The Public Weighs In.

By 11:30 AM, there were already 75 posts on El Comercio's comment board. Now there's 128. A real hornets nest has been opened here, I'd say. This morning, it was all "yeah... about time" "make the buggers pay" that sort of thing. Starting from the most recent post (now that everyone's had a chance to ponder the implications) and working backwards, the opinions are a bit more mixed, although still largely in favor.

I read about thirty to get the general flavor. Factoring out the partisan ravings, they fall into three main categories.

1) Yes, this was long overdue. Good on Correa. Kick ass... you go girl! (about half I'd say)

2) Yes, very good, but why now just before an election? And why these particular stations? (1/4)

3) A bad move; the courts could have handled it; will be seen as political; bad for Correa; bad for the nation. (1/4)

Not a full sample, but as close as I can come to an accurate decription of the general mood.

Bear in mind though, these are people with access to the internet. We take that for granted up here, but it's definitely not the case down there. If I had to guess, I'd say the group #1 respondents are more representative of the off-net community, otherwise known as the poor. They're not as concerned about the political implications. They just want their money back.

ebear