Ecuador: President Moreno Moving the country to the right, betrays the revolution

OPINION

Lenin Moreno Steers Ecuador Rightward and Betrays the Revolution that Elected Him

by Joe Emersberger (COUNTERPUNCH.ORG)

Lenin Moreno, who was elected Ecuador’s president in April of this year, ran as a devoted loyalist to former President Rafael Correa. Here is a video of Moreno leading a crowd in cheers of “Rafael! Rafael!” at a campaign rally this year. At another campaign rally (video here) Moreno responded defiantly to attacks on him for being a Correa loyalist by literally screaming

“Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes! I was part of the Citizen’s Revolution. I rode with Correa. I was there when the most substantial changes were made to this country. Of course that is in the past. Things have been done well under leadership that has been tenacious, firm, intelligent, diligent, and at the service of the poor – that of our friend, comrade and leader Rafael Correa Delgado”.

Rafael Correa’s government achieved massive poverty reduction, a huge drop in crime, and greatly improved public infrastructure. The key to this success was a firm rejection of the neoliberal policy menu. It’s hardly surprising that Moreno and others would attach themselves to a popular political project and pledge their support, but the achievements required courageous leadership. It meant confronting the fierce opposition of Ecuador’s traditional elite and its private media.

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Very soon after the votes were counted in April, Moreno turned on Correa completely and began trying to give Ecuador’s traditional elites everything they were unable to get during Correa’s ten years in office. A big part of what they want is an all-out assault on the achievements of Correa’s government. They want those years sullied and discredited as years of excessive public spending that resulted in debt and corruption. That’s a crucial first step for returning Ecuador to neoliberalism. Moreno has tried to deliver for the people he ran against with breathtaking speed and cynicism. Recently it was revealed that Moreno even held a secret meeting in early-May with Trump envoy Paul Manafort. Read Article