Ecuador: Gutierrez's Misplaced Hopes

Ecuadorean President Lucio Gutierrez has infuriated his indigenous, union and leftist supporters by adopting free market policies, signing an aid deal with the International Monetary Fund and aligning his government closely with the Bush administration's security priorities in Latin America. Gutierrez might be hoping for a payoff in the form of substantially greater U.S. economic and development aid for Ecuador. However, the Bush administration likely will fail to meet his expectations, since Washington has much greater and costlier priorities elsewhere in the world.