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style="display:none;font-size:1px;color:#333333;line-height:1px;max-height:0px;max-width:0px;opacity:0;overflow:hidden;">Ecuador's
        Trump-backed right-wing oligarch President Daniel Noboa tried to
        rewrite the constitution to allow US military bases in the
        country's territory. 61% of Ecuadorians voted against it.</div>
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href="https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=457596&amp;post_id=179217646&amp;utm_source=post-email-title&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=lvppb&amp;token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozNjc1MTU4MywicG9zdF9pZCI6MTc5MjE3NjQ2LCJpYXQiOjE3NjM0NzUyNTYsImV4cCI6MTc2NjA2NzI1NiwiaXNzIjoicHViLTQ1NzU5NiIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.nUi1WfSlMjJ-oma3Cck2WjiiES19Cqq7DR1q7mj5gWY"
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                        moz-do-not-send="true">Big loss for US empire:
                        Ecuador votes to reject foreign military bases</a></h1>
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style="direction: auto;text-align: start;unicode-bidi: isolate;font-family: 'SF Pro Display',-apple-system-headline,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';font-weight: normal;-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing: antialiased;-webkit-appearance: optimizelegibility;-moz-appearance: optimizelegibility;appearance: optimizelegibility;margin: 4px 0 0;color: #777777;line-height: 24px;font-size: 18px;margin-top: 12px;">Ecuador's
                      Trump-backed right-wing oligarch President Daniel
                      Noboa tried to rewrite the constitution to allow
                      US military bases in the country's territory. 61%
                      of Ecuadorians voted against it.</h3>
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href="https://substack.com/@benjaminnorton" moz-do-not-send="true">Ben
                                                Norton</a></div>
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datetime="2025-11-18T14:14:11.236Z">Nov 18, 2025</time></div>
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style="text-align: initial;font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;width: 100%;word-break: break-word;margin-bottom: 16px;font-family: 'Roboto Slab',sans-serif;font-weight: 400;">
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style="font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;margin: 32px auto;margin-top: 0;">
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                          border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
                          data-component-name="Image2ToDOMStatic"
                          style="mso-padding-alt: 1em 0 1.6em;">
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                              <td style="text-align: center;"></td>
                              <td class="content" align="left"
                                width="1200" style="text-align: center;"><a
                                  class="image-link" target="_blank"
href="https://substack.com/redirect/447cf68b-5bb3-4965-be65-15cc4d71e080?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
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                                    alt="" width="550" height="309.375"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QlVk!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F777d5555-330a-408a-a90b-ab1a582b7611_1280x720.jpeg"
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                    </div>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>The
                        Donald Trump administration is trying to expand
                        the presence of the US military across Latin
                        America, in an attempt to </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/79569bfc-6534-4502-a1f7-5213f28d01b5?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">forcibly impose
                        Washington\u2019s hegemony in the region</a><span>.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">The
                      people of Ecuador just delivered a major blow to
                      Trump\u2019s aggressive Latin America strategy.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">More
                      than three-fifths of Ecuadorians voted to reject a
                      change to their progressive constitution, which
                      would have allowed the Pentagon to establish US
                      military bases in their territory.</p>
                    <div
class="video-player-with-background is-static video-player-wrapper"
                      role="region" aria-label="Video player"
style="flex-grow: 1;font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;margin-top: 0.5em;"><a
class="video-player video-player-with-background"
href="https://substack.com/redirect/4f63ad5b-4775-4cb6-aa78-ff76db46aca4?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
style="position: relative;display: block;width: 100%;cursor: pointer;background-color: rgb(0,0,0);height: auto;border-radius: 8px;padding-bottom: 0"
                        moz-do-not-send="true"><img
                          class="video-player-preview" width="550"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_ryX!,w_1100,h_1100,c_pad,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/l_play_button_usfui2,w_144,e_colorize:0/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-video.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fvideo_upload%2Fpost%2F179217646%2Fa3a0d535-6ce6-48fa-8d62-97482838b418%2Ftranscoded-1763469691.png"
                          data-component-name="VideoPlayer-PreviewImg"
data-testid="video-player-static-preview-image"
style="border: none !important;vertical-align: middle;display: block;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;max-width: 100%;height: auto;margin: 0 auto;width: 100%;max-height: 100%;background: black;cursor: pointer;position: relative;border-radius: 8px;"
                          moz-do-not-send="true"></a></div>
                    <h3 class="header-anchor-post"
style="position: relative;font-family: 'SF Pro Display',-apple-system-headline,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';font-weight: bold;-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing: antialiased;-webkit-appearance: optimizelegibility;-moz-appearance: optimizelegibility;appearance: optimizelegibility;margin: 1em 0 0.625em 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 1.16em;font-size: 1.375em;">Ecuador\u2019s
                      Trump-backed right-wing oligarch President Daniel
                      Noboa</h3>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Ecuador
                      is currently governed by a right-wing president,
