I recently received an email with a great link to a “YouTube” video entitled “Is Ecuador's Economic Policy a NonNeo-Liberal Alternative?” It is about a 15 minute clip that I think anyone considering moving to Ecuador should watch. I thought the clip was – for the most part – a well-balanced viewpoint of Ecuador’s response/solutions to the current world economic issues.PLEASE click on this link to view the video:
I also need to confess that I didn’t have a clue what the term “Non-Neo-Liberal” meant before:. I’m still not sure I get it:
Neoliberalism
Is an ideology based on the advocacy of economic liberalizations, free trade, and open markets.[1] Neoliberalism supports privatization of state-owned enterprises, deregulation of markets, and promotion of the private sector's role in society.[1] In the 1980s, much of Neoliberal theory was incorporated into mainstream economics
Terminology
The meaning of neoliberalism has changed over time and come to mean different things to different groups. This lack of agreement creates major problems in creating an unbiased and unambiguous definition of neoliberalism.
In academic social sciences outside of economics, the term "neoliberal" is often used to condemn privatization and its advocates. This usage gained popularity after being used by dissident intellectuals in Chile to criticize Augusto Pinochet and his US-backed military coup. After this coup, scholars began to make direct connections between the theory of neoliberalism, advocated by the Chicago school of economics, and the practices of neocolonialism advanced by Western economies through military and economic interventions. The term "neoliberalism" has been used to describe the whole system, even when the policies of leaders such as Pinochet have not fully corresponded to the economic theory.
The Wikipedia definition of this goes on for 3 more pages, so I will leave it at that.
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| Road to the beach in Olon |
As I mentioned earlier, I felt the interview to be a fair perspective, though for sure, not without controversy. I really hope many reading this will have the time to watch this video --- and I am curious about your responses.
As in the United States, not everyone agrees with the president, government policies/involvement, or country-wide mutually agreed-upon priorities. In our Olon area, we have personally witnessed progressive improvements (since the last five years of owning property, coming here, living here).
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An example of an Olon house we believe to be Gov't subsidized. A number of these homes are in our area. They appear to be well built, always have the "MIDUVI" plaque in front. |
Since then, the progress of the government infra-structure programs, such as road and transportation advancements, government-assisted housing, educational, technology, and health-care improvements have been rather impressive, especially compared to the United States situation now.
That’s not to say we’ve always agreed or not been frustrated at times with Ecuador’s policies/laws, and their slower than molasses, nebulous-as-hell procedures.
I also think that folks making the move here must definitely read the book “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man” by John Perkins.
It is a great book to better understand why the governments of developing/resource rich countries (in this instance, South America, in particular Ecuador) may be taking a harder stance against the U.S.A. and profit-driven internationally based corporations.
It was an interesting video. I think "neo-liberal" in this case does not fit it's definition. I like the progressive attitude of the Ecuadorean president. However, what bothers me is the ongoing dependence on oil and like other countries, the ecological disasters that plague Ecuador from the oil business. Hopefully, this can be changed before the country is destroyed.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this--I've been researching Ecuador for about a year, and this was by far the most comprehensive, intelligent information that I have seen to date on how the economy has reacted to global macro-economic forces, and how it compares to the other South American countries. It confirms my suspicions that, while doubtless not perfect, Correa's policies are intelligent, informed, proactive, and largely beneficial. As far as the dependence on oil, Correa and his team have taken the hand dealt them, used what was available, and leveraged it to even out the economic cycles. How can that be bad?
ReplyDeleteThe infrastructure improvements oil has purchased, combined with the decreased dependence on trade with the US, will give the country a fighting chance to continue to forge their own path as the Western world's economy continues to falter. Improved internal economic activity will in turn reduce dependence on commodities. An all-round good job in my opinion.
Hi Bruce,
DeleteThanks for your articulate comments!
You may also want to see this YouTube video as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=pZoHYq1ovDg&NR=1
It is a speech that President Correa gave at the London School of Economics in 2009. A FB friend just sent it to me; it is an hour and half long, I've only had a chance to watch 2o minutes of it so far.
Correa's English is heavily accented, and I'm not familiar with some of the terminology (or at any rate, Correa's pronounciation), so at this point, it's clear as mud to me, but may you can make better sense of it.
I am a conservative libertarian who is moving to Ecuador. I have visited before. Ecuador does not meet my utopian dream politically, but it comes much closer than the US.
ReplyDeleteI like the protectionism of business in Ecuador. I dislike the high taxes on items Ecuador can not yet produce. I feel a high import tax on items where there is no Ecuador competition is a bad thing. Electronics and car imports should not be taxed heavily until Ecuador has significant production in this space.
Ecuador is correct in protecting it's people from off shoring it's jobs, but goes a bit to far by protecting business that does not yet exist.
In any case I prefer the left leaning Ecuador to the left leaning US. They seem to have a better form of socialism. It's a sad day when I have to choose the best of the worst ideology for my children. America is in decline, Ecuador is on it's way up, and not yet dependent on crushing successful people to get by. Ecuador does not have vast oil reserves, so this can't go on forever. Sooner or later they will run out of other people's oil. I just hope my kids can survive long enough there to figure out a path for themselves into the future.