Of the "Socialism of the 21. Century" — Recipe for the emancipation of Latin America or state discourse?
The Ecuadorian Prasident Rafael Correa is one of the Sud American head of state of government, which is the "socialism of the 21. Century "written on the flags. In January, his office declined for the first time. The OKNOKON enjoys a high popularity in the population, about two-thirds of the Ecuadorians feel well reproduced by him. In fact, Correa has its most important election promise can be implemented: the segregation of the assembly in which two-thirds of the members of the government list have been working on the new Charter Magna and the reform of the state institutions since the beginning of December. The political experiment that takes place in Ecuador is important for quite Latin America. The balance sheet of one year Correa government gives rise to reflecting it, which is behind the "socialism of the 21. Century" real.
"We have invested more money in the well-being of our own people when we paid foreign cribes. We are not so interested in how well it goes the rich, but rather, how much better those who have the least, "said Correa in his government clarification on the 18th. January. In fact, social spending for the first time survived the sum that Ecuador invested in debt service. Social assistance for the poor and housing allowance has been doubled, the state minimum wage up, launched a microcredit program to modest 5% interest rates, which significantly enhances expenses for educational and health care and infrastructure. First effects make themselves noticeable, for example a reduction of waiting times in public hospitals, as more drugs are available.
At the end of December, a tax reform was passed, which sounds a little spectacular to European standards, but in the Ecuadorian upper class, however, caused an escalation, as it has a fairer distribution of wealth: staggered income tax, rich taxation of luxury cars, real estate and inheritance from a particular High, and punishments for tax evasion.
Economic growth was low at 3% compared to 4.9% in the previous year, the opposition acknowledges. The Economen Correa can not bring such criticism out of the catch. The low growth is still a subsequent effect of the poor planning of the transaction government, especially in the oil industry. Here, Correa stated in October that additional profits from the High World Market Prize for Rohol Kunftig rank 99% to the state, and only one percent of the olfrosting companies. Until then, a ratio of 50:50 had been considered. The State Oldon’s Petroecuador, according to the prasident, is still crossed by political mafias and corrupt — working to make him more efficient. The promised interest rate cut is still out.
We will put together with the bankers and negotiate, but not whether they reduce interest rates or not, but about how they can do the accomplished.
Rafael Correa
Indoor and radical switches
2007 was a year of permanent political confrontation in Ecuador. Banks, entrepreneurs associations, owned by the banks in the private media and the party ooligarchy represented in Parliament tried by all means to tore the reforms of the Correa government. In the meantime, the beginning of Declar (VV) has sent the parliament to her home at the beginning of December — which the traditional parties have lost their most important bean.
The private media are no longer the sole opinion maker since the government has set up a public television channel, a state daily newspaper and a state radio station. Even if their content is still improvement, Burger now has at least the possibility to follow the debates around the new penetration. Several times there were attempts to push the prices for staple foods such as flour or milk in a great way, whereupon the government established their prices by decree.
A few days ago, a video recording contained that oppositional behind man, presumably the ex-prasident Lucio Gutierrez, trying to move members of the catching assembly through gross sums of money to tore the new penetration. A deputy of the governmental courts Alianza Pais are offered in the video 3 million US dollars when he shines time and is right against the final prey text. In the recording, the temporary boasts are open to have always practiced this method has always been practiced successfully in Parliament since the 1980s.
Ecuador actively participated in Latin American integration. The Unasur (Union of Sud American Nations) with which the Economic Area Mercosur and Andean’s Pact is to have their original seat in Quito. The associated Banco del Sur, a developing bank as an alternative to the multilateral financial institutions such as IMF and World Bank, was founded in early December in Buenos Aires in the presence of Rafael Correo . Furthermore, Ecuador has returned the OPEC and has signed sales representation with China and Iran. Against Colombia, the country has strained an international action due to the contamination of border strip with the total herbicide glyphosate.
Questioned developments
At first glance, the first half of the year from Rafael Correa was a complete success. Nevertheless, in critical observers in Ecuador, displeasure and concern for the direction that the political experiment caught by Correa.