                      Daniel Noboa, who is a key regional ally of Trump.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Noboa
                      is the son of Ecuador\u2019s richest billionaire
                      oligarch, Álvaro Noboa \u2014 who ran as a presidential
                      candidate in five different elections on a
                      hard-line right-wing platform, but lost every time
                      (in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2009, and 2013).</p>
                    <div class="captioned-image-container-static"
style="font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;margin: 32px auto;">
                      <figure style="width: 100%;margin: 0 auto;">
                        <table class="image-wrapper" width="100%"
                          border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
                          data-component-name="Image2ToDOMStatic"
                          style="mso-padding-alt: 1em 0 1.6em;">
                          <tbody>
                            <tr>
                              <td style="text-align: center;"></td>
                              <td class="content" align="left"
                                width="1191" style="text-align: center;"><a
                                  class="image-link" target="_blank"
href="https://substack.com/redirect/d5897fc3-544a-4f87-b6e4-3847565bb452?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                                  rel=""
style="position: relative;flex-direction: column;align-items: center;padding: 0;width: auto;height: auto;border: none;text-decoration: none;display: block;margin: 0;"
                                  moz-do-not-send="true"><img
                                    class="wide-image"
data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/e16b1a34-f2e1-4803-8d47-f04dfb133154_1191x670.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:670,&quot;width&quot;:1191,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:112289,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.geopoliticaleconomy.report/i/179217646?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe16b1a34-f2e1-4803-8d47-f04dfb133154_1191x670.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}"
                                    alt="" width="550"
                                    height="309.4038623005877"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TcMV!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe16b1a34-f2e1-4803-8d47-f04dfb133154_1191x670.jpeg"
style="border: none !important;vertical-align: middle;display: block;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;height: auto;margin-bottom: 0;width: auto !important;max-width: 100% !important;margin: 0 auto;"
                                    moz-do-not-send="true"></a></td>
                              <td style="text-align: center;"></td>
                            </tr>
                          </tbody>
                        </table>
                        <figcaption class="image-caption"
style="box-sizing: content-box;color: #777777;font-size: 14px;line-height: 20px;font-weight: 400;letter-spacing: -.15px;margin-top: 8px;width: 70%;padding-left: 15%;padding-right: 15%;text-align: center;">Ecuador\u2019s
                          President Daniel Noboa giving an award to his
                          oligarch father, Álvaro Noboa</figcaption></figure>
                    </div>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Daniel
                      Noboa\u2019s grandfather, Luis Noboa, was also the
                      richest man in Ecuador in the 20th century. The
                      family patriarch worked for the Standard Fruit
                      Company, now known as Dole, and established a
                      massive exporting dynasty, specializing in the
                      export of bananas.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>The
                        Noboa family is notorious for its corruption and
                      </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/8b02e352-bb55-4d0b-bbac-beb34e3a4097?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">close links to drug
                        trafficking and organized crime</a><span>.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Daniel
                      Noboa is the third member of the Noboa dynasty to
                      serve as president of Ecuador.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>Noboa
                        is also a </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/af9031ce-4244-4b0d-80c3-b1a0cfb43c9b?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">dual citizen of the
                        United States</a><span> \u2014 and his Ecuadorian
                        critics say that is where his </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/081fb67c-0156-4edf-97c9-53645f5c5981?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">true loyalty</a><span>
                        lies.</span></p>
                    <div class="captioned-image-container-static"
style="font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;margin: 32px auto;">
                      <figure style="width: 100%;margin: 0 auto;">
                        <table class="image-wrapper" width="100%"
                          border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
                          data-component-name="Image2ToDOMStatic"
                          style="mso-padding-alt: 1em 0 1.6em;">
                          <tbody>
                            <tr>
                              <td style="text-align: center;"></td>
                              <td class="content" align="left"
                                width="1295" style="text-align: center;"><a
                                  class="image-link" target="_blank"
href="https://substack.com/redirect/1a94dae0-e414-44f1-9657-ab3d8cc9d743?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                                  rel=""
style="position: relative;flex-direction: column;align-items: center;padding: 0;width: auto;height: auto;border: none;text-decoration: none;display: block;margin: 0;"
                                  moz-do-not-send="true"><img
                                    class="wide-image"
data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/718ae9ca-4beb-44b5-8a67-1ecfde29c942_1295x1207.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1207,&quot;width&quot;:1295,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1246579,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.geopoliticaleconomy.report/i/179217646?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F718ae9ca-4beb-44b5-8a67-1ecfde29c942_1295x1207.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}"
