* Former Brazilian president says war on drugs has failed Sep 7, 2009
Cardoso, a sociologist, said Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador had all now taken steps toward drug law liberalization and that change was imminent in Brazil. The way forward worldwide would involve a strategy of reaching out, patiently and persistently, to the users and not the continued waging of a misguided and counterproductive war that makes the users, rather than the drug lords, the primary victims, he said. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Is Colombia's Uribe pulling a Chvez on term limits? Sep 3, 2009
Constitutions have been changed within the past few years to allow at least one reelection in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. But the change is not welcomed everywhere. (Christian Science Monitor -- World)
If Colombia Is Winning Its War, Why Are People Fleeing? Sep 1, 2009
Besides Caqueta, the area generating the most displacement is Nari;o state, which borders Ecuador. A key drug-trafficking corridor, Nari;o is home to thousands of acres of coca being fought over by rebels and newly formed militias. (Time.com)
South American Summit Assails U.S.-Colombia Accord as Obama's Appeal Wanes Aug 29, 2009
Ecuadorean President led a call at todays summit in Argentina for a meeting with President to discuss the planned military buildup in Colombia ... The summit today, broadcast live on television across the continent, underscored how tense relations between Colombia and neighboring Ecuador and Venezuela have grown as Colombia pursues stronger military, trade and political ties with the U.S., a country that Chavez claims has pushed for his overthrow. (Bloomberg -- Latin America)
How Diplomacy Is Like Sex Aug 29, 2009
Ecuador wasn't going to renew the lease for an anti-narcotics base in its territory, and Colombia is both a major fighter against narcotics as well as a US ally -where they did they think the base would go. Considering that it's a mere 800 additional soldiers, Obama should say in response to Chavez's claims that it's an invasion force, "Our 800 soldiers? Either Chavez thinks very highly of our troops, or very little of his own.". (Slate)
Australia gives final approval to Chinese gas sale Aug 26, 2009
Amazon Defense Coalition: Chevron Suffers Further Setbacks in $27 Billion Ecuador Environmental Trial. An Ecuadorian trial judge dealt Chevron another setback when he fined the companys local counsel for trying to delay the end of a $27 billion environmental trial and referred a court-ordered report to Ecuadors national prosecutor for possible use in a criminal prosecution of the company, according to court papers made available this week ... The judge also granted a request from the... (Fresno Bee -- Business)
Toothbrush tache Aug 26, 2009
"I thought that at any moment someone might smack me in the face. I was being judged by my appearance and being a white, middle-class man I've never looked to draw attention to myself before. FAMOUS TOOTHBRUSHES Robert Mugabe Abdal; Bucaram, former Ecuador president Grange Hill's Mr Bronson (pictured) Oliver Hardy Blakey, in On The Buses "I felt quite afraid and a bit upset ... There was also the former Ecuador president, Abdal; Bucaram. (BBC News -- UK)
The Health Care Debate the Media Missed Aug 21, 2009
It's despicable that Obama and his accomplices want us to adopt the FAILED socialized medicine practices of Canada and the U.K. and, worst yet, of Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Bolivia and the rest of the countries implementing "socialism of the XXI century.". At least the Canadians and the Europeans can complain. (CBS News -- Politics)
Interim Honduras leader rejects return of Zelaya Aug 19, 2009
"I know him. I helped him become president. He was a democrat. But he became a leftist with a plan to follow Ecuador and Venezuela. He wanted to become a dictator and emulate [Venezuelan President Hugo] Chvez.". What Zelaya hoped to gain from the referendum is a point of contention in Honduras. (Christian Science Monitor -- World)
Mediation stalls in Honduras as leaders refuse Zelaya's return Aug 15, 2009
The move alarmed the country's elite because it resembled acts by Mr. Chvez, Bolivia's Evo Morales and Ecuador's Rafael Correa to extend their stays in office ... Since his ouster, Zelaya has traveled to the US, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil, and Chile to rally support to get the Micheletti government to bend. (Christian Science Monitor -- World)
FARC chief denies getting Venezuela arms Aug 14, 2009
BOGOT - The top guerrilla leader in Colombia denied in comments published yesterday that his organization received antitank weapons from Venezuela or funded the electoral ambitions of Ecuador s president ... Cano also denied that FARC helped fund the 2006 election campaign of President Rafael Correa of Ecuador - allegations that surfaced last month after the Associated Press revealed the existence of a video in which a senior rebel commander discussed funneling money to the campaign. (Boston Globe)
