Ninjinsy,

If you look back at DMM's press releases prior to the mandate I think you'll find that most of this stuff was already set to go, and that the mandate simply delayed things. Clearly they've used the time to their advantage, but I think the broad plan was already in place.

Do they actually know something is another question. We're fairly close to some sort of resolution, so I suspect they have some idea. For DMM and other holders of Ecuadorean plays, not to mention the miners and the nation as a whole, I sincerely hope so, although I myself had to break with Ecuador as a matter of personal discipline. There's only so much money (and more importantly time) you can lose before you call it a day. The surprise to me was that Correa didn't have a better understanding of this, being as he is, an economist. The recent bond fiasco leaves me wondering if he has any real grasp of the subject at all, or if he just studied it because it was easier than medicine or physics...heh.

ebear