Ecuador
has come under fire for scrutinizing non-profits like Accion
Ecologica, many of whom get millions from Europe and North America.
Part
4 - What Givers Want
The “work”
the United States has set out for Ecuador — according to a 2016
Office of Inspector General report on the U.S. embassy leaked by
WikiLeaks — is “to mitigate the effects of the contentious
political environment created by the Ecuadorean Government”
with the help of other government agencies, which play a “critical
role.”
The report,
intended for the eyes of the BBG and Congress, said the embassy was
“actively engaged with civil society leaders and nongovernmental
organizations to increase Ecuadorean awareness of and support for
U.S. policies and values, promote Ecuadorean civil society and
government accountability, and strengthen environmental initiatives.”
To set up a
climate conducive to U.S. meddling, the U.S. Government
Accountability Office included Ecuador on a shortlist with Colombia,
Egypt and the West Bank/Gaza the year Correa was elected to closely
study public opinion in “specific, targeted public awareness
campaigns.”
It also
either commissioned or was the beneficiary of a study from Stratfor,
a secretive intelligence company contracted by the State Department
and the U.S.’s multinational titans, which evaluated the extent to
which Ecuador is manipulable by NGOs. The 2013 report, leaked by
WikiLeaks, focused especially on how NGOs can influence trade policy
and corporate regulation. Its conclusion: based on a scale likely
defined in relation to other developing nations, Ecuador is fairly
resilient to NGO pressure but has submitted in certain instances.
USAID sends
hundreds of millions to local projects in Ecuador, some less
explicitly political, but some indirectly benefiting opposition
groups, according to U.S. Ambassador in Ecuador Adam Namm. BBG
affiliate, TeleAmazonas, has been accused of fomenting strong
opposition rhetoric against Correa. And the NED spends over US$1
million annually on dozens of local programs with broad objectives
like “promoting citizen oversight of elected officials,”
“monitoring due process and the independence of the judicial
system,” "monitoring the use of public resources in
government advertising" and "facilitating dialogue
and consensus on democracy."
Both
Germany’s BMZ and USAID are back in Ecuador following a deluge of
NGO activity after the April earthquake. The workload of the National
Ministry of Political Management has peaked ever since, said Pabon.
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