by the El Reportero’s staff
Rafael Correa
On 13 April the Colombian government released a press statement attacking assertions made by the president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, during his recent visit to Mexico.
This latest development shows that although the threat of military action – if there ever was one – is now over, the diplomatic and political crisis between Ecuador and Colombia is far from resolved. There may be peace, but there is certainly no reconciliation.
The statement, which was highly provocative, criticized Correa for being “inconsistent” in his statements on the crisis. The row was originally triggered when Colombia launched a raid on a Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) camp in Ecuadorean territory on 1 March, killing the guerrilla group’s international spokesperson, Raúl Reyes, and 25 other people including four Mexican students and one Ecuadorean locksmith.
Dossier may bring down another of Lula’s would-be heirs
The dispute between the government and the opposition over the misuse of public funds to pay for luxuries for officials from the present and preceding federal administrations has heated up in the past few days.
With October’s municipal elections looming, the dispute has become highly politicized. Significantly, it is now centring on President Lula da Silva’s chief of staff, Dilma Rousseff.
Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva
This follows the confirmation that a dossier containing secret information which exposed the misuse of public funds during the (now opposition) administration of former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso was put together in her office.
Peace but not reconciliation After lurching towards a phony war at the start of March, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela have established a phony peace. Ecuador and Venezuela have sociodemobilized the troops it rushed to the Colombian border after Colombia’s air strike on a camp in Ecuador run by the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC). Colombia’s President Alvaro Uribe has apologized for the raid and promised not to repeat the action. However, computers found at the bomb site pose a major obstacle to a lasting reconciliation.
India to work with Latin America to strengthen developing countries
Pratibha Patil
India will work together with the Latin American countries on a common platform so that the voice of the developing countries be heard in the international arena, said Indian President Pratibha Patil who began her visit to Brazil, Mexico and Chile Saturday.
We want the voice of these countries to be heard in the
international arena so that problems of the developing countries can be solved,” said Patil, who is on her maiden foreign visit as president.
During her visit, India will sign at least nine agreements in areas such as agriculture, civil aviation, science and technology and renewable energy with the three countries.
At least three agreements are expected to be signed with Brazil, two with Mexico and four with Chile, officials accompanying the president said.
Asked if India would go for ethanol production out of food grains – cited as a major reason for the shortage of food grains in the world – Patil said: “It is a matter of concern. Experts will come together and discuss it.”
Eighty percent of two million cars made in Brazil have flexi-fuel engines, helping the country reduce its requirement of petrol sustainability. It has also emerged as the lowest cost producer and leading global exporter of ethanol.
