When Ecuador Elected a Free Market President

Atlas’s president, Alex Chafuen, has a story about when he first met my father, Romulo Lopez-Sabando,  in 1985. Alex asked him what the biggest challenge for free markets in Ecuador was. My dad replied, “Winning the country’s presidency”.

My father was president of the Chamber of Industries of Guayaquil, where he fought alongside Leon Febres- Cordero,( former president of the Chamber and a Congressman) for free market reforms. Their efforts were so successful that in 1984, Febres-Cordero won the presidency. Not only did he win, he won while preaching a free market message. The left called him “the most insolent oligarchy’s messenger ” for being so straightforward in his arguments for free markets.

Ecuador talked about free market reforms in Latin America  before Argentina, Peru, Brazil or Venezuela; on a continent where the only other free market option was Chile under Pinochet’s dictatorship. As is always the way, Ecuadoreans have been the first ones to talk about many reforms, like dollarization and privatization, but the last ones to actually implement these reforms. No free market reforms or privatizations were ever accomplished (except for a bank privatization) under Febres-Cordero’s government. Their only success was fighting against the guerrillas, and literally wiping them out. His government became the favorite whipping boy of the Ecuadorean left.

Later on, as mayor of his hometown Guayaquil, he recovered his political image by transforming the city from an ” American Calcutta”(no offense to Calcutta)  into a decent and livable place. I had the chance to ask Febres-Cordero (thanks to my dad’s friendship with him) why he never implemented any free market reforms during his presidency, given his admiration for Ludwig Earhart’s reforms in Germany. His only response was that the special interest groups made reforms impossible.

You can view Leon Febres-Cordero’s obituary in the Washington Post. I might add, that due to his failure to implement the reforms he  so ardently called for, it has been difficult to promote free markets in Ecuador. He was a great leader for Ecuador, but his great opportunity to implement lasting reform was squandered. His is a classic example of Hayek’s warning to Atlas’s founder, Antony Fisher against getting involved with politics in order to advance reforms.

It was not until recently, thanks to the steady work of Dora Ampuero (Instituto Ecuatoriano de Economia Politica established in 1991) and others (too many to name here) like my father, university students, Movimiento Libertario in Quito (Juan Fernando Carpio) and most recently Fundacion Ecuador Libre (winner of a 2008 Fisher Venture Grant), that the bad reputation left by Febres-Cordero has slowly been cleared away.  Little by litte the people of Ecuador are coming to appreciate the need for free market reforms, especially after the Pro-Chavez-Castro regime of Rafael Correa.

Originally posted here

The Benefits of inmigration

The National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) features an interesting article appeared some time ago on theWSJ on the net benefits of inmigration. 

La tragicomedia de la deuda.

Ver mi ultimo comentario sobre el análisis de la deuda de Gustavo Coronel.

http://www.cambiemosecuador.com/2008/12/tragicomedia-ec.html

See my last comment (spanish) about the analysis by Gustavo Coronel regarding Ecuador's debt repudial.

http://www.cambiemosecuador.com/2008/12/tragicomedia-ec.html

Tragicomedia: Ecuatoriana con produccion venezolana

Gustavo Coronel de Venezuela acaba de publicar un análisis del análisis (valga la rebundancia)de la deuda ecuatoriana hecha por el gobierno de Rafael Correa.  En momentos de crisis económica mundial el Presidente ha decidido aislar al país de los circulos financieros y empeorar la situación del sector privado al ponerlo en riesgo de no conseguir lineas de crédito por incumplimiento del gobierno.  Si bien aplaudo que se investigue la deuda usada ilegitimamente me parece una soberana estupidez negarse a asumir responsabilidad por las tonterías de gobiernos pasados.

Tal vez esto debería motivar una prohibición constitucional a que el gobierno se endeude con los contribuyentes o con los organismos financieros internacionales o que se emitan bonos de deuda.  En todo caso les copio el informe de Gustavo Coronel y para los curiosos les anexoel informe completo de la deuda.

Download DeudaECAnalisis.pdf

Update:  Me acaban de comentar que el enlace correcto es este:

http://www.auditoriadeuda.org.ec/

No más regulación

La semana pasada me entrevistaron durante mi visita a Ecuador en el programa Tribuna Liberal del Instituto Ecuatoriano de Economía Política (IEEP).  Durante dicha entrevista me preguntaron sobre la actual crisis económica en los Estados Unidos y si esta significa más o menos regulación a futuro.  A continuación el video.