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Dead Constitution See other Dead Constitution Articles Title: US-Attempted Color Revolution in Ecuador? US-Attempted Color Revolution in Ecuador? by Stephen Lendman On September 30, 2010, US-orchestrated coup plotters shut down airports, blocked highways, took over an airbase, parliament and Quito streets - protesting a law restructuring police benefits despite President Raphael Correa doubling their wages. He was pelted with tear gas and hospitalized - then prevented from leaving when rebel police and coup plotters surrounded the building. After Ecuadorean military and special police forces rescued him, he announced a "coup d'etat attempt by opposition forces. They resorted to (violence) because they" can't win electorally, he said. "The conspiracy was planned long ago," he explained - indicating he knew where. Washington's dirty hands were all over what happened. Is history repeating now? On June 8, protests erupted in Ecuador over the phony pretext of small inheritance and capital gains tax increases affecting only wealthy citizens. Some participants carried placards saying "Oust the tyrant." Others chanted "The country is ours." Correa was heading for June 10-11 CELAC-EU summit in Belgium. Protests preceded his departure. He warned via Twitter about "same old people" planning a bourgeois revolution. (W)e are more, many more," he explained! He urged supporters to take care of the country in his absence, adding "(w)e will respond with an 'uprising of happiness' with the immense popular support we have…In 2017, we will beat them again." In recent weeks, Correa announced a series of progressive tax reforms benefitting most Ecuadoreans - including small inheritance and capital gains taxes to redistribute wealth more equitably. For example, a 0.7% increase on a $50,000 inheritance amounts to $350, affecting only three in 100,000 citizens. On Saturday, Correa announced a right-wing opposition coup plot. He urged Ecuadoreans to stay strong against their attacks. "They wanted to wear us down by 2016…but here, nobody gets tired. We're stronger than ever," he said. Correa supporters way outnumber opposition elements. Large numbers of police were deployed to prevent disruptions getting out of control. Telesur explained six key points about ongoing protests: 1. It's not a popular uprising. Ecuador's wealthy are protesting - about 2% of the population. Tax they face are far less than what well-off citizens pay in developed countries. Even with small tax increases, Ecuador's rich pay much less than their fair share. Their complaints ring hollow - an excuse to try destabilizing the government in hopes of replacing it with one serving their interests exclusively. 2. Disruptive protests are part of a regional (US-influenced) right-wing agenda. Hardliners know governments in countries like Ecuador and Venezuela enjoy widespread popular support. Their only chance to replace them is through destabilization, coups or foreign intervention. 3. Corporate controlled Ecuadorean media promote public protests - spreading willful disinformation claiming inheritance and capital gains tax increases will harm working households and destroy small family businesses. The truth is polar opposite. 4. Opposition hardliners supported by Washington tried ousting Correa before - explained above. Government supporters never forgot. Members of a September 30 Never Again Collective staged counter demonstrations and marches backing Correa. 5. Ecuador's Constitution mandates wealth redistribution. One of Correa's first reforms in his first term was writing a new Constitution - praised as one of the world's most equitable ones since its 2008 approval. Correa's inheritance tax increase is based on the Constitution's Article 3 stating: "The primary duties of the state are planning national development and eradicating poverty, promoting sustainable development and equitable distribution of resources and wealth in order to bring about Good Living." 6. Opposition hardliners know they can't defeat Correa electorally. In 2013, he was reelected with a 57% majority. If he runs as the Citizen's Revolution candidate in 2017, he's expected to win again easily. Destabilization, violence and other disruptive actions are the weapons used trying to replace him. In his book titled "Inside the Company: CIA Diary," former CIA operative Philip Agee explained how the Agency operated disruptively. In Ecuador from 1960 - 1963, it ousted two presidents, infiltrated key political parties and organizations, and caused disruptive actions blamed on leftist groups. At a March event on the occasion of a new book about subversive CIA actions in Ecuador, Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said the Agency's "secret policies continue (throughout) Latin America. Nothing that Philip Agee denounced…in the past has been discarded by the espionage seen in the present." It bears repeating. Like earlier 2010 Ecuadorean protests, ongoing ones have America's dirty fingerprints all over them. They're likely to be no more successful now than before. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs. 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#1. To: Stephen Lendman (#0)
A lot of these statistics are in dispute. The inheritance tax includes homes, and here the lower middle class homes start around $60k. With the starting inheritance tax rate at $35K, it's not the wealthy that are affect. The tax rate at the $35K level I've heard is much higher. Many cross sections of Ecuador society are growing weary of Correa's "reforms", which by the way are rubber stamped by Congress which he controls, as with courts. He also controls the media, imposing fines for their publishing articles that are not "respectful" of his administration. Claiming he is a dictator in public can earn one jail time, as it's considered defamation. Journalists have fled the country to escape being prosecuted. Recently he it's been reported that he stopped his motorcade to have a kid arrested for giving him an obscene gesture as he went by. He was spared jail in exchange for community service. In his last reelection, there would have been a run-off as he won fewer than 50% of the votes of those who voted, except due to a prior law change that said that those who did not vote for any candidate (none of the above) were not counted in the total tally, a fact that was not widely known at the time of voting. He has also changed the law since the last election eliminating term limits, allowing him to run again in 2017. The Constitution reform that was put through after his last election required a popular vote for approval. State tax money was spent campaigning in favor of the change.
Dear God. At least here, for now, our individual federal estate tax excludes the first 5M. “The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken
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