Latin America
Related: About this forumA most Ecuadorable inauguration
Festive Left Friday Blogging: A most Ecuadorable inauguration
May 24, 2013 Sabina Becker
It was inauguration day today in Ecuador for a very popular re-elected leader. And guess who was the guest of honor?
Yup, Nicolás Maduro was there, wearing his mourning armband for Chavecito
without whom there might not have BEEN a President Correa, seeing as Chavecito got the Bolivarian ball rolling in the first place. And obviously, Chavecito was very much on the big guys mind as he delivered his thoughts on his amigos re-election:
And he was not the only one thinking of Chavecito:
The president of the National Assembly of Ecuador, Gabriela Rivadeneira, praised the legacy of the leader of the Bolivarian Revolution, Hugo Chávez, and of the former president of Argentina, Néstor Kirchner, during her speech at the inauguration of President Rafael Correa for his next term, 2013-2017.
...
Rivadeneira recalled that with the help of presidents like Chávez and Kirchner, as well as Evo Morales of Bolivia, and Rafael Correa himself, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the Common Market of the South (Mercosur), and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) were built.
Rivadeneira called these institutions the backbone of a new decolonized Latin America, different from the old institutions which only served to destroy our hopes.
She added that the new organisms of integration are the nodes of the new Bolivarian America which we are building.
It is up to the current revolutionary generations to not only continue this process, but to finish forging it, so that our continent never again goes back to being the colony of any empire.
...
Well, if the imperialists thought that Chavecitos death would solve their problems, theyve got another think coming. As Ive said here on repeated occasions: The man is not dead, hes immortal. And hes beyond their reach now. Hes on the loose in every corner of the continent. Good luck trying to shove that genie back into the bottle.
http://www.sabinabecker.com/2013/05/festive-left-friday-blogging-a-most-ecuadorable-inauguration.html
ErikJ
(6,335 posts)Coincidence, Just got this in my email today
Health: This is a Top Haven for Quality Care Overseas
By Edd Staton
Patty and Mike Grimm have been in Ecuador for nearly three years. During that time, "we have pretty much covered the gamut of medical care, including dentistry, eye exams and glasses, emergency rooms, colonoscopy, mammogram, gallbladder removal, treatment for ulcers (endoscopes), and serious back treatments," says Mike. "In each and every case, our care has been first class, with very caring and skilled medical practitioners. And its been a fraction of the cost of the U.S."
Over and over, expats praise Ecuadorean doctors who "put the patient first" and take time with their patientsup to 45 minutes for an office visit, if needed.
In Ecuadors major citiesQuito, Cuenca, and GuayaquilEnglish-speaking doctors are fairly common, since many have gone to medical school in the U.S. These three cities are also where youll find Ecuadors most modern hospitals and most of the medical specialists.
Costs are lowabout 10% to 25% of what youd pay in the U.S. For major surgeries, the cost is often less than 10%.
Expat Linn Smith, who lives in Cuenca, can attest to the low cost. She had an emergency appendectomy whose total costlaparoscopic surgery, doctors, nurses, hospital, equipment, and medicationswas only $1,200. "This same surgery can cost $40,000 to $60,000 in the U.S.," she says.
Its no wonder, then, that 67% of expats are "self-insured"pay as you go.
But insurance is available. In addition to international plans, you can choose an Ecuadorean health-insurance plan, which costs around $70 a month. Or you can choose a health plan offered by a private hospital.
Ecuador also has a public health-care system. In 2010 and 2011 the country spent millions of dollars to upgrade this system, and it now allows expats to join it. To qualify, expats must hold a residence visa and be between the ages of 18 and 60. The cost is $60 to $70 a month, and you must pay for three months before you can access regular care (one month for emergency care).
Under the public system, you have no choice of doctors and you must sometimes wait weeks for appointments. But coverage is comprehensive, with no deductible. Youll be referred to a specialist if needed and transferred to a private hospital if you require special facilitiesat no additional charge.
Most drugs are available without prescription, although they often have different brand names. The doctor or pharmacy can cross-reference the names.
"Services here are expanding, spurred in part by progress, U.S./European-trained doctors and the influx of expat arrivals," says expat Linda Walker.