On the one hand, the strong identification of the political project with the person Rafael Correa. While this does not strive for unlimited re-election as its Venezuelan colleague Chavez, but in the past he has several times the catching assembly, which is qua mandate over the prassident, set with random threats under prere. The tone of the prasident is increasingly ruling — a climate that is not equally greaterable to the constructive criticism and open debate.
The fact that the eligible assembly will now take up legislative functions and can set up and use functionaries of the judicial apparatus for autumn 2008 and can set up and use functionaries, has caused some democratic theory concerns. Instead of trimming and mutual control, only one body currently exists in Ecuador, which respects the executive in the person of Correa, but the legislature completely and the judiciary occasionally ames. "That was in the Articles of Association, which we have voted in April Referendum, so not," acuadorian sociologist acknowledges.
Fragwurrdig is also the role that the government has accessed the militar. For example, it has charged the Navy with the restructuring of the state OLKonzer Petroecuador, as well as attracted the transport of natural gas for the next 22 years. The strain construction is carried out to the coarse part by the engineer corps of the army — in a very inefficient way, as critic. Unlike Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Rafael Correa does not come from the militar itself — which raises the question of whether army and marine are his closest follower or bought her loyalitat only with this application.
2008 also carries in terms of environment, exploitation of the ground and indigenous rights of some explosives. While the confeperation of the amazonic indigenous nationalities Confiae and various local environmental movements require a complete stop of the mining activities, Correa for a "environmentally friendly" degradation of the ground faucet, which involves significant sharing the state as well as the communities concerned. For this, the mining law, which so far has equal to a ticket for sale in favor of foreign companies, should be reformed. He also negotiates with Lulas Brazil on a Mega trade route across the rainforest from Manaus to Manta and wants to build a new airport in the Amazon basin — coarse infrastructure projects that rather run out on the economic exploitation than on the preservation of the biodiversity of the Amazon region.
The proposal also developed by the former energy minister Alberto Acosta, the heart butt of the Ecuadorian Amazasur forest, where coarse crude deposits are suspected, unanasted when the creders of the north Ecuador of ecological and climate-related leases adopted in high 50% of the expected profits, wobbles. In the fall, the government already signed an environmental concession for a part of the buffer zone for the area in question, which gives the Brazilian corporate Petrobras there grunes light for holes.
New main residualization in socialism of the 21. Century?
Striking is the economically induced pragmatism of the new progressive governments of Sudamerikas. Thus, the Prasident of the Iranian Mullah regime Ahmadinejad in Venezuela or Ecuador is a welcome state guest, and Rafael Correa praises the Chinese economy in the highest toning, regardless of the local working conditions and human rights situation — at least in which Correa was presented by Correaa against neoliberalism Guideline "First people and then only the economy" So not necessarily.
The largest port Ecuadors in Manta will, according to the President, will be expanded to trade commander China to Sudamerika. In general, it becomes clear that for the economists the economic policy is strongly in the foreground. Accordingly, he titled his project, as well as Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and the Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera, as socialism of the 21. Century.
This label does not stab in Ecuador everywhere on counter love. The critical journalist Pablo Davalos states with reference to the Brazilian MST, the Mexican ECLN and the Ecuadorian Conaie:
Talk about socialism of the 21. Century comes from the progressive governments of the region, especially Hugo Chavez, during the social movements at the same time experienced an organizational vulnerability. (…To)
It is not the social movements that are from socialism of the 21. Talking centuries, but the governments that call themselves. This debate is not on the agenda of social movements, which have always seen as part of a libertren, socialism critical and emancipated tradition. Rather, the debate was re-launched in the region due to the requirement of the Venezuelan government after geopolitical legitimacy.
Socialism of the 21. Century is in reality a state discourse, which is tailored to the acceptance of a governmental strategy of the Unity Party as a state party. He does not come from the momentum of social movements and does not fit for her either. It does not include the richness of mobilizations, debates and clashes from social organizations. (…) He is not born out of respect for the internal democracy of social organizations. His positioning obeys more of a government ideology as a historically emancipative and critical practice.
