The role of Colombia as the main strategic ally of USA in Latin America could be at risk due to the relationship that is growing between the US government and that of its peer, Ecuador.
These approaches have taken place both in the Capitol and in the White Houseand increase along with the presidential contest Colombia on May 29, in which several candidates have shown their position on how they would assume the role of being the United States’ maximum partner.
In what has to do with the progress in relations with Ecuador, two recent events appear in it that were not overlooked by both countries.
The first was the visit to Quito of Jill Biden –Joe’s wife–, a trip in which he met with the Ecuadorian president, Guillermo Lassoto talk about support for education and attendance at the next Summit of the Americas.
Regarding the second step in multilateral work, a recent bill that is advancing in the North American Congress called United States-Ecuador Association Law 2022.
The purpose of its author, the New York senator Robert Menendezis the cooperation in economic matters, sustainability and in the fight against corruption with the Lasso cabinet.
Those are the flags that Colombians and North Americans have always held. In fact, the president Ivan Duke reaffirmed that commitment in his meeting last March with Joe Bidenalliance ratified by the ambassador Philip S. Goldberg in an interview with EL COLOMBIANO.
And although the diplomat maintained that they are waiting for whoever occupies the House of Nariño, the alert about whether the friendship will continue with the change of president on August 7 has transcended the media.
The comment has been raised before a possible government of Gustavo Petroleading in all the polls and critical of the current relationship between the country and the United States.
Specifically, the leader of the Historical Pact does not agree with the management that has been given to the fight against drug trafficking and oil and coal issues.
Ties with Ecuador
Although it is rumored that the rapprochement between Ecuador and the United States responds to the elections in Colombia, Professor Carlos Builes –from the UdeA– maintains that this is not the case.
For him, the steps taken by Joe Biden and Senator Menéndez with their project to approach Ecuador are due to the mere change of president at the local level, since with Rafael Correa several alliances had been suspended.
In other words, with the arrival of Guillermo Lasso they are recovering the relationship they had lost for several years, something that has nothing to do with Colombia.
The coincidence of dates, however, did not go unnoticed, since what is being discussed in the Senate is to strengthen Ecuador in trade and investmenthand in hand with the United States Agency for International Development.
In addition, the bill seeks cooperation in matters of national security and thus serve other countries in the Western Hemisphere in order to maintain a region “politically stable and democratic that is resistant to malign foreign influence.”
Overall, since December 2019, Washington has given Ecuador about $440 million in financing.
The figure does not fall short of Lasso’s interests in positioning his country as a strategic friend of North America, in order to get more payments to help them recover from the pandemic and the migration crisis that they share with Colombia.
Alliances in the region
The approaches of the United States to Ecuador have the precedent that Joe Bien has also reduced some restrictions that he had on Venezuela.
Specifically, the intentions from North America are to open up to economic possibilities in oil matters between the Chevron and PDVSA companies.
President Duque –and the United States itself– described this as a triumph of diplomatic siege that they created against the policies of Nicolás Maduro.
Meanwhile, the project with which Ecuador would establish itself in cooperation with the north country was introduced in the upper chamber of the Capitol. In it, it must complete its legislative process and then be studied in the House of Representatives.
The days to find out if that alliance is finalized will be passed not only by the presidential contest in Colombia, but also by the elections to the US Congress, for which it is expected that the project will begin to move in the coming weeks.