Rafael Correa assailed Washington’s free-market policies in his first speech as president of Ecuador.
According to the World Bank Press Review, he promised to push for an “economic revolution” that would emphasize renegotiating the country’s foreign debt.
He said some of the loans arranged by previous governments had been lost to corruption, and an international tribunal should be set up to decide what debt should be repaid.
During the campaign last fall, Correa threatened to cut ties with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and said he would not rule out a moratorium on foreign debt payments unless foreign bondholders agree to lower Ecuador’s debt service by half.
