Channeling former White
House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel and his famous quip, Ecuadorean President
Rafael Correa is seizing the country's latest crisis as an opportunity to
consolidate his power with the aim of ramming through a radical reform agenda
over the objections of his domestic opposition. Displaying an uncanny instinct
for outmaneuvering his rivals -- reminiscent of his fellow radical populists
Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales -- Correa quickly turned around what began as a
police protest against cuts in benefits into high drama designed to discredit
the democratic opposition and drum up international support for his regime. Citing
no evidence, Correa quickly deemed the police strike (an inexcusable abdication
of professional responsibility) as a "coup attempt" by the opposition and
fanned the flames of crisis and instability by traveling to police headquarters
to confront police, tearing off his tie, and challenging them to "kill
me" where he stood.
While Thursday's events
were no doubt exploited by sundry opportunists trying to turn up the heat on
President Correa, the president's own inflammatory rhetoric and actions only
made things worse. Like Chavez and Morales, Correa has a predilection for
unilateral action, belittling his opponents, and creating crisis atmospheres. In
recent days, after his proposed economic reforms lost the support of his own
party, Correa threatened to dissolve Congress and rule by decree until new
elections were held.
After Thursday's crisis
had passed, Correa showed every indication of pressing his advantage. "I'm not
going to negotiate absolutely anything," he said,
adding, "Nothing will be forgiven and nothing will be forgotten." Central Bank
President Diego Borja further tipped the government's hand by asserting, "This
gives us much more energy to deepen changes. Now we can really move the
citizens' revolution forward on all fronts."
Correa continues to
maintain high approval numbers and last year became the first Ecuadorean
president to win two terms in office. But as Chavez has shown, bombast and
confrontation may work for a time as a governing strategy, but
eventually people tire of the rancor as their concerns return to
bread-and-butter issues that impact their daily lives, like the economy and
crime. Correa would be wise to recognize that, and the underlying tensions in
his country, and adjust his style accordingly. As for outside observers, they
should be wary of falling into the populists' trap where every presidential
action is ipso facto deemed legitimate, and the actions of the
democratic opposition to defend their rights are just as readily discredited.
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