Los lujos de rafael correa biography

Even though he was not a traditional politician and had very little exposure to the political world, he took upon the challenge and grew as a powerful leader in eradicating poverty, improving the social status of Ecuador, and limiting the interference of foreign corporations. He was elected as the President of Ecuador in and further won two consecutive unprecedented terms in andthus becoming one of the strongest leaders in decades.

Under his rule, the government has contributed towards the development of schools, bridges, hospitals, and roads.

Los lujos de rafael correa biography

This has largely helped him transform the nation in both social and economic spheres. He enrolled at the Universite Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, inand graduated with a Master of Arts degree in economics, in Rafael was lucky to realize his full potential before anyone came to take advantage of his noble soul. The man is destined for greater success other than his professional deals.

He has shown that he is an effective leader who provides clear directions in his active life. In other words, Correa is a motivator, inspirer, manager and a passionate coach who likes to build his team from scratch. During his rule, the level of poverty has decreased while employment opportunities have increased. He is indeed a man of greatness. The same year when Ecuador army planned to take over the Honduran government.

Before then, he loved to spend most of his time with his three siblings: Fabricio, Pierina, and Bernardita Correa in his native land, Guayaquil. He then went to Belgium in where he joined the University Catholique de Louvain. It was here that he completed his term with Masters of Arts degree in economics. In he received his Master of Science from the University of Illinois where he followed it up with a Ph.

When Rafael Correa graduated from the Catholic University of Santiago, Correa volunteered to educate the young and the old about small-case business in India. In he served as the director of Ecuadorian Ministry of Education and Culture department. It was here that he introduces an educational program that favored the oppressed children in his society.

In Rafael Correa got a seat as an economic and finance minister where he took his time to curb impoverished living in Ecuador. In the middle of all, he gave rise to economic success. Correa, who lived in Belgium at the time, denied the allegations regarding the kidnapping. Having grown up in the coastal city of Guayaquilhe has described his family background as being that of the "lower middle class".

When Correa was five, his father was arrested and imprisoned for three years after attempting to smuggle illegal narcotics into the United States. They are single mothers or unemployed people who are desperate to feed their families". While living in GuayaquilCorrea was highly involved in the Boy Scout program. Following the conclusion of his studies at UCSG, Correa worked for a year in a mission at a kindergarten run by the Salesian order in ZumbahuaCotopaxi Province, where he taught Catholicism and mathematics.

It was here that he furthered his faith in Catholicism, [ 10 ] and developed a working understanding of the Quechua language spoken by most of Ecuador's indigenous people. Correa was able to afford a university education with the aid of funding grants. Returning to Ecuador, Correa secured a position at the University of San Francisco in Quitowhere he taught economics.

On 20 AprilCorrea was appointed to the position of Minister of Economy and Finance [ 17 ] in the government of President Alfredo Palacio[ 18 ] having previously advised Palacio before his ascension to the presidency. He established himself as both a political maverick and a staunch critic of economic liberalization. During his four months in charge of the portfolio, Correa was skeptical of signing a free trade agreement with the United States and declining advice from the International Monetary Fundinstead working to increase Ecuador's cooperation with other Latin American countries.

Arguably his most notable decision within the Ministry of Finance was to reverse the fact that surpluses from oil sales go directly to prepay Ecuador's foreign debt and instead go to investment in health and education. After the World Bank stopped a loan, citing changes in the oil revenue stabilization fund, Correa resigned from Palacio's government.

He had also proposed the issuance of government bonds at a lower interest rate than the 8. Venezuela 's government was buying half of the new bond issue. Correa claimed in his resignation letter that the sale was done with full presidential authorization, but cited lack of support from the president as a factor in his decision to resign.

One of the authors of that book is his ex-Minister and congressman Alberto Acosta. The latter, he says, was explicitly viewed by the Americans as "part of the British imperialist system". Correa wrote that Chang showed that it was Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamiltonand not Friedrich List who was the first to present a systematic argument defending industrial protectionism.

Correa decided to campaign for the presidency in the presidential election, although at the time he was a largely unknown figure among the Ecuadorean public. On economic policy, Correa called for reform of the petroleum industry, including an increase in the percentage of petroleum revenues spent on social programs for the Ecuadorian poor, following the reforms of the Hydrocarbons Law promoted by former Economy and Finance Minister Diego Borja.

He accused foreign petroleum companies operating in Ecuador of failing to meet existing environmental and investment regulations. Many of the oil contracts are a true entrapment for the country. Of every lo lujos de rafael correa biography barrels of oil that the multinationals produce, they leave only one for the state and take four That is absolutely unacceptable.

We're going to revise and renegotiate the contracts. Correa also proposed strategies for reducing the burden of Ecuador's foreign debt service through compulsory debt restructuring. He indicated that his top priority would be spending on social programs rather than servicing Ecuador's debt. He also condemned their kidnappings, violations of human rights and bombings.

