By Nixon Lastra Calderon

Translated By Paula van de Werken

March 17, 2006

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As U.S. Ambassador Linda Jewell commented about the Free Trade Agreement (FTC) during a conference in the Chamber of Commerce of Guayaquil, "The agreement will not resolve all the problems that afflict the Ecuadorian economy, not even the majority of them." Minister of Foreign Trade Illingworth said, "We are not competitive with the southern countries. The FTC is very challenging, but its benefits are much greater than the costs that we will incur."

With the level of irresponsibility that the politics and fortunes of this country are handled, few will benefit the way presidential-candidate Cesar Ron's tuna fishermen and the flower growers will. These two industries are in the hands of a very few, and will benefit only benefit those families.

On the other hand, livestock, rice, corn and soya producers will be big losers. And what about us, the other 13 million Ecuadorians, the majority of whom are peasants and farmers? Only the official propaganda about the illusion of dollorization (changing to a U.S. dollar-based economy) coincidentally makes us protagonists in the FTC. That oligarchy of pompous, self-important FTC officials. What an embarrassment! They want to turn us into a country of animal and chicken offal [waste]. They (the United States) only want chicken breasts, and, like it's such a great deal, want to sell us back the hind quarters. Shame! What Treason!

What a betrayal that it wasn't possible to negotiate with greater dignity, that the interests against us have overpowered our country; that the efforts of [Simon] Bolivar to integrate Latin America have faded away, as there exist public officials that negotiate with the Empire on their knees. So much truth is there then in saying, "I have prayed in the ocean [This is a colloquialism that means I have wasted my time]."

Op-ed from Ecuador Favoring the Free Trade Deal with U.S.

Spanish Version Below

El TLC no es una panacea

Por: Nixon Lastra Calderón

March 17, 2006

Así dijo Linda Jewell, Embajadora de los EE.UU. en una conferencia en la Cámara de Comercio de Guayaquil sobre el tratado, entonces, "el acuerdo no resolverá los problemas que aquejan a la economía ecuatoriana, ni siquiera la mayoría de ellos" Illingworth, Ministro de Comercio Exterior, dijo "No somos competitivos con los países del sur. El TLC tiene desafíos y grandes oportunidades que son mucho mayores que los costos que pueda tener".

A ese nivel de irresponsabilidad se maneja la política y la suerte del país, unos pocos serán los beneficiarios, como los atuneros del precandidato César Ron y los floricultores, dos rubros en muy pocas manos, contadas familias se beneficiarán, en cambio la ganadería, el arroz, maíz, soya serán los grandes perdedores, ¿y la mayoría de campesinos, agricultores, ecuatorianos que somos 13 millones qué? Sólo la propaganda oficial como el espejismo de la dolarización que por coincidencia nos embarcaron quienes hoy son los panigeristas del TLC, la oligarquía de la costa, pretenden convertirnos en un país de despojos de reses, de pollos, ellos quieren las pechugas y a nosotros vendernos como gran cosa los cuartos traseros de los pollos, ¡Qué vergüenza! ¡Qué traición! que no se haya podido negociar con mayor dignidad, que pesen más los intereses antipatria; que los esfuerzos de Bolívar por la integración Latinoamericana se esfumen mientras existan funcionario públicos que negocian de rodillas con el imperio, cuanta razón tuvo cuando dijo "he arado en el mar".