Reply #8: Looks like the only lurch was in Heather's mind [View All]

[rabs]

Strange that Heather Hodges did not know that Correa since 2006 has publicly characterized himself as a leftist. From her cable it appears she only found out after she was appointed ambassador by dubya in 2008.

Can she really be that uninformed, or as PP says, is she covering her behind for the police/DEA/ICE scandal? Or maybe some sort of USG footprints in in the failed Sept. 30 attempted coup against Correa by sectors of the police?


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Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño met with Correa today. About the "lurch," Patiño said:

-- The government has never lied about its ideological posture and Correa has always presented himself as a "man of the left."

-- From when Correa first ran in the 2006 presidential campaign, he said was a left. "President Correa is one of those who say one thing and do something else, he is not one who says one thing to the press and privately does other things. We do what we say."

-- The FM said diplomatic relations with the USG are not in "crisis" and they will be handled at the charge d' affairs level, we are not at war."

-- He admitted the situation with Washington was "not normal," but denied the situation was "grave" or that it had "deteriorated. Of course relations have been affected if we do not have ambassadors, but the relations between our two nations remain the same."

-- If the USG denies tax breaks for Ecuadoran exports to the U.S., he said the government would help the exporters and look for alternate markets.

Spanish, El Comercio of Quito

http://www4.elcomercio.com/politica/relaciones_ecuador_eeuu_crisis.aspx