“Obama’s hands are tied” – Ecuador’s president

Ecuador's president thinks Barack Obama is a good man, but suggests Washington's powerful factions will stop him from doing his job.

Rafael Correa talked to RT, commenting on his three-day visit to Moscow, where he signed a raft of energy and military deals.

RT: Concerning Barack Obama, does it seem to you that there is enough foundation to establish a general opinion about him?

R.C.: Yes, I met him in person during our meeting, I think it was in Dominica, but I don’t remember the name of the place exactly. So, I had an opportunity to talk to him. He seems like a good guy to me, honest and well-intentioned. However, this is not enough. I’m afraid that he doesn’t rule the entire apparatus of the US administration. It is such a complex system that he doesn’t belong to. President Obama is an outsider. As a result, there may be certain military groups with their own agenda. There may be intelligence groups as well. There may be powerful economic interests, industrial groups with their own agenda, too. Therefore, I’m afraid that, in spite of his good intentions, Obama won’t be able to change the system. That’s what we’ve seen so far. For example, regarding the Cuban embargo or the coup d'état in Honduras. If there was a firmer US stance, this coup would end tomorrow. But there isn’t. My fear is that, despite Barack Obama being a good and well-intentioned person, the inertia of the US apparatus is overpowering him.

RT: What do you think about the fact that the US dollar is still the official monetary unit of Ecuador?

R.C.: I was always against the US dollar, it’s seems a huge technical mistake to me. An important part of a country’s sovereignty is having its own monetary unit. In one of his movies, the actor Luis Everett said: “Let me introduce a currency in a country, and I’ll laugh at its legislation.” That is, by managing a currency in a country one can destabilize the situation in it or enrich oneself. I believe that it was a monstrosity in terms of sovereignty. I wasn’t the one who introduced it. Actually, at that time, I was in the United States. Unfortunately, there are economic issues you may get into, but are unable to get out of.