Ecuador’s first and only satellite, Pegasus, has collided with a Russian space rocket, casting doubts over whether the portal is still in action.

President Rafael Correa at the launch of the Pegasus satellite last April (photo by Mauricio Muñoz, courtesy of Ecuadorian government)

The small cube-shaped satellite named Pegasus has been transmitting pictures of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela from 650 km into space, while playing recordings of the Ecuadorian national anthem.

The Director of the Civil Ecuadorian Space Agency (EXA), Ronnie Nader, reported that Pegasus, which was sent into space on 26th April, had crashed 1,500 km above the east coast of Madagascar with fragments of an old Russian rocket.

The nano-satellite remains in orbit, but experts are unsure as to the extent of the damage; they are predicting a 48-hour wait before the levels of damage can be assessed.

Nader assured the people of Ecuador by taking to his Twitter account today, announcing that “Ecuador still has its satellite, the people still have Pegasus”. He added that “Pegasus could be damaged or spinning out of control, but because it’s still in orbit, we have hope”.

Pegasus’ launch was filmed in April by many South American media networks from China’s Jiuquan station. A rocket from Argentina was also launched at the same time.

The Ecuadorian government contributed US$700,000 to fund the construction and logistical costs of the rocket, while US$80,000 were donated by private investors.  The insurance on the rocket is expected to cover nearly all the costs.

And all is not lost, as Ecuador is set to launch its second satellite, named Kryasor, from Russia in August.

President Rafael Correa speaks to reporters. (Photo: Glorita Dioses)

The president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, announced yesterday that an amended mining bill has been presented to Congress, featuring five key reforms to the existing law in the hope of attracting foreign investors to the country’s mining industry.

The reforms are designed to speed up contract negotiations, and come after requests from mining company representatives to make changes to Ecuador’s mining laws. The minister of non-renewable natural resources Wilson Pástor announced yesterday: “we have reached the conclusion that we must reform the mining law in many of its most fundamental aspects.”

Reforms proposed by the government include the reduction of permits from five to two for each stage of the process, as well as the introduction of a pre-determined royalty rate for mining companies. The mining law in 2009 stated that all companies must pay a minimum of 5% in royalties but didn’t establish a fixed maximum. The new reform proposes that a contractual agreement must be signed before mining exploration commences, specifying the percentage of royalties to be paid.

In a statement, Correa said: “We have sent an urgent bill featuring amendments to the mining law. We have a very good mining law, but we have made some mistakes and some aspects were too strict so we have received less investment than expected. The investors asked us for reasonable things in the modification of the law.”

The bill was sent to Congress labelled as a matter of urgency, meaning the national assembly have 30 days to approve or deny the proposed reforms. It is expected that the reforms will pass promptly, with Correa’s Alianza País party holding the majority of seats.

The proposed change to the law comes as the country is negotiating with Canadian mining firm Kinross Gold over a US$1.3 billion Fruta del Norte extraction project. Located in the Amazonian province of Zamora Chinchipe, there are estimated reserves of 6.8 million ounces of gold and 9.1 million ounces of silver in Fruta del Norte.

The government has said of its negotiations with Kinross and Chinese firm Ecuacorriente that they should function as a model for future investments in the country’s largely unexplored gold, silver, and copper reserves.

Later today the United Nations will inaugurate International Earth Day with a debate headed by UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon, ministers from Ecuador and Bolivia, and North American academics. The event aims to explore and foment ideas about the relationships that exist between humanity and planet earth.

UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon
(Photo: Simone D. McCourtie / World Bank)

International Earth Day was conceived of in 2009 by the UN General Assembly as part of a resolution that aimed to promote harmony with nature and to “arrive at a balanced equilibrium between the economic, social, and environmental requirements of present and future generations”.

With a strong Latin American presence, the main speakers in the debate are María Belén Moncayo, minister for Coordination of Ecuadorian Heritage, Luis Acre, Bolivia’s minister for Economy and Public Finance, and Fander Falconí, Ecuador’s secretary for Planning and Development.

In addition, Ban Ki-moon has called the world’s attention to the potential devastating effects of climate change, the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources, and other key man made problems and has pledged to renew the UN’s promise to “honour and respect Mother Earth.” He averred that, “when we threaten our planet, we are not only endangering the only home that we have, but also our future survival.”

Despite the debate over the perceived versus actual risks and impacts of climate change, Earth Day 2013 is to focus the spotlight on the tangible effects of climate change thus far, including its effects on people, animals, and the natural landscape in the hopes of opening new exit routes and strategies with which to combat the phenomenon.