He learned Quichua in his youth during a year he spent volunteering in a remote highland town. Rafael Correa was officially declared President on 4 December by the electoral court. His inauguration was attended by most regional leaders, as well as the Iranian president and the Spanish Crown Prince. Socialism will continue. The Ecuadorian people voted for that.

We are going to emphasize this fight for social justice, for regional justice. We are going to continue the fight to eliminate all forms of workplace exploitation within our socialist conviction: the supremacy of human work over capital. Nobody is in any doubt that our preferential option is for the poorest people, we are here because of them. Hasta la victoria siempre!

Until victory, for ever! Correa adopted a confrontational approach to both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. That seems unacceptable to us". Correa said Ecuador wanted no further relationship with the fund. In Mayevidence surfaced that some of the Ecuadorian government rhetoric might have been part of an alleged market manipulation to benefit Ecuador from movements in the price of financial instruments linked to Ecuadorian bonds.

This strategy collapsed due to operations by Venezuelan financial institutions who profited from the market swings. Correa referred to the allegations as a conspiracy from a powerful banker. Correa has criticized the neoliberal policies of previous presidents, particularly former president Mahuad's adoption of the U. Correa has characterized American dollarisation as a "technical error" which has effectively eliminated Ecuador's ability to set its own currency and exchange policy.

However, Correa has also acknowledged that it would be politically and economically impossible to abandon that policy now. After his election victory of 15 Aprilhe pledged to maintain dollarisation during the entire four years of his administration, though he also indicated his support for the idea of replacing the US dollar with a regional South American currency at some point in the future.

In Maythe Ecuadorian government renegotiated radio spectrum franchises for mobile phone operators Porta and Movistar for a total price of million dollars, far more than that recommended by studies conducted under previous governments, which had proposed granting the same franchises for only 70 million dollars. During Rafael Correa's tenure as president, he took some radical alternative steps to change the course of Ecuador's relations with the rest of the world.

Amongst these were economic moves to correct Ecuador's debt imbalance, distancing from the United States, a rift with its northern neighbor Colombia, and a strengthening of ties with ALBA including Venezuela and Boliviaas well as Iran. Correa adopted a confrontational approach to the governments of both the United States and neighboring Colombia.

Correa refused to renew the base's lo lujos de rafael correa biography when it expired in and the constitution was changed to ban foreign military bases being established in Ecuador. According to the Ecuadorian government, the attack happened 3 kilometres 1. It pointed out that the attack had left a total of more than 20 people dead in Ecuadorian territory, many of whom were found to be wearing underwear or sleeping clothes.

Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa had reason to believe that the Colombian warplanes had penetrated 10 km into Ecuador's territory and struck the guerrilla camp while flying north, followed by troops in helicopters who had completed the killings. He claimed that some of the bodies had been found to be shot from behind. Two or three hours later we were attacked again".

President Uribe of Colombia spoke by telephone with his Ecuadorian counterpart, Rafael Correa, early on the morning of the raid, to inform him of the incident. He announced that he was summoning his ambassador in Colombia for consultations. Ingrid Betancourt — was nearly complete before the 1 March Colombian raid into his country. In FebruaryCorrea's plan to have a referendum on the convening of a constituent assembly was approved by Congress.

The referendum took place on 15 April However, after this date was set, the "statutes" for the referendum were modified by Correa to allow more powers to the constituent assembly. The newer version of the referendum was approved by the majority of the seven-seat Electoral Tribunal. In early March, Congress, which was controlled by Correa's opposition, reacted by trying to impeach the President of the electoral tribunal.

Correa backed the electoral tribunal which approved his version of the referendum while stating that the removal of the 57 congressmen was constitutional. The situation escalated to a feud between the opposition in Congress and the Executive and marches in the street against Congress and police intervention to prevent the Congressmen from entering the legislative building.

On 22 March 21 alternate deputies were sworn in, allowing the Congress to regain quorumand on 23 and 24 March a further 20 deputies were sworn in. The new majority formed by 28 alternate deputies and 31 deputies from parties that support the referendum and Assembly pledged to support the referendum on the Constitutional Assembly. On 23 April, the Constitutional Court decided to try to reinstate 51 of the 57 Congressmen who had been fired by the Electoral Tribunal.

The Constitutional Court claimed that it was illegal to remove them in the first place and approved a petition by the 51 requesting their reinstatement. On 15 AprilEcuadorians voted overwhelmingly The Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly first convened on 29 November in Montecristi and was given six months to write a new constitution, with a possible two-month extension.

A constitutional referendum was held in Ecuador on 28 September to ratify or reject the constitution drafted by the Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly elected in The President affirmed that his was a "green" Government for its defense of the environment. The proposal hoped to collect contributions starting from In Ecuador announced that it would auction more than three million hectares of Amazonian rainforest in the Yasuni Nature Reserve to Chinese oil companies.

