CELEBRATING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF ECUADOR’S CITIZENS REVOLUTION

ECUADORIANS go to the polls to elect their President today.  Ecuador is today being transformed by radical social and economic reforms known as the Citizens Revolution. Led by President Rafael Correa this process is tackling the deep crisis caused by years of extreme neo-liberal policies forced on Ecuador under the Washington Consensus.

President Correa first came to office in 2007 in the aftermath of huge economic, social and political turbulence in Ecuador. Seven different Presidents were replaced in a decade. A massive banking collapse caused income per head to fall by one-third. Unemployment rocketed and one in ten Ecuadorians was forced to emigrate to escape the crisis.

Today, in contrast, the Citizens Revolution offers Ecuador a new development model that has already delivered major achievements. A tripling of social investment in just five years has significantly boosted economic growth and meant that Ecuador never entered recession despite the global slowdown. One million Ecuadorian households have been lifted out of poverty and 450,000 children have been taken out of child labour. The right to decent work means that unemployment has almost halved and is now at its lowest ever levels, the minimum wage has doubled and outsourcing has been made illegal. The huge increases in social spending are guaranteeing free education, including at university level, free healthcare and better public services for all.

These tremendous advances are all the more impressive given that they have taken place against the backdrop of the global economic crisis.

At the same time a new constitution, backed by popular referendum, now guarantees human rights and equality for the once-excluded as well as granting rights to nature. Ecuador is also at the forefront of ground-breaking environmental measures.

In achieving all of this in South America’s third poorest country, the Correa government has had to challenge the previous elites that dominated Ecuador for decades. Sovereignty over the country’s oil and other natural resources has been recovered from the hands of multinationals. Ecuador has repudiated the punishing debt owed to international financial institutions that meant three times as much was being spent on debt repayment than on social services. Tax collection from the very wealthy has increased in order to fund social projects and Ecuador has shut down the USA military base in the country.

Fierce opposition to all of this has come from the old elite and its international allies. A coup d’état was even attempted in 2010. Fears of external intervention to affect the likely outcome of the coming election have been recently expressed by President Correa. At the same time media misrepresentations about Ecuador have increased, with much of this disinformation stemming from those opposed to Ecuador’s progressive new direction.

The Presidential election will be the 8th free and fair nation-wide electoral process in the past 6 years. There are seven candidates but polls indicate that the main contest is between President Rafael Correa and Guillermo Lasso, a former head of one of Ecuador's largest banks. Correa is polling firmly in the lead.

We believe that, as with other developments in Latin America, Ecuador’s Citizens Revolution, offers an inspiring alternative to the failed policies of neo-liberalism. We are certain that a further victory for the Citizens Revolution will allow the Ecuadorian people to continue expanding social justice. We believe that it is the right of the Ecuadorian people to pursue this path if that is their wish and that any external intervention should be condemned.

SIGNED

Ken Livingstone, former Mayor of London

Chris Williamson MP, Shadow Minister for Local Government and Communities

Ian Davidson MP

Virendra Sharma MP

Katy Clark MP

Grahame Morris MP

Kelvin Hopkins MP

Baroness Sue Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat Peer)

Elaine Smith, Member Scottish Parliament

Denis Skinner MP

Paul Flynn MP

Jeremy Corbyn MP

Tariq Ali, author

Richard Gott, author

Owen Jones, author

Brian Eno, musician

Ken Loach, filmmaker

John Pilger, filmmaker

Linton Kwesi Johnson, poet

Louise Christian, award-winning British human rights lawyer.

Tim Potter, Barrister

Michael Mansfield QC, barrister

Imran Khan, human rights lawyer

Professor Ernesto Laclau, Professor Emeritus of Government at the University of Essex,

Professor Doreen Massey, Emeritus Professor (Geography), The Open University

Professor George Irvin, University of London, SOAS

Professor Jonathan Rosenhead, Department of Management, London School of Economics

Dr Peter Lambert, Associate Dean in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Bath

Dr Stephen Wilkinson, Chairman, International institute for the Study of Cuba

Dr Thomas Muhr, Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol

Professor Bill Bowring, Barrister, Director of Human Rights, School of Law, Birkbeck, University of London

Dr Julia Buxton, Department of Peace Studies, Bradford University

Professor Mike Cole, Emeritus Research Professor in Education and Equality, Bishop Grosseteste University

John Weeks, Professor Emeritus SOAS, University of London

Diana Raby, Senior Fellow, Latin American Studies University of Liverpool

Professor Peter Hallward, Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy, Kingston University

Dr Francisco Dominguez, Head of Latin American Studies, Middlesex University

Dr Lee Salter, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, University West England

Dr Michael Derham, Programme Leader Spanish and Latin American Studies, Northumbria University, Newcastle -upon-Tyne

Dr Julie Hearn, Lecturer, Department of Politics, Philosophy & Religion (PPR), Lancaster University

Dr. Mehmet Ali Dikerdem, Institute for Work Based Learning, Middlesex University,

Dr Steve Ludlam, Senior Lecturer, Department of Politics, University of Sheffield

Len McCLuskey, General Secretary UNITE (Europe’s largest trade union)

Billy Hayes, General Secretary, Communications Workers Union

Manuel Cortes, general Secretary, TSSA Union (Transport union)

Bob Crow, General Secretary, RMT Union (Railway worker’s union)

Mick Whelan, General Secretary ASLEF (Railway worker’s union)

Ronnie Draper, General Secretary, Bakers Food & Allied Workers Union

Doug Nicholls, General Secretary, General Federation of Trade Unions

Luke Crawley, Assistant General Secretary, BECTU (Broadcasting Worker’s union)

Roger McKenzie, Assistant General Secretary, UNISON Union (Public Sector union)

Bert Schouwenburg, International Officer, GMB Union

Tony Burke, Unite the Union Assistant General Secretary

Steve Turner, Director of Executive Policy, Unite the union,

Tony Kearns, Senior Deputy General Secretary, Communication Workers Union

Andrew Murray, Chief of Staff, Unite the union,

Martin Mayer, UNITE executive council member, Chair United Left, & Labour NEC delegate

Moz Greenshields, UNISON NEC

Bernard Regan, Chair of SERTUC International Committee and Secretary of the CSC

Jose Vallejo Villa, Regional Coordinating Officer, Unite the UNION

Joe Mann President General Federation of Trade Unions

John Fray Vice President v

Ann Pettifor, Economist

Bruce Kent, leading peace activist

Neal Lawson, Chair, Compass Thinktank

Lindsey German, Founder of Stop the War Coalition

Rob Miller Director, Cuba Solidarity Campaign

Colin Burgon, Chair Venezuela Solidarity Campaign

Luke Daniels, President of Caribbean Labour Solidarity

Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign

Matthew Willgress, Convenor Venezuela Solidarity Campaign

Sam Gurney, Labour Party National Policy Forum

Zita Holbourne, National Co-Chair BARAC UK

Cat Smith, Convenor, Next Generation Labour (PC)

Michael Burke, Socialist Economic Bulletin

Lee Brown, researcher on Latin America

John Haylett, Morning Star Political Editor

Aaron Kiely, National Unions of Students, Black Students' Officer

Chris McLaughlin, Editor TRIBUNE newspaper

Pav Akhtar, Director, UK Black Pride