Ecuador is set to play a key role. In a speech titled ‘Nature as a constitutional rights holder in Ecuador and its ability to exercise [its rights] in the context of shared responsibility’, Falconí will address the assembly on natures’ rights, which are enshrined in the country’s constitution, and will present three of the country’s most recently debated environmental initiatives.

Children having a bowl of soup. Ecuador.
(Photo: Jamie Martin / World Bank)

One of these includes the creation of an eco tax, called Daly-Correa, whilst project Yasuní ITT aims to preserve Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest by fighting to keep millions of petrol reserves underground – and unexploited – in exchange for global economic support for Ecuador’s development. Leaving the oil where it is would reduce net emissions by an estimated 410 million tones of carbon dioxide.

Ecuador’s current administration under Rafeal Correa holds that: “the current world method of development, based on unlimited accumulation and consumption, is leading the planet towards an unprecedented environmental crisis.”

Its capital city, Quito, has proposed the indigenous model of development, “Sumak Kawsay” Quechua for “good living” (in harmony with our communities, ourselves, and most importantly our environment) as an alternative. It insists that all countries ought to commit themselves to an ethical way of living, and that they take concrete steps towards eradicating poverty and those mechanisms which destroy the environment.

The Representatives of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States or CELAC are currently meeting in Quito.

Representatives of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) are currently meeting in Quito to discuss climate change.

Experts and authorities of the 33 CELAC member countries will discuss the effects of climate change and hope to develop a concrete plan of action for tackling related environmental issues. Debates at the CELAC meeting will centre on themes of biodiversity, climate change, consumption and sustainable production, management of marine and coastal resources, and hydraulic energy.

The group has indicated that it hopes other countries, especially industrialised states, will also take the initiative of addressing these concerns.

For many experts, this meeting of the Caribbean and Latin American states signifies the union of different efforts to respond to environmental problems in the region in the face of general passivity among more industrialised countries.

Ecuador’s minister of the environment, Lorena Tapia, stated that to her the meeting of the CELAC, “is a call to the developed countries” to act amongst pressing climate concerns. She said that the ongoing talks in Quito would allow for the Latin American and Caribbean participants to “join forces, arrange for the related use of political and technical spaces, and thus share positive experiences.”

Tapia stated that the initial results of the meeting have been productive, as CELAC representatives have outlined ideas to be used in the drafting of an official environmental agenda for the international organisation.

Story courtesy of Agencia Púlsar, the AMARC-ALC news agency.

Emergency contraceptive pill (photo: Anqa)

The government formalised the rules governing access to, and the availability of, the contraceptive pill through the public health system.

The document, filed this past week, states that “The Ministry of Health will provide information, advice, and deliver contraceptives through its health facilities, being obliged to these, ensure access to them in a free and timely manner, including emergency oral contraception (morning after pill) throughout the general population, especially to young people and women who need it.”

However, Archbishop of Guayaquil, Antonio Arregui, has rejected the governmental measure to promote free access to the contraceptive. He also criticised the statements made by President Rafael Correa, who defended the distribution of the contraceptive. The Arregui said that, “President Correa is not God, and can not act as a divine power and enter the consciousness of people in order to shape it.” The archbishop also stated that the pill is an abortive.

In the last few hours, President Correa stressed the importance of family planning and noted that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the morning after pill is not an abortion method.

“The morning after pill has been sold in Ecuador for a while now. What the Ministry of Health has done is regulate the provision of the pill so that it is free in health centres,” responded President Correa.

Story courtesy of Agencia Púlsar, the AMARC-ALC news agency.

Members of the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights (Photo: Organization of American States)

Representatives from 18 countries across Central and South America met at the American Convention on Human Rights in Guayaquil, Ecuador yesterday in a meeting that was described as “historic”.

Eight reforms were agreed upon by the country representatives to improve the functioning of the Inter-American System for Human Rights, which incorporates the Inter-American Commission and Court for Human Rights (CIDH and IACHR).

The CIDH will be entrusted to strengthen the promotion of human rights through national systems. As part of this, member states will be asked to contribute financially to the estimated US$15m annual payment required to implement the reforms.

Talking about these changes Ecuador’s president, Rafael Correa said that “it is imperative to transform it.” “Rest assured that we will strive to genuinely protect the rights of the people in the Americas, without succumbing to interests or pressures of any kind. It has been a meeting of great importance for the future and strengthening of the Inter-American human rights system,” he added.

The meeting was attended by representatives from Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela.