Pablo Davalos
In fact, the concept of "socialism of the 21. Century "in Ecuador little debating, although Correa has been used as term since its term of office a year ago. The Prasident himself took a state attendance in China for the occasion to make it more accurate in front of the Chinese hosts. On which theoretical basics is based on this concept that Hugo Chavez launched on the World Social Forum 2005 for the first time — which steered the Venezuelan process, which until then was rather under the basic democratic sign, in a whole new direction? The theoremogen Heinz Dieterich developed by the German, since 1977 in Mexico City since 1977 in Mexico City has been centered as its classic processes on the economic. It suggests a non-market equivalence concomity, a democratic model, which focuses on plebiscite and base democracy, a "reasonable" minority protection and the participation of a "rational-ethical-asthetically self-determined state burger". Latin American Altmarxists have delighted this model as a temporary version of Marxism. But remain, just like the head of state of Bolivia, Venezuela and Ecuador, the answer to the question of the question of what new socialism should differ from the model of historical state socialism practiced in Cuba — or to what extent he in Bolivia and Ecuador of indigenous population and the Majority of women who are far more as a "furious minority", finally helped to help self-determined Stateburgerschaft.
Problems with the participation of indigenous, black and women in power
The historical lead figures of socialism of the 21. Century are varied. Mainly, there are figures from the anticolonial and independence from Latin America, such as Tupac Amaru or Simon Bolivar, but also early liberals like Eloy Alfaro from Ecuador. His analytical focus, however, is tightly closely like the historical socialism: as if there had never been cultural studies or feminist theory, the socialism of the 21 is concentrated. Century quite strong on the traditional main resistance, ie, the economy. Particularly theory and power theoretical insights from a young time, such as cultural and institutional discrimination, excessive structures and traditions can be survived, find no resonance. However, it is precisely the systematic and historical clasp of indigenous, black and women of state-making practice, political representation and full participation, which has made it easy to burst the Latin American formal democracies of the last decades on neoliberal course.
While the indigenities are due to their entitlement to their ancestral territories including underbody and raw materials contained therein in antagonism to progressive governments, the women’s rights in the new left economy are also on a rather shaky foundation. Daniel Ortega — rather a ride driver of the new left economy of Latin America, who has been in Nicaragua in Nicaragua since last year — has sacrificed it to his strategic covenant with the legal-conservative aircraft of the Catholic Church, by even abortion from therapeutic grounds — so for the protection of life the mother — made under punishment and the country was accessed in terms of female self-determination to the stand of 100 years ago.
Although Ecuador signed all international agreements in women’s rights — yet the development plan 2007-2011 speaks of the basic principles of social and economic justice, democratic justice and generational justice, but from the righteousness between the sexes he is silent. Also Ecuador’s Prasident Rafael Correa is Catholic and has already been conceded that if the new emergence of abortion will reliably, it will happen to a farm. The National Frauean Council Conamu, a kind of women’s ministry, whose line was elected in Ecuador with the involvement of representatives of the women’s movement, should be dissolved in this form and to be incorporated into the state institution hierarchy with a lower status. Similar to the Council for the Indigenous Volkers and Nationalitists Ecuadors Codeppe is confused — here are broken by the advanced government Correa Institutionalized achievements of social movements in favor of more state centralism.
Nobody doubts that the National Indigenine Organization Conaie, which was trend-setting in the 90s for Ecuador, has proportional to the popularity of the prasident of political importance. Although their released Prasident Marlon Santi from the Amazon community Sarayacu stands for a relentless attitude towards ol- and other international corporations and for the protection and autonomy of indigenous territories, but it remains the question of how he can restore the mobilization ability and the cohesion of the organization to give public weight to this position.
Still do not refrain from how the new penetration will treat these for the future of the country’s key ies. The fact that the fairly heterogeneous government faction in the catching gathering has the majority means no guarantee for indigenous, black or women. The aim is to reveal a prasidial system in Ecuador, which gives a lot of power to the head of state, whose decisions are often confirmed by plebiscites. How democratically this model can be in a cultural context, in which authoritar followers and guidance figures were always crucial, must be questioned — and whether this path can lead to the "self-determined Stateburgerschaft" in the sense of Heinz Dieterich’s theoretical model of renewed socialism.