By Daniel Denvir QUITO, Ecuador–Barack Obama’s rise to power leaves progressives in the U.S. to grapple with questions familiar to many Latin American leftists: how do we interact with an ally once he takes office? And is he really an ally after all? During the U.S. presidential campaign, the right wing exhausted itself in an effort to [...] read more »

QUITO, Ecuador—Amidst the spreading global financial crisis, a special debt audit commission released a report on Nov. 20 charging that much of Ecuador’s foreign debt was illegitimate or illegal. read more »

There has of recent been a flurry of reports suggesting that Obama change course in Latin America. This is generally a good thing. The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA) wrote an insightful analysis. They say that we have a “unique window of opportunity” and note that Obama’s positions on Latin America range from the [...] read more »

In his weekly Saturday radio address, Correa contradicted his Foreign Ministry, saying that Ecuador would not pursue a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Euroepan Union outside of the Andean Community (CAN) framework. It is not clear why the Ministry initially said that Ecuador would seek a bilateral FTA with the EU. The earlier announcement [...] read more »

Since the Colombian government bombed a guerrilla camp on Ecuadoran soil March 1, it has orchestrated a highly effective media campaign backed by material allegedly found on laptops and hard drives belonging to a high-ranking member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the largest rebel group in Latin America. The laptops were used almost immediately after the raid to implicate both the Ecuadoran and Venezuelan governments in drug-trafficking and “terrorist” connections to the FARC. read more »

The political aftershocks of Colombia’s March 1st attack on a FARC camp in Ecuador continue to reverberate. On the Thursday November 6th, Ecuador filed a formal note of protest after  Colombian paramilitaries allegedly crossed the border and attacked the village of Borbón, killing 1 and injuring two. While Colombia grabbed headlines worldwide for its charges of [...] read more »

Both candidates in last night’s debate pledged to eliminate U.S. dependence on Venezuelan oil. I would have loved a follow up question why exactly Venezuela poses a security threat to the United States. I guess that they assumed that the answer was obvious enough to the American people–but I’m not quite sure that I got [...] read more »

U.S. drug policy, of course, has never had much to do with protecting Americans’ health. The so-called Drug War has always been more effective at criminalizing youth of color, feeding a politics of fear and advancing wrongheaded U.S. foreign policy objectives. But Bush’s recent decision to deny trade preferences to Bolivia is a pretty crude [...] read more »

A quick note: Hi, I’m new to this blog. I’m an independent journalist in Quito, Ecuador. I write about Latin American politics, US foreign policy, trade, social movements and other issues. You can find out more about my work at www.danieldenvir.com. Thanks to The Indypendent for this opportunity to collaborate. ————————— Colombia has once again blocked efforts [...] read more »

QUITO, Ecuador—Ecuador approved a new constitution on Sept. 28 with a 64 percent “yes” vote, scoring a major victory for President Rafael Correa. Constitutional provisions expand access to healthcare, social security and education while increasing state control over the economy. read more »