Letters to the Editor: On economics Aug 13, 2009
On economics, gambling, Ecuador and Colombia, American politics ... SIR Regarding your article on Colombia s FARC guerrillas, the government of Ecuador is confident that President Rafael Correa s election campaign received no funds from the rebels ( , July 25th) ... The government of President Correa is not tolerant of the FARC. Only last year the Ecuadorean military destroyed over 130 FARC facilities and arrested 20 FARC members, as noted in the American State Department s Country Reports on... (The Economist)
* Zelaya followers threaten to boycott Honduran poll Aug 12, 2009
Zelaya, who was in Ecuador, meanwhile called on his opponents to listen to the people and denounced the interim government for the deaths of more than 10 young protesters in Honduras. They were murdered in the streets because they were marching peacefully and were slaughtered with bullets, he said during a mass in Quito celebrating the inauguration of Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Sports)
Chvez stirs anxiety over US military deal in Colombia Aug 11, 2009
Venezuelan President Hugo Chvez sought a region-wide censure of the pending agreement at a summit Monday in Quito, Ecuador ... The deal has heightened tensions in the region, especially with Venezuela and with Ecuador, which broke diplomatic relations with Bogot last year after Colombia bombed a rebel camp in Ecuadorean territory ... At the same time, Colombia announced Sunday it had detained 11 Ecuadorean military personnel inside its border and quickly handed them over to Ecuador. (Christian Science Monitor -- World)
Chavez berates Colombia 'incursion' Aug 10, 2009
Mr Chavez said he would use this week's summit of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) in Ecuador to urge his allies in the region to press President Uribe to reconsider plans to increase the US military presence ... So far, only Bolivia and Ecuador have condemned the plan, while other countries like Chile and Brazil have said they will respect whatever decision Colombia takes ... Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa, who declined to renew the US lease of the Manta air base in Ecuador,... (BBC News)
The week ahead Aug 9, 2009
A MEETING of the fledgling in Quito, Ecuador s capital, on Monday August 10th, will be unusually lively, demonstrating the disunity that exists within the regional block. Alvaro Uribe, Colombia s president, has said that he will not attend after a wave of criticism over his decision to allow American troops to use military bases in his country to pursue the battle against drug trafficking. (The Economist)
Newsweek: Latin America tilting right, not left Aug 8, 2009
Yes, despite plunging oil prices, the Andean petrocrats of Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela are still slouching toward 21st-century socialism, singing a hymn of anti-Washington invective. Nowhere more than in Venezuela, where Hugo Chvez, channeling Fidel Castro circa 1960, is silencing foes and the media (he just shut down 34 radio stations) and spreading blessings and aid (Russian Kalashnikovs, Swedish missiles) to Colombia's FARC guerrillas. (MSNBC -- International)
Brazil in nod to Colombian leader Aug 7, 2009
Ecuador, Bolivia and Uruguay expressed disapproval ... The US has been forced to look for a new base for such operations after Ecuador refused to renew the lease on its Manta base, which the US military was using ... During this week's whirlwind tour of Latin America, Mr Uribe steered clear of Ecuador and Venezuela, both of which have tense relations with Bogota and Washington. (BBC News -- Americas)
Chavez fumes at Colombia Aug 7, 2009
In that instance, a cross-border attack by the Colombian military on a group of Farc rebels on Ecuadorean territory - during which the guerrilla leader, Raul Reyes, was killed - sparked one of the worst diplomatic disputes in the region since the end of the Cold War ... Among them was a video released by the Colombian authorities which they said showed a key Farc leader saying the group sent money to the election campaign of Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa, who is an ally of Mr Chavez ...... (BBC News -- Americas)
Chvez rages at US plan to boost antidrug ops in Colombia Aug 7, 2009
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has agreed to host the Pentagon's narcotics-interdiction flight operations, which were recently kicked out of Ecuador ... Those operations were recently kicked out of Ecuador by leftist President Rafael Correa after a 10-year contract for use of the Manta air base came up for renewal ... The US interdiction center, operated by more than 200 American personnel, flew its last surveillance flights out of Ecuador's Manta air base last month. (Christian Science Monitor -- USA)