                                    alt="" width="550"
                                    height="512.6254826254826"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ztCh!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F718ae9ca-4beb-44b5-8a67-1ecfde29c942_1295x1207.png"
style="border: none !important;vertical-align: middle;display: block;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;height: auto;margin-bottom: 0;width: auto !important;max-width: 100% !important;margin: 0 auto;"
                                    moz-do-not-send="true"></a></td>
                              <td style="text-align: center;"></td>
                            </tr>
                          </tbody>
                        </table>
                        <figcaption class="image-caption"
style="box-sizing: content-box;color: #777777;font-size: 14px;line-height: 20px;font-weight: 400;letter-spacing: -.15px;margin-top: 8px;width: 70%;padding-left: 15%;padding-right: 15%;text-align: center;">Daniel
                          Noboa and his Instagram influencer wife,
                          Lavinia Valbonesi, with Donald Trump</figcaption></figure>
                    </div>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>Noboa
                        was born in Miami, Florida, and he was educated
                        in the US. In fact, just two months after he was
                        inaugurated as president of Ecuador, Noboa
                        returned to Miami so his wife, an Instagram
                        influencer, could </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/917ec1a8-f2b3-4b0c-b311-038c08fb4b69?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">give birth to their child
                        on US soil</a><span>, guaranteeing him US
                        citizenship.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>As
                        president, Noboa has been widely accused of </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/e243b99a-2d55-42df-aef8-6a22cbff2ef9?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">dictatorial tendencies</a><span>.
                        He has publicly </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/130d6fbf-9522-4a48-8d7a-78d221be08b6?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">made fun of left-wing
                        political prisoners</a><span>, and threatened to
                        imprison more political rivals.</span></p>
                    <h3 class="header-anchor-post"
style="position: relative;font-family: 'SF Pro Display',-apple-system-headline,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';font-weight: bold;-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing: antialiased;-webkit-appearance: optimizelegibility;-moz-appearance: optimizelegibility;appearance: optimizelegibility;margin: 1em 0 0.625em 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 1.16em;font-size: 1.375em;">Ecuadorians
                      reject Daniel Noboa\u2019s attempt to change the
                      constitution</h3>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">One
                      of Noboa\u2019s key goals has been to change Ecuador\u2019s
                      constitution, which is one of the most progressive
                      in the world.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Ecuador\u2019s
                      constitution bans foreign countries from creating
                      military bases in its territory.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Noboa
                      held a referendum on 16 November to try to change
                      the constitution to permit the US to open military
                      bases in Ecuador.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>The
                        measure was rejected in a landslide, with 61% of
                        Ecuadorians voting against it, according to the
                        official </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/6a9736a6-c5b5-4801-a8b2-3b4f8a17205d?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">results from the National
                        Electoral Council (CNE)</a><span>.</span></p>
                    <div class="captioned-image-container-static"
style="font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;margin: 32px auto;">
                      <figure style="width: 100%;margin: 0 auto;">
                        <table class="image-wrapper" width="100%"
                          border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
                          data-component-name="Image2ToDOMStatic"
                          style="mso-padding-alt: 1em 0 1.6em;">
                          <tbody>
                            <tr>
                              <td style="text-align: center;"></td>
                              <td class="content" align="left"
                                width="1335" style="text-align: center;"><a
                                  class="image-link" target="_blank"
href="https://substack.com/redirect/2b30b512-c097-4303-9201-291b1618cf21?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                                  rel=""
style="position: relative;flex-direction: column;align-items: center;padding: 0;width: auto;height: auto;border: none;text-decoration: none;display: block;margin: 0;"
                                  moz-do-not-send="true"><img
                                    class="wide-image"
data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/e7786031-0f33-4bb1-ba8c-8b9f1960fad5_1335x588.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:588,&quot;width&quot;:1335,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:63153,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.geopoliticaleconomy.report/i/179217646?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe7786031-0f33-4bb1-ba8c-8b9f1960fad5_1335x588.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}"
                                    alt="" width="550"
                                    height="242.24719101123594"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-psH!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe7786031-0f33-4bb1-ba8c-8b9f1960fad5_1335x588.png"
style="border: none !important;vertical-align: middle;display: block;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;height: auto;margin-bottom: 0;width: auto !important;max-width: 100% !important;margin: 0 auto;"
                                    moz-do-not-send="true"></a></td>
                              <td style="text-align: center;"></td>
                            </tr>
                          </tbody>
                        </table>
                      </figure>
                    </div>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">In
                      the referendum, Noboa proposed four measures.
