The New York Times and Miami Herald this morning have reports from Ecuador on Sunday’s presidential elections. The AP report in the NYT says incumbent Rafael Correa, a left-wing economist, is expected to win easily. Correa has imposed some of the world’s strictest protectionist measures in the wake of the global financial crisis in order to protect national industries and some say his continuation of government spending for social programs could bankrupt the Treasury as the recession deepens. He has campaigned vigorously against an old-style of corrupt politics in Ecuador with many in the country supporting the 46-year-old with a Ph.D. from the Univ. of Illinois, because of his sincerity and honesty, believing a strong executive is what Ecuador needs after many years of corrupt and inefficient governments. The country has had 10 presidents since 1997, three of them ousted by popular revolts. A new constitution was approved by 64 percent of voters in September, allowing Correa to run for a second four-year term in 2013. According to the AP, his current four-year term was automatically truncated by the new constitution. Meanwhile, the MH reports on the elections, saying Correa will likely tighten his grip on power after if re-elected. “He has spent liberally on behalf of the poor, including two increases in the minimum wage. His government has built or refurbished hundreds of schools and local health care clinics,” says the MH who adds that voter turnout is expected to be very high Sunday (around 70%) in a country where voting is obligatory. Sunday’s election will be the sixth time Ecuadoreans have voted since October 2006.
The Washington Post runs a piece on Guatemala this morning, writing that poorly paid private security officers are increasingly turning to crime to make a living. The paper says that Guatemala has around100,000 private security guards, outnumbering both the police and army. But the guards are frequently poorly paid, undertrained, and highly armed, and thus, according to the U.N.-appointed head of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, “private guards are one of the biggest security threats Guatemala faces.” More than 6,300 people were murdered last year in a country of just 13 million with murder being the leading cause of death for young men. However, fewer than 2 percent of murders result in convictions, according to the U.N. crime report. Without well-functioning public security institutions, many turn to private security forces for protection, frequently deceived by individuals using false papers that are easily found on the black market. According to Alexander Custodio, the Guatemala-based Central American security manager for Wal-Mart, it’s an issue of “Bad with them -- worse without them.”
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal has another piece on U.S. Cuba policy today, reporting that Cuban Americans are now debating amongst themselves what the next U.S. steps toward Cuba should be. The paper writes that “a near consensus is emerging here for the U.S. to ease its harsh policies toward the island,” but debate lingers over “whether a further relaxation of U.S. policy should hinge on obtaining commitments for reforms from the Cuban regime.” According to Joe Garcia, a Democrat who nearly beat pro-embargo Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) last year in a close congressional race, “the Cuban-Americans who shaped Cuba policy are totally disconnected from Cuba. It's time to do something practical.” The Cuban-Americans who believe U.S. changes should be contingent upon concessions from the Cuban government believe the Cuban regime should restore civil liberties, adopt free-market reforms and free the more than 300 political prisoners that human-rights groups say are held by the Cuban government. In a MH editorial, the Miami paper also writes on the subject, saying “It would be an error to believe that differences will be overcome easily, if that is possible at all. It would be a tragedy not to try.”
And, finally, the BBC reports from Colombia where Diego Murillo, a former drug baron now imprisoned in the U.S., says he and his illegal paramilitary army, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), funded the 2002 election campaign of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. Mr. Uribe’s campaign finance manager denies the claim. Murillo, aka “Don Berna,” replaced Pablo Escobar as the top drug lord in Medellin and led the AUC which once commanded a 30,000 man paramilitary army. He is expected to reveal more information to investigators in the coming days, writes the BBC. Currently there are 77 congressmen under investigation for links to the AUC and “nine of whom have been condemned.” Nearly all are supporters of President Uribe.
In other news, another AP story in the NYT says that Interpol has issued a notice seeking the arrest of Chávez opponent, Manuel Rosales, who has requested political asylum in Peru. According to Venezuela’s federal police chief Wilmer Flores, Interpol yesterday sent out a ''red notice'' for Manuel Rosales, meaning the suspect is wanted for possible extradition. The notice does not force countries to arrest or extradite suspects, but it does put Rosales on Interpol's “most-wanted list.” Timoteo Zambrano, a Rosales confidant, told Colombia's RCN television network from Lima, Peru that police there cannot arrest Rosales while his asylum request is under consideration, an assertion that Venezuela’s foreign minister disputes.
Finally, two opinions. A WSJ editorial praises President Obama’s quiet Monday announcement “to repudiate a campaign promise and not press for new labor and environmental regulations in the North American Free Trade Agreement.” The paper says that “the last thing the Western Hemisphere needs are more trade barriers that would snarl supply chains and damage commerce.” And a NYT editorial argues that while the paper is no fan of Chávez, whom they call a “standard-issue autocrat,” “Venezuela is no strategic threat, adding that “this country [the U.S.] has paid far too high a price in both power and influence for former President George W. Bush’s bullying.”
Photo: AP / Alexandre Meneghini
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