Colombia's Uribe On Trip To Defend US Bases Pact Aug 5, 2009
The Palanquero base in the central Magdalena valley would host U.S. Air Force counternarcotics missions that had been based in Ecuador ... While Colombia's ties with the rest of the continent have been on the whole cordial, it has feuded with Ecuador and Venezuela over their leftist leaders' alleged ties with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which has been seeking to overthrow Bogota governments for 45 years ... President Rafael Correa of Ecuador was stung by a FARC video... (CBS News -- World)
Chavez Condemns Attack On Opposition TV Station Aug 5, 2009
But 00004000 President Rafael Correa of Ecuador, a close Chavez ally, announced Monday that "many" radio and TV frequencies in his country would revert to the state over what he called irregularities in their licenses ... Ravell, Globovision's director, told Radio Quito in Ecuador on Tuesday that it seems Correa "is copying President Hugo Chavez's media policy.". (CBS News -- World)
A Look At Efforts To Extend Term Limits Worldwide Aug 4, 2009
ECUADOR: A new constitution approved by Ecuador's voters in September made President Rafael Correa eligible to run again in 2013 for another four-year term. It also gave the president greater control over spending and the central bank. (CBS News -- World)
Possible US-Colombia military deal raises regional tensions Jul 30, 2009
Venezuela and Ecuador have strongly condemned the pending agreement, which would allow the US to use three bases for counternarcotics and counterinsurgency surveillance ... Ecuadoran Security Minister Miguel Carvajal said that "increased military tensions" between Colombia and Ecuador were a possibility ... The US lost surveillance capability when it ended flights out of a base at Manta, Ecuador, after that country refused to renew the lease. (Christian Science Monitor)
Obituaries in the news Jul 26, 2009
During the war, he was a diplomatic aide in Ecuador from 1941 to 1943 and an active-duty officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve in the Pacific from 1943 to 1946. Heard was dean of the Graduate School at the University of North Carolina when Vanderbilt hired him as chancellor in 1963, to succeed Harvie Branscomb. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- World)
Regional battle Jul 22, 2009
The pattern of an incumbent president calling for a new constitution to strengthen the power of the presidency and permit a second term (or more) has also been adopted by Mr Chavez's main South American allies - Evo Morales in Bolivia and Rafael Correa in Ecuador. Now we have the crisis in Honduras, and Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega has also just recently called for a change in the national constitution to permit presidential re-election. (BBC News -- Americas)
Paraguay Pushes `Imperialist' Brazil to Pay More for Hydroelectric Power Jul 20, 2009
None of the diplomatic feuds with Bolivia, over President nationalization of Petroleo Brasileiro SAs refineries, or in Ecuador, where threatened to stop payment on $243 million in loans linked to a Brazil-built power plant, match Itaipu for its economic or symbolic weight. Its our Panama Canal, said , a former ambassador to the U.S. and president of the Sao Paulo Industrial Federations foreign trade council. (Bloomberg -- Latin America)
Correa Says Commission Will Probe Alleged FARC Ties to Ecuador Government Jul 19, 2009
July 18 (Bloomberg) -- Ecuadorean President said an investigation into a Colombian raid inside Ecuador also will probe allegations of ties between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and Correas government and political party. Correa said a commission reviewing last years attack on a camp set up by the FARC, as the rebel group is known, near Angostura in Ecuadors Amazon territory will investigate whether the rebels contributed to his 2006 election campaign ... Today he reiterated... (Bloomberg -- Latin America)
Correa: Video Linking Him To Rebels 'a Sham' Jul 19, 2009
Ecuador's Correa Calls Rebel Video 'a Sham' Meant To Discredit South America's Left ... (AP) Ecuador's President Rafael Correa on Saturday dismissed as a "sham" a newly released video in which a Colombian rebel commander discusses contributing dollars to Correa's 2006 election campaign ... Correa said that a government-backed commission probing Colombia's March 2008 attack on a FARC camp just inside Ecuador should also analyze what he termed "the idiocy" of supposed rebel contributions to his... (CBS News -- World)
Ecuador-Colombia row over video Jul 18, 2009