"All of our physicians regularly attend Latin American, Stateside and worldwide seminars/conventions to keep abreast of the latest in their fields. Youll now find dental state-of-the-art offices that rival any in the U.S."
do you by any chance have a direct link to this article? i'd like to share it with some co-workers. thank you!
eta: found it
http://internationalliving.com/2013/04/health-care-survey-the-best-havens-for-quality-care-overseas/
ErikJ
(6,335 posts)but it didnt have the great graphic the online version you found does. Interestingly, they send emails of parts of their articles from the previous month. Thanks for finding that!
Catherina
(35,568 posts)Judi Lynn
(160,545 posts)Absolutely flawless, perfect.
That's the spirit!
Thank you, Catherina, great article, and important news posted to your thread below your O.P.
Catherina
(35,568 posts)What a corrupt press.
The corrupt press is also something Rafael Correa discussed in his interesting interview with Julian Assange last year.
Judi Lynn
(160,545 posts)which has been shrieking its guts out regarding Latin American leftist leadership is beyond infuriating.
Where are the hysterical, obsessive headlines, the prissy bloodless wrecks on one hand, and the overactive, hopped up, rabid, sneering ass$$les who infest public conversation who could turn their ulcerous eyes on this domestic shrieking real calamity?
It would make a maggot gag.
As was stated in the article:
That's exactly what ANYONE focused in reality would have surmised so easily after seeing the pattern in Venezuela so very long ago. It's automatic! That's what happens. It's about greed. Who doesn't really know that?
Only the right is stupid enough to imagine it can throw its pathetic lies out and actually sway anyone who doesn't use his finger to point out the words to himself as he reads. Yet they drag their overworked butts to the message boards to pick up their assault on sanity every day.
Greed. More. Gimme.
It doesn't matter to these freaks who pays for their excess. Your article is a serious "last straw," Catherina. What a heartache. So damned sad.
Catherina
(35,568 posts)I was looking for something else and landed on this. I'm laughing my ass off lol. Freedom House is all in a tizzy that Correa tied their hands to disrupt, mislead, and agitate to stop Ecuador's populist progress. (Yeah, that article is quite revealing. We're wrecking this country, people, babies in hospitals can't get the critical nutrients they need to survive but we create a manufactured uproar over a manufactured toilet paper crisis to destabilize Venezuela. Profit over everyone, preemies included).
https://knightcenter.utexas.edu/blog/00-13840-daily-news-digest-land-restitution-coverage-colombia-leads-threats-against-journalists
Here's an excerpt from El Comercio:
Rafael Correa: "We are not reporters but we have ability to inform, make statements and opine. In the name of freedom, it's not (correct) to lie. Let's seek real freedom of expression. This is true freedom of expression: the president informing his constituents every Saturday. Sue me if I lie! They got used to sending everyone into a panic with the media power they had. Now that there's a government with a backbone answering them, exercising freedom of speech and telling it like it is, they're claiming that undermines (their) freedom of speech. Here we have full of freedom of expression for everyone, not just for those who bought tickets to a printing press, which is usually the most rancid oligarchy of this country.
...
We will answer, as many times as is necessary, to the corrupt press
....
http://www.elcomercio.com/politica/Resumen-Enlace-Ciudadano-Esmeraldas_0_913708759.html
http://www.economist.com/blogs/americasview/2012/02/ecuadors-media?zid=309&ah=80dcf288b8561b012f603b9fd9577f0e
In Ecuador President Rafael Correa is reelected with 61% of the vote, he faces 4 critical years for Ecuador, the main challenge now is to keep the country on the path of growth while shifting the model from a raw material based economy to a new, more sustainable and inclusive one.
Judi Lynn
(160,545 posts)The two videos could go a long way toward bringing some of the unenlightened closer to having a grasp of what's actually been happening.
Wonderful getting the chance to see these videos.
Correa's got guts, more power to him, hoping for his well being, his country needs him.
ocpagu
(1,954 posts)Thanks for sharing! Correa is a great guy.
Judi Lynn
(160,545 posts)Excellent.
Catherina
(35,568 posts)Here's one for the evening breeze