The indigenous people inhabiting the land protested the deal. They claim that the oil projects would threaten their traditional way of life and devastate the area's environment. Ecuador's Shuar people's women's leader, Narcisa Mashienta, said that the government lied when claiming that the people would have given their consent. The NGO Amazon Watch claims that the reason for the projects is the government's 7-billion-dollar debt to China and the desire to get Chinese funding to build a An 11,barrel oil spill in the Amazon was considered problematic to Correa's desire to win a third term, because he had tried to assure his critics of him being environment-friendly.

The proposal would contribute to preserving biodiversity, reducing carbon dioxide los lujos de rafael correa biography, and respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and their way of life. President Correa has stated that Ecuador's first option is to maintain the crude oil in the subsoil. The national and international communities would be called on to help the government implement this costly decision for the country.

The hoped for-amount is estimated at million dollars annually. A more promising alternative [ original research? This resource would be channeled towards activities that help to free the country from its dependency on exports and imports and to consolidate food sovereignty. In AugustCorrea abandoned the initiative and approved oil drilling, blaming lack of support from the international community for the decision.

Correa overturned a ban on the sale of shark finswhich are popular in Asia, but stipulated that the fins can only be sold if the sharks are caught accidentally and by artisan fishermen. He did not say how authorities would determine whether the shark had been caught accidentally or deliberately. On 3 AugustCorrea ordered the deportation of Sean O'Hearn-Gimenez, director of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Societysaying that he would not allow "gringuitos" literally, "little gringos " to tell Ecuadorians what to do or to pursue local fishermen.

However, a local newspaper noted that O'Hearn-Gimenez had signed a 5-year agreement with Ecuador's own Environmental Police rather than acting unilaterally as a foreigner with no authority of his ownand was married to an Ecuadorian. All the arrested fishermen were released, too, and the confiscated shark fins returned to them. According to some media, the Government repressed abusing from the force to these mobilizations.

His party also won the largest legislative block in the National Assembly, although not a majority. Correa was sworn into the Presidency on 10 Augustthe same day as Ecuador's bicentennial. Mobile hospitals have been implemented. Another program has been implemented to increase the rate of return of medics amongst Ecuadorian emigrants. Infant mortalityfrom Between andnew public hospitals have been built, the number of civil servants has increased significantly, and salaries have been increased.

Inthe government introduced universal and compulsory social security coverage. Inlo lujos de rafael correa biography remains a problem. A third fine could lead to a temporary or permanent ban on this private television channel. In Decemberthe station was taken off the air by the Superintendent of Telecommunications [es], under a provisional suspension of 72 hours for purportedly "spreading false information.

Beginning 5 November, rolling blackouts took place across Ecuador for two to six hours per day. On 6 November, the government declared an emergency in the power sector, which was expected to "allow the Finance Ministry to seek to guarantee fuel imports for thermoelectric plants". The power crisis led to criticism of the Correa administration's management of the power sector as water levels of the reservoirs became depleted.

In January, Ecuador was shaken by mass protests against large-scale mining. Indigenous people were demanding that they not be exploited at all and were blockading highways to make their point. Correa cited a constitutional article that prohibited the blocking of roads. The Shuar man that died was killed by protesters' own weapons, and police were also injured by the same shotgun pellets that killed the brother Shuar, Correa said.

Correa announced that on Monday 26 July Ecuador would enact reforms to a hydrocarbons law that aims to expropriate foreign-company operations unless they sign service contracts increasing state control of the industry. Correa reminded oil companies that if they did not abide by the state's policies, they would have their fields nationalized and would be forced from the country.

A debate to modify this and other reforms, especially the one which granted control of the Higher Education System by the government, was practically passed with consensus by the multi-partisan National Assembly on 4 August but vetoed by the president Rafael Correa, [ ] who wanted to keep the law strictly as it was originally redacted by his political party and SENPLADES National Secretary of Planning and Development.

On 30 Septemberthe National Police went on strike over the passage of a bill that would end the practice of giving medals and bonuses with each promotion. Gentlemen, if you want to kill the president, here he is, kill him if you have the guts. While held in the hospital inside the police headquarters, Correa declared a national state of emergency.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed "full support for President Rafael Correa, and the institutions of democratic government in that country. Obama had nothing to do with this. I hope, and trust that neither his immediate subordinates did. Correa also asked that UNASUR create a commission to investigate the events that led to the 30 Sep police revolt in Ecuador in which about a dozen people died and were wounded.

The uprising was led by police upset over a new law that would deny them promotion bonuses. During Friday's summit, leaders also approved a democratic charter that would serve as a guide for the nation bloc if any of them faced an attempted coup. The charter would have been an effective tool during Ecuador's revolt, Correa said. Correa announced another lawsuit this time against an editorial writer and the directors of El Universo newspaper.

