On January 7, Adolfo Macias, known as “Fito”, a leader of an Ecuadorian drug cartel, escaped from prison, which sparked uprisings across the country. In response, President Daniel Noboa declared a national state of emergency and decreed that the country is in a state of internal conflict, listing 20 gangs as terrorist groups. Clearing the FOG spoke with Alex Main of the Center for Economic Policy and Research about the conditions that have led to growing poverty, insecurity and violence in Ecuador. Main explains how the United States is exploiting the current situation to justify sending US weapons and military personnel to to the country, which has raised concerns about violations of Ecuador’s sovereignty and human rights abuses. He also discusses the upcoming elections in Venezuela and the devastating impact of US economic blockades.
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Alexander Main is Director of International Policy at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC. In his work at CEPR, Alex monitors economic and political developments in Latin America and the Caribbean and regularly engages with policy makers and civil society groups from around the region.
His areas of expertise include Latin American integration and regionalism, US security and counternarcotics policy in Central America, US development assistance to Haiti, and US relations with Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Honduras and Venezuela. He is regularly interviewed by national and international media and his analyses have been published in a variety of outlets including The New York Times, Foreign Policy, the Los Angeles Times, The Hill, NACLA, Dissent, Pagina/12, and the Monde diplomatique.
Prior to CEPR, Alex spent more than six years in South America working as a foreign policy analyst and an international cooperation consultant. He holds degrees in history and political science from the Sorbonne University in Paris, France and is fluent in Spanish and French.