US influence in the region is further weakened.
Ecuador is expected to join ALBA, the economic bloc formed by Chavez. With Mexico on the brink of significant social change and Nicaragua under the Sandinistas again (though they have moved considerably to the right), a whole region of the world is straining at the leash to overthrow US hegemony.
Colombia now becomes a key battleground as Ecuador and Venezuela border on it. (President Uribe's recent victory in Colombia may only be a holding operation and anyway the FARC guerrillas already control swathes of the countryside.)
In the Ecuadorian election campaign poor swept him to victory in round two despite scaremongering by his billionaire rival, Alvaro Noboa, who claimed Correa would turn Ecuador into another Cuba. level by calling Bush 'dim-witted'. trading block from Alaska to Chile. much of it's export revenue along with agricultural products, but widespread poverty and discontent have led to a three elected presidents.
Although Correa made capitalist foreign debt payments he recently toned down his attacks on the US as well as on Ecuador's assembly, which he had Correa's widespread support amongst the
Correa's anti-American credentials are impressive - he took his fight to a personal social process.
The result blocks US attempts to form a
Ecuador's limited oil reserves provide citizens movement which ousted the last coup. investors nervous by threatening to reduce threatened to dissolve.
However he has refused to recognise many of the last minute agreements signed by the outgoing government.
As in the case with Bolivia, it is important to identify with the social movements of the poor rather than placing overmuch reliance on the leadership that has been thrown up at this stage of the
The future of Correa will be tied up in how much of his programme he is able to implement and both right and left will find points to disappoint them.
He will be very conscious of the fate of the recent presidents but the threat could also come from the right in the form of a
The 21st Century would seem to offer Ecuadorians better prospects and 2007 is awaited with much anticipation by the Left. With the death of Chile's brutal former dictator General Pinochet, a whole era has finally been buried.
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Morales is still in his honeymoon period and most
people in the ranks of the social
movements forgive the delays in fulfilling their demands because understandably, Stuart Piper Hugo Chavez had already been clear about his general intentions. As the size of his victory in the presidential elections became clear on the night of December3, he joined his supporters from the balcony of the Miraflores palace.
Under torrential rain, he sang with them the national anthem and shouted 'Long A truly effective,
plural and
democratic,
mass political organisation for revolutionaries is badly needed.