                      Voters rejected all of them.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">The
                      second measure sought to end public funding of
                      political parties in Ecuador\u2019s elections, which
                      would have given wealthy right-wing forces like
                      the oligarchic Noboa dynasty even more power. That
                      measure was rejected with 58% of the votes against
                      it.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Another
                      measure proposed a constituent assembly to rewrite
                      the entire constitution. That was rejected with
                      62% of the votes in opposition.</p>
                    <h3 class="header-anchor-post"
style="position: relative;font-family: 'SF Pro Display',-apple-system-headline,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';font-weight: bold;-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing: antialiased;-webkit-appearance: optimizelegibility;-moz-appearance: optimizelegibility;appearance: optimizelegibility;margin: 1em 0 0.625em 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 1.16em;font-size: 1.375em;">The
                      war on Ecuador\u2019s leftist former President Rafael
                      Correa</h3>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Ecuador\u2019s
                      current, progressive constitution was drafted
                      during the government of socialist former
                      President Rafael Correa, who served from 2007 to
                      2017.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">When
                      Correa campaigned for president in the 2006
                      election, a key part of his left-wing platform was
                      a call for a constituent assembly to write a new
                      constitution.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">A
                      new, progressive constitution was approved in a
                      2008 referendum, with 64% of the votes in support,
                      and just 28% against it.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>In
                        2009, </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/fb988a87-2a1b-4d16-963f-1a16afa4a7aa?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">Correa kicked US troops
                        out of Ecuador</a><span>, and closed US military
                        bases in his country\u2019s territory.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>Washington
                        supported a </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/234c0aec-53a9-4e78-aff7-994f707a680f?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">failed right-wing coup
                        attempt against Correa</a><span> in 2010.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">One
                      of Correa\u2019s right-wing opponents in the 2006,
                      2009, and 2013 elections \u2014 all of which he won by
                      a large margin \u2014 was Álvaro Noboa, Ecuador\u2019s
                      richest billionaire oligarch, and the father of
                      current President Daniel Noboa.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Correa,
                      who has a PhD in economics, opposed neoliberalism
                      and rejected Ecuador\u2019s history of taking on debt
                      from the US-dominated International Monetary Fund
                      (IMF) and World Bank.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Correa
                      significantly reduced poverty, inequality, and
                      violence. He declared a \u201cCitizens\u2019 Revolution\u201d,
                      based on what he called \u201c21st-century socialism\u201d.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">During
                      Correa\u2019s three terms, Ecuador formed closed ties
                      with China. It also promoted Latin American
                      integration, hosting the headquarters of UNASUR,
                      the Union of South American Nations.</p>
                    <div class="captioned-image-container-static"
style="font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;margin: 32px auto;">
                      <figure style="width: 100%;margin: 0 auto;">
                        <table class="image-wrapper" width="100%"
                          border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
                          data-component-name="Image2ToDOMStatic"
                          style="mso-padding-alt: 1em 0 1.6em;">
                          <tbody>
                            <tr>
                              <td style="text-align: center;"></td>
                              <td class="content" align="left"
                                width="1456" style="text-align: center;"><a
                                  class="image-link" target="_blank"
href="https://substack.com/redirect/6adb0c7a-fc06-4b03-80d7-ca6deb9ef5e2?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                                  rel=""
style="position: relative;flex-direction: column;align-items: center;padding: 0;width: auto;height: auto;border: none;text-decoration: none;display: block;margin: 0;"
                                  moz-do-not-send="true"><img
                                    class="wide-image"
data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/0a1b5fd6-cc1d-45c0-8aab-615f5f1fdaa7_5141x3427.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:971,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1728514,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.geopoliticaleconomy.report/i/179217646?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a1b5fd6-cc1d-45c0-8aab-615f5f1fdaa7_5141x3427.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}"
                                    alt="" width="550"
                                    height="366.7925824175824"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1nDm!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a1b5fd6-cc1d-45c0-8aab-615f5f1fdaa7_5141x3427.jpeg"
style="border: none !important;vertical-align: middle;display: block;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;height: auto;margin-bottom: 0;width: auto !important;max-width: 100% !important;margin: 0 auto;"
                                    moz-do-not-send="true"></a></td>