Video stokes Ecuador-Colombia row ... A videotape that appears to link Colombia's Marxist rebels the Farc to the president of neighbouring Ecuador has been broadcast on Colombian TV. ... The video allegedly shows a rebel commander claiming they helped fund the 2006 election of Ecuador's left-wing president, Rafael Correa. (BBC News -- Americas)
Rebel video hounds Ecuador leader Jul 18, 2009
Rebel video hounds Ecuador's president ... BOGOTA - An hour-long video police found in a computer of an alleged rebel appears to confirm that Colombia's largest rebel army gave money to the 2006 election campaign of President Rafael Correa of Ecuador ... Ties between Colombia and neighboring Ecuador are deeply frayed, and the video is sure to complicate relations further. (MSNBC -- International)
Two Republicans step up to challenge Baird Jul 14, 2009
Both challengers and the National Republican Congressional Committee question Baird s decision in 2008 to lead a House committee s fact-finding trip at taxpayer expense to the Galapagos Islands, off Ecuador. The trip cost 22,000 for Baird, four other lawmakers and their family members, according to a recent Wall Street Journal story that said congressional junkets were almost 10 times more expensive since 1995 and 50 percent higher since Democrats took control of Congress two years ago. (Longview Daily News, WA)
China's big move into Latin America Jul 13, 2009
Ecuador is borrowing $1 billion from China to finance investments by its state oil company and another $1 ... Peruvians have tried to block the expansion of a Chinese mining project near the border with Ecuador that they say would pollute local rivers. (Christian Science Monitor -- World)
The Chavez Adventure in Honduras: From Coup d’ Etat to Coup d’ Grace? Jul 13, 2009
But just as important is to understand that this Honduran would-be dictator was only following a strategy that had already worked in Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador ... Honduras was to be the next pawn in this hegemonic project that already counts Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Ecuador among its members ... Some leaders, like Nicaragua s Ortega and Bolivia s Morales, were already ideologically predisposed, while the seduction of Ecuador s Correa took a little more time. (Human Events Online)
* The Caesar temptation in Latin politics makes a comeback Jul 11, 2009
In Bolivia and Ecuador, immediate re-election is already possible. In short, Latin America appears to be becoming a region of democracy by plebiscite. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Business)
A soldier's duty Jul 10, 2009
Castro, Daniel Ortega, Ecuador s Rafael Correa, and Bolivia s Evo Morales (all left-leaning Latin leaders) also rallied to Zelaya s defense, calling the action a military coup. Chavez, Correa and Morales had all used similar referendums to remain in power. (Cameron Observer, MO)
How the Honduras crisis boosts Venezuela's Chvez Jul 9, 2009
His influence also has been declining in Latin America as he and his closest allies in Ecuador, Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Argentina, and Honduras have been suffering from political and economic troubles. In contrast, the moderate leftist presidents of Brazil, Chile and Uruguay have remained popular even though the global economic crisis has battered their countries. (Christian Science Monitor -- World)
Clinton's high-wire act on Honduras Jul 8, 2009
A wide spectrum of Latin American governments from conservatives in Mexico and Colombia to moderates in Brazil and Chile and leftists in Ecuador and Argentina all condemned the action as a coup, notes Larry Birns, director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, a regional think tank in Washington. State Department officials are starting to float compromises that could lead to a resolution of the crisis, including a pledge from Zelaya not to seek any revision of the ban on presidential... (Christian Science Monitor)
Honduras showdown: In the air and on the airwaves Jul 7, 2009
He was accompanied by the presidents of El Salvador, Argentina, Paraguay and Ecuador, and the secretary-general of the OAS, Jose Miguel Insulza, who flew there from Washington. Zelaya vowed to attempt another return soon. (Christian Science Monitor -- World)
Honduras Is Right About Zelaya Jul 7, 2009
In Ecuador, Mr. Correa is doing exactly the same thing, though it is not as far advanced as Chavez and Morales are in their respective nations. It is in this context of the anti-democratic, authoritarianlLeft deploying a new way to obtain and maintain power that the recent events in Honduras have to be judged. (Human Events Online)
Clinton to meet ousted Honduran Jul 7, 2009
At a news conference late on Sunday, flanked by the presidents of El Salvador, Argentina, Paraguay and Ecuador, and the Secretary-General of the OAS, Jose Miguel Insulza, Mr Zelaya said. "I call on the armed forces of Honduras to lower their rifles. I am risking myself personally to resolve the problems without violence.". (BBC News -- Americas)
