Leftist Ecuador leader seeks aid at Bush meeting

www.alertnet.org NEWSDESK   07 Feb 2003 16:08

By Amy Taxin

QUITO, Ecuador, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Ecuador's new President Lucio Gutierrez heads to Washington on Sunday seeking aid to keep his poor nation away from the brink of economic crisis and develop and patrol its porous border with war-torn Colombia.

Gutierrez, who has adopted tight fiscal measures since he took office on Jan. 15, will meet U.S. President George W. Bush on Tuesday requesting help to ease the Andean nation's budget crunch and debt burden, but security issues are expected to be the main focus for the United States.

To boost state coffers, left-leaning Gutierrez has adopted market-oriented but unpopular moves such as price hikes that have stirred dissent in his coalition of poor Indians and unions. Gutierrez -- a retired army colonel who led a coup three years ago -- has cut his own salary by 20 percent and jogged to work to save on gasoline costs.

Less than a month in the presidency, Gutierrez he has scored a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund for a $500 million multilateral aid package that investors say will steer Ecuador away from a possible debt default.

Government officials hope the Bush meeting -- a sign of improving bilateral ties -- will keep doors open for credits and private sector investments to help reduce poverty that affects 60 percent of the population.

Our goal is to "ratify that with our government, Ecuador is a trustworthy country, with legal securities for investment," Patricio Acosta, general secretary of the administration and regarded as Gutierrez's right-hand man, told Reuters.

The trip also seeks funds to develop and patrol the border area with Colombia -- where drug smugglers and guerrillas operate -- Acosta said. Ecuador, which has one of South America's smallest economies, received about $25 million in border development funds from the United States last year, according to a U.S. embassy spokesman.

Gutierrez, who faces protests at home over his economic policies, has played up the visit after his predecessor Gustavo Noboa could not get face time with the leader of the world's No. 1 economy. He is also planning to meet several top U.S. officials despite the Bush administration's focus with plans fro a possible war to disarm Iraq of allegedly illegal arms.

The visit comes as leftists have gained momentum in Latin America, with Gutierrez and Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a former metalworker, coming to power in January to form an informal front alongside Venezuela's leader Hugo Chavez.

Gutierrez will also meet with IMF Managing Director Horst Koehler and other multilateral lender officials before traveling to New York to meet with private investors.

AMERICAN AGENDA

Political analysts say Washington will likely seek to discuss the drug-fueled war in Colombia with Gutierrez. The U.S. currently runs anti-narcotics surveillance operations for the Andean region out of a coastal air force base in Ecuador.

Ecuador is not a drug-producing country, unlike nearby Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, but is a site of drug transit.

Ecuador is one of Latin America's most unstable nations and has toppled two of its elected presidents amid popular uprisings in the last few years.

"The U.S. agenda prioritizes security issues, then issues of democracy and in third place, commercial matters," political analyst at FLACSO university Adrian Bonilla told Reuters.

A U.S. embassy spokesman in Quito said Gutierrez had made strides to show his interest in speaking with the Bush administration and improving ties with the United States. His predecessor was a vocal critic of several U.S. policies.

"Gutierrez has said he's ready to talk to the IMF, he's ready to talk to the U.S. He wants to improve the relationship. Why would you not want to do whatever you could to take him up on his offer?" he told Reuters.