                              <td style="text-align: center;"></td>
                            </tr>
                          </tbody>
                        </table>
                        <figcaption class="image-caption"
style="box-sizing: content-box;color: #777777;font-size: 14px;line-height: 20px;font-weight: 400;letter-spacing: -.15px;margin-top: 8px;width: 70%;padding-left: 15%;padding-right: 15%;text-align: center;">Rafael
                          Correa at a meeting with leaders of other
                          countries in the Bolivarian Alliance for the
                          Peoples of Our America (ALBA)</figcaption></figure>
                    </div>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>Under
                        Correa, Ecuador joined the Bolivarian Alliance
                        for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), which
                        promoted de-dollarization. The ALBA even created
                        a new currency for regional trade, to </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/78f7b7b6-469c-42ad-b991-075fcea43774?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">challenge the dominance
                        of the US dollar</a><span>, called the Sucre.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>Today,
                        Correa is living in exile as a victim of
                        political persecution, because right-wing,
                        US-backed authorities in Ecuador formally
                        charged him with the \u201ccrime\u201d of so-called \u201c</span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/737948fd-ffb4-4848-9600-90acfacedec9?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">psychic influence</a><span>\u201d
                        over his left-wing followers.</span></p>
                    <h3 class="header-anchor-post"
style="position: relative;font-family: 'SF Pro Display',-apple-system-headline,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';font-weight: bold;-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing: antialiased;-webkit-appearance: optimizelegibility;-moz-appearance: optimizelegibility;appearance: optimizelegibility;margin: 1em 0 0.625em 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 1.16em;font-size: 1.375em;">The
                      Trump administration revives the colonial Monroe
                      Doctrine \u2014 and supports drug-trafficking oligarchs</h3>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">While
                      all US presidents have intervened in Latin America
                      and violated the sovereignty of countries in the
                      region, Donald Trump has made this a key priority
                      of his aggressive foreign policy.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>The
                        Trump administration has proudly sought to </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/40a668b2-b432-4f58-a8cf-d56cfcc26d9c?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">revive the 202-year
                        Monroe Doctrine</a><span>, which treats Latin
                        America as the colonial \u201cbackyard\u201d of the US
                        empire.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>Trump
                        has </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/1ecf5c84-0257-4a3e-b644-b6f7b436ab0b?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">waged war on Venezuela</a><span>,
                        seeking to overthrow its President Nicolás
                        Maduro. The Trump administration also imposed
                        sanctions on Colombia\u2019s left-wing President
                        Gustavo Petro, and hit Nicaragua\u2019s revolutionary
                        Sandinista government with more unilateral
                        sanctions.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Washington
                      has pressured Latin American governments to allow
                      the US military to open bases in their territory.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>Argentina\u2019s
                        right-wing, self-declared \u201clibertarian\u201d
                        President Javier Milei \u2014 one of Trump\u2019s closest
                        allies in the region \u2014 has pushed through
                        executive orders that declare a constitutional
                        exception to </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/c112f575-299f-41c9-b60a-59d900cfb116?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">give the US military
                        access to Argentine territory</a><span>.</span></p>
                    <div class="captioned-image-container-static"
style="font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;margin: 32px auto;">
                      <figure style="width: 100%;margin: 0 auto;">
                        <table class="image-wrapper" width="100%"
                          border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
                          data-component-name="Image2ToDOMStatic"
                          style="mso-padding-alt: 1em 0 1.6em;">
                          <tbody>
                            <tr>
                              <td style="text-align: center;"></td>
                              <td class="content" align="left"
                                width="1456" style="text-align: center;"><a
                                  class="image-link" target="_blank"
href="https://substack.com/redirect/448f27e2-1e63-4efe-845f-807859b27098?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                                  rel=""
style="position: relative;flex-direction: column;align-items: center;padding: 0;width: auto;height: auto;border: none;text-decoration: none;display: block;margin: 0;"
                                  moz-do-not-send="true"><img
                                    class="wide-image"
data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/b79ebe20-19ae-44db-9d86-bff3bf1bf86b_1920x1080.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:819,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:276393,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.geopoliticaleconomy.report/i/179217646?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb79ebe20-19ae-44db-9d86-bff3bf1bf86b_1920x1080.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}"