As Ecuador’s long-running legal battle with Chevron over environmental damage to the country’s rainforest lingers on, Rafael Correa is urging for Latin America’s support.

Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa (photo by Miguel Ángel Romero/Ecuadorean presidency)

Judicial proceedings against Chevron have been temporary halted after accusations of bribery and fraud were connected to the case. An international arbitrage tribunal ruled that Ecuador had violated a treaty with the United States requiring it to ensure the company gets a fair trial.

The Ecuadorean court initially charged Chevron with a US$19bn fine in February 2012 for environmental damage in the Ecuadorean jungle from 1964 to 1990.

At the end of January, Chevron posted a statement on its website from one of the judges working on the case, Alberto Guerra Bastidas. He confirmed that  plaintiff lawyers had paid him thousands of dollars and offered $500,000 of any settlement proceeds to Judge Nicolás Zambrano if he had allowed them to ghostwrite Zambrano’s ruling in the case.

“The Ecuador judgement is a product of bribery, fraud, and it is illegitimate. Chevron does not believe that the Ecuador judgement is enforceable in any court that observes the rule of law,” Chevron said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Correa is calling for urgent meetings with the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) and the Union of South American States (Unasur) to seek advice on how to proceed with the case.

“We urgently need Latin American unity to avoid the abuses of the multinational corporations that consider us colonies and have on their pay-list the arbiters and arbitrage centres,” Correa told journalists yesterday afternoon.

He added: “We are still suffering the lethal inheritance of the long, dark neo-liberal night with these criminal investment treaties. It’s the end of sovereignty, the end of our independence; we have become colonies with these rulings from international courts. Dare to imagine if the situation was the other way around and the court had ruled against the US?”

Rafael Correa (Photo: Santiago Armas)

With Rafael Correa emerging victorious for a third and final term in Sunday’s presidential elections, the leader of the Alianza País party spoke to Argentine newspaper Página 12 about Ecuador becoming part of the Mercosur agreement, their relationship with Argentina, and same-sex marriage. During the interview, he also announced that his party obtained “97 or 98 seats” in the National Assembly, though the final results of the recount are yet to be announced by the National Electoral Council.

In the interview, Correa first discussed the strengthening of ties with Argentina by “further deepening the bilateral relationship” through trade, and agreed with President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s condemnation of the “total surrender of our countries at the hands of transnational corporations”. Correa went on to say however that the relationship between the two countries is more than commercial because “with Argentina we have the same political vision”.

Throughout the interview Correa expressed his hope to join Mercosur, and when asked if the dollarisation of Ecuador would hinder the incorporation into the agreement, Correa agreed that it is “an obstacle for any integration process and trade liberalisation”. However, he insisted that “we are very interested in joining Mercosur… and they are very interested in integrating Ecuador”.

Speaking of the impending expiration of the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication act (ATPDEA), Correa said, “Andean countries have a responsibility [to join these agreements] because they are the biggest producers of drugs! But the US say nothing of the responsibility they have for consuming them.” He went on to say that this agreement is “a new form of pressure for countries that do not behave according to the mentality of the US”, and that “if [the act is] extended, fine, if not, we will know how to succeed.”

As the interview progressed, Correa was questioned on the topic of same-sex marriage, in which he responded that, “the Constitution says that marriage is an institution between people of a different sex”. Correa said that although “we promote many rights and the non-discrimination of any person for any reason… the Constitution clearly says that marriage is between a man and a woman.”

Finally, when asked if the continuation of his government would mean a less restrictive abortion law, Correa said that, “personally I will not promote any law that goes beyond the two cases that are already covered in the current legislation, in the case of a violation of a woman with intellectual disabilities and in the case of rape, when a child is violated.”

You can read the interview in full here.

President Correa expresses joy over his victory (Photo: Miguel Angel Romero/Ecuadorian Government)

Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa was re-elected yesterday for a third and final term with 56.7% of the vote. Correa’s nearest rival, Guillermo Lasso, captured just 23.3% of the vote.

Correa was first elected president in 2006, for a 2007-2011 term. In 2008, the constitution was reformed and presidential elections were held early, and in 2009, Correa took office for a first term under the new constitution.

While Correa’s support has increased from election to election, his Alianza País has been unable to secure a majority in the National Assembly (the Ecuadorian parliament). The wide ranging reforms the president set out to achieve were somewhat held back by the parliamentary opposition, an obstacle Correa hopes will be removed as all 137 seats in the National Assembly were also up for renewal in yesterday’s election (results were not yet in at the time of writing).

