http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Ecuador-in-State-of-Siege-104156224.html
Whats going on in Ecuador? How did this country get to this point?
The article does not talk about their economy. Is their currecny hyperinflating? How is their economy?
“The country’s military has been placed in charge of public order and civil liberties have been suspended.”
You may be thrilled to know that legal tender in Ecuador is… the US dollar! Not joking, it has been since 2002.
This may have a lot to do with the fact that Ecuador’s economy is heavily oil-dependent, very heavily oil-dependent: GDP rose an astonishing 6,5% in 2008, when oil prices reached an all time high and has been declining ever since with no end in sight.
This left the Ecuadorian government stripped for cash, forcing them to terminate programs and to reduce pork barrel. Like many other Latin American presidents, dictators and satraps, El Presidente Correa has a “tough stance” on private property and foreign investors. Imagine Hugo Chavez/Evo Morales with reduced calories and you get an idea. And there are still some investors believing in South America…
The attempted coup was staged by civil servants, mostly police officers, for reasons you may well understand: less money for them. The armed forces, seeing an opportunity to increase their power, took Correa’s side and squashed the coup in a matter of hours: the golpistas offered little resistance. Of course now some generalissimo will present the bill to Correa, a bill he will be forced to pay in full.