All these articles have one goal in mind: To hinder mining development in Ecuador. It's clearly a tactic designed to discourage investment in the shares of Ecuador based companies, and to keep other companies from considering exploration there.

If you can't get your way via the political process internal to AP, this is what you do. No amount of persuasion will ever convince the watermelon faction of the benefits of mining, even on a limited scale. They are determined to have their way, and this is the end result.

Sorry to sound so negative, but this is what I see. They are digging in for a long fight and are well versed in tactics and strategy. This is not a political struggle so much as an ideological struggle. It will likely fracture the AP at some point, and we'll see a return to direct action. Be thankful that ARU is in a military district. That will limit the amount of direct interference.

The economy is in much worse shape than is being reported. Oil revenues are down, food prices are on the rise. The fact that they moved the petroleum fund into general revenue, slapped on price controls and put an exit tax on capital tells the story. If the price of oil drops much further, they are in real trouble.

If there's any benefit to all of this, it's that it will act as a catalyst to unite the Right, in the same sense that AP was an alliance of the Left. Lines are being drawn here, and Correa appears to be trapped in the middle.

ebear