Citizen’s Revolution

Rafael Correa first came to power in the midst of a massive institutional crisis, with only one president since 1996 managing to complete his term (Gustavo Noboa, who had risen to power as a result of a coup d’êtat against his predecessor).

Correa, originally an academic, became publicly known when he was economy minister for less than four months under his predecessor, Alfredo Palacio. He did not have his own party and was first elected with the support of actors emerging from the crisis of the traditional party system, including social movements and indigenous organisations, who rallied behind Correa’s call for a ‘Citizen’s Revolution’.

Fans Celebrate Correa’s Win ((Photo: fotospresidencia5 on Flickr)

This support, however, would not last the test of time and many social groups have since moved away to form a left-wing opposition, criticising the government for a lack of collaboration and discussion when implementing policy reforms. Despite this situation, the Citizen’s Revolution managed to consolidate a new path away from “the long night of neoliberalism”, as Correa often refers to the historic period that started in the 1980s.

Economic Reforms

Correa’s comprehensive victory margin could be considered a sum of the impressive economic numbers achieved under his rule. Growth averaged over 4% between 2007 and 2011, despite the double-blow of falling oil prices and remittance inflows that followed the global financial crisis in late-2008. The economic expansion, combined with growth in welfare programmes, brought unemployment down to a historic low of 4.8% in 2012. Poverty levels, meanwhile, declined from 37.6% just before Correa took charge to 27.3% at end-2012, according to official data.

Many commentators in mainstream and business media attribute the improved economic parameters – and by extension Correa’s popularity – to “populist oil spending”, enabled by favourable international prices for Ecuador’s key commodity and now threatened by the stagnation of the same. While it is certain that revenues from the oil sector, which accounts for more than half of the country’s exports, have been crucial in supporting a larger welfare state, the government did not flinch when oil prices crashed mid way through 2008, and continued to boost spending to bring the economy quickly out of the subsequent recession in 2009. As oil prices recovered, Correa renegotiated contracts with foreign oil companies, giving the state control of the resource itself and retaining 85-90% of income generated by those hired to extract it.

President Correa speaking with business owners (Photo: fotospresidencia5 on Flickr)

Other factors were also significant in propping up the government’s economic programme. In 2008, a national commission set up to analyse Ecuador’s foreign debt determined that over US$3bn, around 30% of total obligations, could be considered “illegitimate”, accrued by corrupt and unelected – in the case of military-run – former governments. By reducing total debt and the annual interest payments on it, Correa freed space to hike spending on education, health, and social welfare from 4.8% of GDP in 2006 to 9.3% in 2011. A comprehensive reform of the financial system, forcing banks to retain a significant amount of their reserves within the country, and encouraging them to provide loans for infrastructure and social housing projects, also complemented the fiscal stimulus.

Despite being criticised abroad and in the business community for unorthodox economic policies – some have labelled him ‘Ecuador’s Chávez’ – the move away from neo-liberalism in Correa’s first term did not involve a radical shake up of the country’s productive structure. While the 48-year-old economist has promised to bring ’21st Century Socialism’, a term coined by Chávez, to Ecuador, reforms so far have been limited to strengthening the role of the state within a capitalist framework.

Correa himself acknowledged in his campaign that recent advances have been largely about “doing the same as always: well”, and economic diversification away from the oil sector remains a key challenge going forward. This would leave the state budget less vulnerable to a downturn in the global oil market, especially given Ecuador’s difficulty in raising finance since its 2008 debt restructuring (so far it has largely relied on loans from China to cover budget deficits).

The government has pushed the development of mining as an alternative to the hydrocarbons industry, though growth in this sector has been impeded by protests from environmental groups and indigenous communities. The plan has also drawn some criticism from within Correa’s Alianza País party, which has made the environment a key aspect of economic development, while human rights groups have condemned the apparently “politically motivated” criminal charges brought against anti-mining protesters.

Correa and the Media

Another major battle for Correa so far has been his confrontation against mainstream media, part of the broader conflict between his government and the Ecuadorian elite.

Correa’s accusations against the press have gone further than verbal denunciation. Last year, the president won a libel suit against local newspaper El Universo, after one of its columnists, referring to him as “the dictator”, accused him of ordering to open fire against a hospital during an attempted coup against him in September 2010. Whilst Correa later pardoned the newspaper and the journalist, who would have had to otherwise pay US$40m in damages, the incident marked a point of no return in his relationship with the press.