Read the story Jul 6, 2009
He then met with Ortega before leaving for consultations in El Salvador with the presidents of Argentina, Paraguay and Ecuador and the secretary-general of the Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza, who flew there from Washington. After a day of drama, Zelaya says he will now look for other ways to return to Honduras, reports CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier. (CBS News -- Evening News)
Honduras punished for ousting leader Jul 5, 2009
He said he would be accompanied by President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of Argentina and Rafael Correa of Ecuador. Thousands of his supporters are expected to be at the airport. (BBC News)
A week after Honduras coup Jul 5, 2009
"In Ecuador, Bolivia, Honduras, they are ... in a situation where the constitution creates institutional obstacles to sweeping away the old political class and removing an obstacle to change," Hellinger said. "But in the Honduras case, we are dealing with a president who was not elected on a platform of change unlike in these other cases.". (iAfrica.com)
Honduran interim gov't open to early election Jul 3, 2009
Zelaya, who vowed to return home this weekend, said several political figures, including Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and her Ecuadoran counterpart Rafael Correa Delgado, had been invited to join him on the trip ... QUITO, July 2 (Xinhua) -- The heads of nine Latin American legislatures promised to accompany ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya back to his country, Ecuadorian congress leader said Thursday ... Zelaya has won wide international supports, and he will make a... (Xinhuanet, China)
Honduras interim gov't declines to negotiate with OAS | Honduras president postpones return home Jul 2, 2009
Zelaya has won wide international supports, and he will make a high-profile comeback flanked by the president of the UN General Assembly, the secretary-general of the Organization of American States (OAS) and presidents of Argentina and Ecuador on a flight to Honduras on Thursday. TEGUCIGALPA, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Honduras' post-coup leader Roberto Micheletti said that deposed president, Manuel Zelaya, should not return in a Tuesday interview with domestic radio station HRN.. (Xinhuanet, China)
Obama Should Support Honduras Coup Jul 2, 2009
To date, leftist regimes in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela have scrapped constitutional presidential term limits, each time using extralegal ploys to do so ... So far, the U.S. position, reiterated by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is largely the same as that of such governments as Argentina, Cuba, Ecuador, and Venezuela - none of them supporters of democracy and the rule of law ... In the same way, the president of Ecuador, Mr. Rafael Correa, also has a deep loathing of the American... (CBS News)
Showdown looms in Honduras Jul 2, 2009
Even some left-leaning candidates, such as Rafael Correa in Ecuador, have sought to distance themselves from Chvez leading up to voting day. But fear of Chvez has taken on a new meaning here in Honduras. (Christian Science Monitor)
Spanish immigrants hit hard Jul 2, 2009
I met Pilar, from Ecuador, just after she had waved farewell to her sister ... "It's better to be in Ecuador with your loved ones and enough to eat, than here without work.". (BBC News -- Europe)
* World News Quick Take Jul 1, 2009
An Ecuadorian judge on Monday issued an arrest warrant for former Colombian minister of defense Juan Manuel Santos over allegations he ordered a bloody raid against leftist rebels inside Ecuador, local media reported. The military raid against rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) operating inside Ecuador was denounced by authorities in Quito as a violation of the countrys sovereignty and prompted a diplomatic rift between the South American neighbors ... The Colombian... (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Business)
Ousted Honduran president vows to return Jul 1, 2009
Zelaya has won wide international supports, and he will make a high-profile comeback flanked by the president of the UN General Assembly, the secretary-general of the Organization of American States (OAS) and presidents of Argentina and Ecuador on a flight to Honduras on Thursday. ARREST WARRANT. (Xinhuanet, China)
Foreign broadcasters walk a fine line in Iran Jun 30, 2009
"They are not covering a conflict in Russia or Ecuador. They are covering a conflict in their own country.". The BBC has been careful never to claim the election was rigged, and tries to verify images it gets from Iran by comparing different footage of the same event and interviewing eyewitnesses over the phone. (WSVN-TV Miami, FL)
Honduran coup tests waning US clout in Latin America Jun 30, 2009