The legal action included the opinion editor of the paper, Emilio Palacio, who was sued for defamation by a high-ranking public official last year. Correa alleged that several of Palacio's editorials were "accusations" and "slander", where Palacio stated " El Universo says the president's suit was announced several hours after the newspaper published an article about an information access request denial.

While Palacio claimed, he was sued for calling Correa a "dictator". Last week the president personally attended the trial while thuggish supporters threw eggs and bottles at the defendants outside the courthouse. To no one's surprise, the provisional judge hearing the case quickly ruled in the president's favor, sentencing Mr. Correa — an amount that exceeds the total value of the newspaper.

In an opinion article from February which appeared in El Universo, Emilio Palacio alleged that the president had ordered soldiers to fire on the hospital, which was full of civilians. Rafael Correa insisted that if the authors of the book admitted wrongdoing and asked for forgiveness he would pardon them. Following wide condemnation of the sentences in the El Universo case, [ citation needed ] Correa announced on 27 February that he would pardon the four individuals involved, also reminding that from the very beginning he asked for a rectification by the newspaper or an apology, [ ] both which the newspaper refused, instead claiming this was censorship, [ ] [ ] including asking Correa what he wanted them to publish.

Correa also said he would drop his case against the authors of "Gran Hermano". Correa has been accused, in the words of the President of the Inter-American Press Associationof mounting a "systematic and hostile campaign to do away with the independent press and establish, by law or through the courts, ownership of the truth that all the Ecuadoran people must swallow.

The Washington Post reported in July that, according to a report for the National Endowment for Democracythe government had controlled one radio station when Mr. Correa became president inbut that by the time of the report it owned five television channels, four radio stations, two newspapers and four magazines. Correa announced a constitutional referendumwhich took place on 7 May The Ecuadorian people were asked to vote on ten questions, including a reform of the judiciary, although opposition members denounced what they called a "power grab" on behalf of Correa's government.

Correa pledged that the data had been manipulated by counting first the votes from the provinces where the "no" have won to create the "sensation of fraud " and he predicted that the "yes" will win with at least Correa pointed out that China gives credits to Ecuador at 7. The Chinese credits are a "good business" with interests of 7 percent to finance projects with a profitability that goes from 23 to 25 percent.

InChina loaned Ecuador million dollars for the purpose of overhauling the Ecuadorian security system. This system comprises 4, new surveillance cameras, drones, automated evidence processing systems, and increased manpower to manage each of these new technologies, which have been collectively dubbed the ECU Integrated Security Service. The CEC has also undertaken similar surveillance overhauls in Venezuela and Bolivia and has also introduced technology to monitor the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil.

They argue that it has been able to decrease the response time for everyday emergencies such as life-threatening illness, [ ] and have cited the system as a large factor in the dramatic drop in crime in Ecuador since its installation. Correa who participated of the act of possession of the new domestic magistrates, [ ] said that the administration of justice is an imperium of the state and at the same time, it is a public service, also it expressed his total back to the new judges of the National Court of Justice CNJ [ ].

Inthe law is amended to allow same-sex unions to benefit from legal recognition. Ecuador's largest advocacy group for Indians, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuadorplanned a two-week march to Quito beginning on Thursday to protest Correa's land and water policies that they say were hurting their way of life. Correa condemned the action and accused them of being hypocrites for having allied with the extreme right, [ ] of seeking to exploit mining for themselves [ ] and of trying to destabilize his government, urging his followers to mobilize against them.

The support march on the Government concentrated on thousands of demonstrators coming from different zones that met in a park where they enjoyed artistic shows put on to celebrate the Woman's International Day. It had the support of the teachers' organizations and students. Correa declared that the protests were intended to destabilize his government and he encouraged his followers "to keep mobilized until March 22" Those in favor of the Government also announced countermarches in various localities, [ ] such as in Cuenca where they had a concentration that gathered around fifteen thousand people.

In the four years since ENIPLA was established pregnancies amongst girls between the ages of 11 and 14 decreased by 18 percent. One study found that this shift led to an increase in teenage pregnancy in Ecuador. Correa alleged that the United States attempted to meddle in the country's affairs during his presidency, saying that a representative from the American Central Intelligence Agency requested a meeting with him at the start of his administration and that the accounts of senior state officials had been hacked.

Correa was reelected president, winning by a large margin in the first round of the presidential election. The results gave the movement of the seats contested in the polls. Between andpoverty decreased from At the same time, inequalities, as measured by the Gini index, decreased from 0. According to The GuardianEcuador has become one of the most progressive nations in Latin America when it comes to providing financial, technical and professional assistance to people with disabilities.

There are also programmes to provide braille texts and computers for visually impaired people.