President Correa speaks with Russia Today (Photo: fotospresidencia5 on Flickr)

One of the obstacles that Correa has had to face due to his parliamentary weakness has been the inability to pass a new communications law, which has been stalled in congress since 2009. In a similar way to the Argentine media law, Ecuador’s communication law promises to democratise access to the airwaves, by splitting the spectrum in thirds for private, community, and state-owned media, as well as break up the highly concentrated market of private media.

Correa’s vision of the social role of media was made explicit during a conference at the University of La Plata in Argentina in December 2012, when he said, “let’s understand that providing a right such as information gives power. Its good or bad quality massively affects society (…) From this central problem arises the need to democratise the ownership of the media and to make it independent from the control of the powers that be and, especially, from the control of the capital. It is also necessary to have media outside of the logic of the market, that means non-profit media and public media. It is necessary to have social control, that is, the right to receive information that is true, verified, timely, in context, plural, without previous censorship and with subsequent responsibility.”

The newly re-elected president has made it clear that passing the controversial communication law will be a priority in his new term. Critics cite this as one of their major concerns, as, in the absence of an organised and strong opposition, the media have become enemy number one for the government, and some fear repercussions for critical journalists and press freedom.

One of the main concerns regarding the new law has to do with the potential creation of a regulatory body that could sanction media over the contents they broadcast. The six-member Board for the Regulation and Development of Communication (which includes one government representative) would be in charge of delivering administrative sanctions, such as fines or mandatory apologies, to media organisations that broadcast content deemed discriminatory or that could incite to commit violent acts based on a discriminatory message.

Correa, however, has stated that his problem is not with journalists, but with the owners of “the big press”. He has, in fact, raised journalists’ minimum wage by 69.4%, and offered to subsidise the increase.

The ‘Big Country’

In his efforts to carry out an autonomous foreign policy, Correa has antagonised the US, international organisations (OAS, IMF, World Bank, etc.) and has a tense relationship with the UK, having granted asylum to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who is currently living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Correa’s Ecuador, meanwhile, has turned to Latin America and played an important role in the region’s integration in recent years.

Opening meeting of Celac in Caracas, Venezuela, December 2011 (photo Eduardo Santillán Trujillo/Ecuadorian government)

Ecuador joined the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) in 2009. Last year, after Paraguay’s expulsion from Mercosur, the Andean country also began talks to enter this regional bloc, and it has been an active member of the recently created Celac, seen as a regional alternative to the OAS and the US influence on it. During the attempted coup against Correa in 2010, Unasur played an important diplomatic role, as most South American presidents promptly united in Buenos Aires on that same day to express their support for the president and the democratic order in Ecuador.

This regional integration has been favoured by the ideological and personal links between Correa and other South American presidents, and will likely continue during Correa’s next term. During his victory speech last night, Correa dedicated the win to the “great country” of Latin America, and his electoral platform includes specific references to the issues the president considers urgent in terms of integration, such as consolidating the “new regional financial architecture” and creating a South American bank to provide financing for local projects without having to turn to traditional international lenders.

With Hugo Chávez’s health deteriorating and an uncertain future for Venezuelan politics, many analysts have also pointed at a potential new leadership role in the region for the Ecuadorian president. While he has stated he has enough worries dealing with his own country and does not intend to replace Chávez’s regional leadership, his fiery rhetoric keeps him in the spotlight.

“No One Will Stop This Revolution”

With renewed support and a more responsive parliament, the next four years are likely to see a deepening of the core policies of the Citizen’s Revolution.

Regional integration, media reforms, the eradication of poverty, land reform, and economic diversification are the main challenges facing Correa in his third and final term as president. His intention, as stated last night, is to “make the changes irreversible” and to put Ecuador well into the path of the ‘Sumak Kawsay (Good Living in Ecuadorian quechua) Socialism’.

President Correa (Photo by Presidencia de la República del Ecuador, on Flickr)

The elections in Ecuador this weekend are swinging in favour of current President Rafael Correa who is leading by 62%, according to pre-election polls.

A survey released on Thursday by Private pollster Perfiles de Opinión, indicates that Correa will win nearly 62% of the votes, versus 9% for campaign rival Guillermo Lasso. If re-elected, Correa, who has maintained presidency since January 2007, will start his third and last presidential term.

Correa took one-month of leave from 15th January to campaign for another presidential term, while vice-president Lenin Moreno has taken a temporary presidential role.

Correa’s popularity is mainly down to his campaigns to boost state revenue by negotiating oil prices with global energy companies; a determining reason to why he is Ecuador’s longest serving president in a century.

In the run up to the election day on 17th February, many public events, including music concerts and street parties will be taking place across the country to celebrate the closing of the election campaigns.