                                    alt="" width="550" height="309.375"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hY60!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb79ebe20-19ae-44db-9d86-bff3bf1bf86b_1920x1080.jpeg"
style="border: none !important;vertical-align: middle;display: block;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;height: auto;margin-bottom: 0;width: auto !important;max-width: 100% !important;margin: 0 auto;"
                                    moz-do-not-send="true"></a></td>
                              <td style="text-align: center;"></td>
                            </tr>
                          </tbody>
                        </table>
                        <figcaption class="image-caption"
style="box-sizing: content-box;color: #777777;font-size: 14px;line-height: 20px;font-weight: 400;letter-spacing: -.15px;margin-top: 8px;width: 70%;padding-left: 15%;padding-right: 15%;text-align: center;">Argentina\u2019s
                          right-wing libertarian President Javier Milei
                          and his corrupt sister and chief of staff,
                          Karina Milei, take orders from their boss,
                          Donald Trump</figcaption></figure>
                    </div>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">To
                      justify its neocolonial attacks on Latin America
                      and its meddling in the region\u2019s internal affairs,
                      the Trump administration has claimed that it is
                      supposedly fighting drug trafficking.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">However,
                      the US government is allied with some of the worst
                      drug traffickers in the region.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>One
                        of the most loyal US allies in Latin America is
                        Colombia\u2019s right-wing former President Álvaro
                        Uribe. US intelligence has admitted that he is
                        among </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/238d63a3-3cea-4790-8827-2fb3fc37c5b4?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">the most \u201cimportant
                        Colombian narco-traffickers\u201d</a><span>, but he
                        has never faced any consequences, because
                        Washington has always supported him.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>In
                        fact, Trump\u2019s Secretary of State and National
                        Security Advisor </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/40a668b2-b432-4f58-a8cf-d56cfcc26d9c?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">Marco Rubio has publicly
                        defended Uribe</a><span>, amid widespread
                        accusations of corruption.</span></p>
                    <div class="captioned-image-container-static"
style="font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;margin: 32px auto;">
                      <figure style="width: 100%;margin: 0 auto;">
                        <table class="image-wrapper" width="100%"
                          border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
                          data-component-name="Image2ToDOMStatic"
                          style="mso-padding-alt: 1em 0 1.6em;">
                          <tbody>
                            <tr>
                              <td style="text-align: center;"></td>
                              <td class="content" align="left"
                                width="1024" style="text-align: center;"><a
                                  class="image-link" target="_blank"
href="https://substack.com/redirect/157cf971-3e35-496c-a47e-c5f6904bc93a?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                                  rel=""
style="position: relative;flex-direction: column;align-items: center;padding: 0;width: auto;height: auto;border: none;text-decoration: none;display: block;margin: 0;"
                                  moz-do-not-send="true"><img
                                    class="wide-image"
data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/f832dd91-fc82-424b-9f38-2de6899b2015_1024x762.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:762,&quot;width&quot;:1024,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:85543,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.geopoliticaleconomy.report/i/179217646?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff832dd91-fc82-424b-9f38-2de6899b2015_1024x762.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}"
                                    alt="" width="550"
                                    height="409.27734375"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HVv2!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff832dd91-fc82-424b-9f38-2de6899b2015_1024x762.jpeg"
style="border: none !important;vertical-align: middle;display: block;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;height: auto;margin-bottom: 0;width: auto !important;max-width: 100% !important;margin: 0 auto;"
                                    moz-do-not-send="true"></a></td>
                              <td style="text-align: center;"></td>
                            </tr>
                          </tbody>
                        </table>
                        <figcaption class="image-caption"
style="box-sizing: content-box;color: #777777;font-size: 14px;line-height: 20px;font-weight: 400;letter-spacing: -.15px;margin-top: 8px;width: 70%;padding-left: 15%;padding-right: 15%;text-align: center;">Marco
                          Rubio with Colombia\u2019s right-wing
                          drug-trafficker Álvaro Uribe in 2014</figcaption></figure>
                    </div>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Ecuador
                      is an even clearer example of the US government\u2019s
                      extreme double standards on drug trafficking.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;margin-bottom: 0;"><span>The
                        Noboa dynasty owns private ports in Ecuador, and
                        police documents show that Noboa family
                        companies have used these to </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/8b02e352-bb55-4d0b-bbac-beb34e3a4097?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">smuggle cocaine in banana
                        crates</a><span>.</span></p>
                  </div>
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