Ecuador's President Rafael Correa believes that with the new Constitution to be drafted by the Constituent Assembly, his country will be open to responsible foreign investment, as well as international banking.
"We have absolutely nothing against foreign investment. Foreign investment that fulfills its obligations to its workers, users, the environment, and the State by paying taxes is welcome with all enthusiasm," Correa said at a meeting with the foreign press at the Carondelet Palace, the seat of the Executive branch.
Correa, a 44-year-old economist, pointed out that "foreign investment that still sees us as a colony, that can make a clean sweep of the country and its legal principles, is not welcome and will receive a clear response from a sovereign country and government."
Referring to oil companies, he noted that contracts are currently being renegotiated with about four foreign companies, as the State believes it should receive more money given the increase in the price of a barrel of oil.
The president indicated that the renegotiation underway is "amicable" and reiterated that the current contracts are "tremendously detrimental" to Ecuador.
Correa, leader of the Alianza País party, which according to his unofficial calculations would win about 80 of the 130 seats in the Assembly elected yesterday, said that on the issue of natural resources the Constitution must be respected.
It states that natural resources belong to the State, so it is not necessary to nationalize hydrocarbons as happened in Bolivia, he said, adding that a new mining law will be drafted, considering the current one to be "a disaster".
Regarding contracts with cell phone companies, including Movistar, of Spanish origin, Correa indicated that the concessions will be renegotiated before next December and praised that this company is "more compliant" than its main competitor in this country, Porta, of Mexican capital.
When referring to ownership, Correa indicated that not only private property will be discussed, but also cooperatives, associations and mixed enterprises, among other forms.
He announced an opening to international banking: "We are going to try, by all means, to bring foreign banks into the financial system so that there is competition," he stressed.
Regarding the external debt, he said he will seek a restructuring, probably with a renegotiation based on "market instruments, taking out expensive debt to acquire new cheap debt."
The head of state asserted that the new Constitution requires changes in institutional structures, since until now, in several aspects, "his hands are tied" when it comes to using public money to develop projects for the country.
"There is money, but everything is under 3.000 locks, basically in order to have guarantees to pay external debt," he lamented.
He recalled that the 1998 Assembly "tried to impose neoliberalism and dismantled all planning in this country," so he pointed out that "the State's planning capacity must be rebuilt."
"We must reverse the atrocities that have caused so much harm, such as the autonomy of the Central Bank. They are autonomous with respect to democratic controls by the people, but they are quite dependent on and manipulative towards national and international banks and the International Monetary Fund," he said.
He criticized the fact that the Constitution, which comes from the 1998 Assembly, also allows the privatization of water, "which is not a commodity."
"We need to dismantle that entire economic model from 1998 and carry out a profound political reform to truly have a representative and much more participatory democracy," he added.
Correa insisted that the Assembly, before which he will make his position available, must dissolve Parliament and create a Legislative Commission to which they will present a dozen laws for study, including: the law on competencies, public purchases, public contracting, and the tax reform.
He added that among the reforms in the Assembly is the need to have a single treasury account, which would prevent the money from being in several accounts as is currently the case, where, due to this system, "7.000 billion dollars are scattered."
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