By Atilio A. Borón on February 14, 2017
It would be difficult to overstate the national and international implications of the presidential elections that will take place next Sunday in Ecuador. In a previous article we referred to them as a new “Battle of Stalingrad” in where the future of the heavily harassed progressive and leftist processes of Latin America is at risk. A defeat of the Alianza País would mean the closure of the cycle initiated at the end of the last century. With the fall of the Ecuadorian stronghold the siege would close between Bolivia and Venezuela that is being harassed by the resurgence of the virulent opposition. Bolivia too is facing the tremendous effects of the economic crisis unleashed by an evil combination of national and international factors. And Cuba would lose a friendly government, not a minor matter for the island in the international scenery like the actual one.
On the other hand, a general ratification of the political course followed by Ecuador since the election of the president Rafael Correa would be a valuable and timely reassurance for those countries and a significant encouragement for Argentine and Brazilian parties, the movements that are resisting the conservative restoration, and for the people that are struggling against neo liberal governments from Mexico to Chile, thru Colombia, Peru and other countries of the region. It would be a really positive sign that the so call touted “ending of the progressive cycle” is far from being consummated. It would expose the ploy of the right that wants to convince the rebellious populations in these countries that the battle has been lost and there is no sense to keep fighting the neo liberal order. It is well known that the victory in the field of ideas and conscience is a prerequisite for the political victory. So, the catchphrase “end of a cycle” is a sneaky way to promote an unconditional surrender of the popular forces.
An eventual victory of the right in Ecuador would precipitate a spectacular setback of the advances registered in the last ten years, regardless of their characterization and evaluation. That is why it would do well for the Ecuadorian electorate to look seriously in the Argentine mirror. In that southern country the right came to power in a campaign promise that the achievements of the Kirchner period would not only be respected but also enlarged from a supposedly better management of matters of the general public. This was all lies that were visible from the first hours of the government of Mauricio Macri, when it became clear that the demagoguery of the campaign had nothing to do with the policies that were to be effectively put into practice. The Brazilian mirror is no less sobering than Argentina’s, and throws the same programs or worse to the people. To think that the Ecuadorian right will behave in another way, that it will be faithful to its sweetened promises made during the presidential campaign and that it will refrain from unloading a rage on the plebeian masses that installed Rafael Correa into the Palace of Carondelet, is an act of unforgivable political naivety and irresponsibility, especially when those who harbor such innocent expectations are partisan or left-wing forces.
If in the national order the progressive process losses the immediate task of the right’s victory would be the reconcentration of income and wealth and the consequences in the international terrain would be no less devastating.
Besides what we pointed out at the beginning of this article we have to add the enormous impact of the cancellation of the diplomatic asylum granted to Julian Assange who, along with Edward Snowden, is the United States “public enemy number one”. All the countries and mega corporations all around the world who operate through their evil maneuvers and crimes were brought to light thanks to Wikileaks, funded precisely by Assange. The first thing a right government in Ecuador would do is to offer on a silver tray the head of the London refugee, just like the Mexican Government did by giving “El Chapo” Guzmán to Barack Obama on the eve of the election in the U.S., with the intention of boosting the chances of Hillary Clinton to be elected. Assange’s handover to American authorities would not only be a death sentence for the Australian, but a hard and discouraging message for those who are determined on removing the veil that hides the capitalists crimes. But that would not be all the new rightist government would do. It would surely negotiate the return of American troops to the Manta base so that, in this matter, Washington could achieve an absolute control of the Pacific coastline of Our America. (nowadays Ecuador is the exception in that matter). We should not discard, given such events, that the excuse of “the war against terrorism” would be used to add the country as a strategic ally of NATO, as they did with Colombia, making them complicit in the looting wars that criminal organization wages against the whole world. Just imagine for a moment what other initiatives a government of these qualities could launch on the international terrain. Will it still support, as Ecuador has keeping UNASUR ‘s central office based there? And would it still support the peace procedure in Colombia, and the easing of the negotiations between the ELN and Bogota?
Before this reasoning I have presented here, the infallible “revolutionary spin doctors” will quickly point out what according to their analysis would be the incurable vices and limitations of a rightist Ecuadorian government, while at the same time, sustaining that Alianza Pais is no different than the rightist political expressions it will be competing with during the elections. Once again it is enough to see what happened in Argentina or in Brazil, where there were also radicalized groups that claimed that Scioli was the same as Macri, or that Aecio Neves was the same that Dilma. It was late when they realized their enormous error and repairing the damage caused by the fight will take years of struggle and suffering, especially to the big national majorities. In the case of Ecuador this preaching cannot comprehend two fundamental facts; the external vulnerability of the country and their limited margins to maneuver before the despotism of international capital and their allies and the fact that in this world there never was a government that can present a balance sheet free of flaws or limitations, and the present actual Ecuadorian administration is no exception. It would require, as Jean-Jacques Rousseau observed, men to be angels, but they are not. As we have said on numerous occasions, recounting the last ten years, the successes of Rafael Correa’s government far outweighs its mistakes, and this is the information from which to stand with before the challenge of next Sunday.
The historical experience teaches that there are leftist sectors that are usually victims of two deep auto destructive impulses. A compulsion for error in a critical political juncture that makes them see fully the details of the tree, especially its flaws, while ignoring the forest and on the other hand a reckless tendency to commit messianic suicide that paves the way of their enemies victory. The right does not suffer from either of these two impulses, although they have many other faults, but it never mistakes at a critical time the identity of its class enemy. That’s why, for the “intelligence community” in the U.S., with the CIA at the lead, the enemy to overthrow is Lenin Moreno. And I do not believe that is due to his first name. For many of us, this is enough and plenty to know how to vote next Sunday.
http://rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=222893
Source: Rebelion, English Translation by The Dawn