"The referendum is the primary vehicle through which change has occurred in countries like Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia, and the elites know it," says Tinker Salas. "They wanted to nip this thing in the bud.". (Christian Science Monitor)
Coup in Honduras? Jun 29, 2009
But while Mr. Chvez, Evo Morales in Bolivia, and Rafael Correa in Ecuador have successfully modified their charters to elongate their rule, it seems Zelaya miscalculated his institutional backing ... "They have scored a noticeable victory with Ecuador, and recent elections in El Salvador. This will mark a reversal of its prospects.". (Christian Science Monitor)
Argentina's First Couple face election test Jun 28, 2009
One reality, he said, is that of hard-core leftist Venezuela and Ecuador. The other reality is that of more pragmatic Brazil and Chile. (CNN -- International)
Speed-walking school helps Colombian refugee children fit in with their Ecuadorian peers Jun 24, 2009
The children train at Ecuador's famous Escuela de Marcha, a race-walking school that produced the country's only Olympic medalist, Jefferson Perez ... Correspondent Vanessa Johnston visits a race-walking school for Colombian refugees in Ecuador ... Cuenca, Ecuador - With the mountains of Cuenca Ecuador's third-largest city and a United Nations World Heritage site serving as a backdrop, children run energetically up and down a long concrete staircase, around the cones, and back again. (Christian Science Monitor -- World)
Hits and Misses Jun 21, 2009
Together, the husband-and-wife team spent more than 35 years tracking "Darwin's finches" in the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador. The Kyoto Prize honors outstanding contributions in advanced technology, basic sciences and arts and philosophy. (NJ.com -- Times)
Ahmadinejad's new best friend: Hugo Chvez? Jun 19, 2009
Ahmadinejad was supposed to visit Venezuela, Ecuador, and Brazil in May but canceled the trip at the last moment, for reasons that were not fully explained. Ahmadinejad's forays into Latin America haven't always been smooth. (Christian Science Monitor -- World)
Fewer become refugees but many who do find trouble Jun 18, 2009
The survey's list of "Best and Worst Places for Refugees" found that Brazil, Costa Rica and Ecuador ranked among the best because they have streamlined their laws and made exceptions to make the lives of refugees more like those of their citizens. In all, the world had a 3 percent drop in the number of new refugees in 2008, from 14 million to 13. (Yahoo News -- Politics)
'Obama of Paraguay' has hands full, too May 25, 2009
He later spent five years as a Catholic missionary in Ecuador where he came under the influence of the Liberation Theology movement that stressed defending the poor and working for social change. When Lugo returned to Paraguay in 1982, his sermons about the rights of landless peasants living in extreme poverty came to the attention of Stroessner's security forces. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Taking democracy to the people May 16, 2009
And illiberal democracies have fought each other, as Ecuador and Peru did in the 1990s. Related Articles. (Globe and Mail -- International)
Huge Bolivian glacier disappears May 13, 2009
Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru depend on that power for about half their electricity. Mr Ramirez and his team are planning to hold a special ceremony this month to honour the loss of Chacaltaya. (BBC News -- Americas)
Iran's supreme leader rebukes president May 5, 2009
Also Monday, the state news agency IRNA reported that Ahmadinejad canceled a planned trip to Latin America that would have taken him to Brazil, Venezuela and Ecuador. Instead, Ahmadinejad will go closer to home, visiting Syria on Tuesday. (MSNBC -- International)
Why Panama tilts right in presidential vote May 4, 2009
But unlike in El Salvador recently, where the left-wing Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) won the presidency after 30 years of conservative party rule, or in Ecuador where Rafael Correa won re-election last Sunday vowing to push forward with a "socialist revolution," change here comes in the form of a supermarket tycoon who touts himself as the free-market candidate ... In Ecuador, when Mr. Correa was originally voted in 2006, voters were rejecting the corruption of the political... (Christian Science Monitor -- World)
Election win for Ecuador's Correa May 3, 2009
Ecuador's President Rafael Correa has won a second term in office after April's poll, election officials have announced ... Mr Correa's win means there will be no second round run-off vote in Ecuador for the first time in 30 years ... Since then, he has won a following through increased social spending and talking tough to the foreign investors many Ecuadoreans feel are exploiting their country. (BBC News -- Americas)
