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News > Latin America

There Are Moral Imperatives to Fighting Inequality: Correa

  • Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa

    Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa | Photo: TeleSUR

Published 14 January 2017
Opinion

In a wide-ranging interview with teleSUR, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa highlighted the historic achievements of his government.

On the occasion of assuming the chairmanship of the G77 on Friday, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa spoke with teleSUR’s Abby Martin about the disaster of neoliberal policies in Latin America and the historic achievements of his model of 21st-century socialism.

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Asked how he would respond to U.S. critics of "socialism of the 21st century," Correa contrasted the achievements of progressive Latin American governments like his own in the past 10 years with the previous 200 years of "traditional capitalism".

"The course of progress in Latin America began with the left-leaning governments in the 21st century. For the two centuries before that we pursued a traditional capitalism, and where were we? What did we achieve? Societies with great contradictions, with extreme wealth and extreme poverty. Societies badly structured. So their models, recipes, policies have been a disaster. On the contrary, with our policies, in the case of Ecuador, there have been historic changes," said Correa.

"When we took over we received a country in disaster," noted Correa, a former economics professor who lead a self-described citizens revolution to power in 2006. "From the financial crisis of 1999, to the tragedy of migration, where 2 million people left the country, breaking up families...we have recovered pride, self-esteem, and this is something that you can’t measure, like economic indicators, but for us, this is the greatest achievement."

Correa acknowledged that despite his government's achievements in reducing poverty and building infrastructure- an estimated 2 million Ecuadoreans have risen out of poverty due to investments in social infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, and roads- he knows "there is still a lot left to do," especially in the area of child malnutrition.

He also noted that despite the historic reduction in inequality since he took power, traditional elites continue to block efforts to more equitably distribute wealth. "We’ve helped by improving people’s salaries, but the problem now is with distributing wealth," he said, referring to his recent proposals for an inheritance tax. "The oligarchies have used their resources to convince people that what’s good for the rich is good for them."

The President, who will leave office in May of this year after 10 years in power, noted that despite recent unprecedented challenges, Ecuador’s model of 21st Century Socialism continues to offer a contrast to Western neo-liberal models of globalization.

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"In the past months when oil prices have been at their lowest in 30 years, where for the first time in history we haven’t received a cent in new oil investments, when we have suffered an earthquake that dropped our GDP by 3 percent by itself……without our improvements in government administration and policy the country would have collapsed," he suggested. "The country has demonstrated capacities that didn’t exist before."

In the interview Correa also acknowledged the complexities and contradictions of his government's commitments to the environment- under Correa’s leadership Ecuador was the first country in the world to embed the rights of nature in its constitution- and its economic dependence on extractive industries.

"I don’t particularly like mining or oil extraction, but I like misery a lot less, so we must use our resources to overcome, as quickly as possible, the miserable conditions in which many Ecuadoreans live,” he said, adding that “there are moral imperatives to fighting against inequality."

"How do we deal with the contradictions this resource development creates? Through elections. In 2013 I told the Ecuadorian people that we will use the last drop of oil, the last ounce of gold in an absolutely responsible manner to take the country out, as quickly as possible, from its sub-development, and we won 57 percent of the vote. The radical opposition to mining and oil industries got 3 percent," he added.

He further noted the refusal of the wealthy countries largely responsible for climate change to accept his proposal for an international tribunal on greenhouse gas emissions.

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"We understand that this [planet] is the only house we have," he said. "So I brought the idea of an international court of justice for the planet to Paris. Who has the power? The polluting countries. If the rich countries were forced to pay for their consumption this would greatly reduce global warming."

Correa also responded directly to those who have criticized his treatment of NGO’s and media organizations and raised concerns about the human rights situation in Ecuador.

"Human rights have never been as respected as they are in Ecuador now," he said. "But no other country, not even Pinochet, has had as many complaints in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights because it’s been turned into an instrument of persecution of progressive governments."

He added that this persecution has largely been driven by U.S. interests given that "the complaints have come from NGO’s funded by Washington, by the National Endowment for Democracy which is funded by the CIA. This is sadly part of the international politics of certain groups, and the intent is to destabilize progressive governments."

In this context, Correa noted the hypocrisy of the recent concerns about Russian interventions in the U.S. elections. "Our foreign policy and our moral principles are the same. We don’t have double standards," he declared. "We respect the internal affairs of each country, and more than that, their elections."

Correa also commented on both the legacy of President Obama’s policies towards Latin America and the prospects of the looming Trump administration.

While acknowledging that Obama’s recent policies towards Cuba are important, he said they’ve been contradicted by his efforts to destabilize Venezuela and that over his two terms in office Obama "practically did nothing for Latin America." He also reiterated his speculation that the threat presented by incoming President-elect Trump might serve to unify Latin America and lead to a strengthening of the progressive governments in the region.

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He was, however indirectly, highly critical of President-elect Trump’s xenophobic rhetoric and European anti-migrant sentiments, drawing a stark contrast to his government’s law affirming the universal right of mobility.

"We believe in the right of mobility. In these supposedly Christian countries like the U.S. and Europe there is free movement of capital, and yet the movement of people has been criminalized. You’re not going to solve [a migration crisis] with walls. You’re going to solve it with justice, with the distribution of wealth and prosperity to all regions of the planet."

In closing, Correa noted that after his term in office ends in May, he hopes his fellow citizens will continue the "moral imperative of fighting against poverty."

"Poverty is not a product of a lack of resources, or natural disasters. It’s a product of a perverse system of exclusion, so there is a moral imperative to fight against exclusion."

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