Ecuador's finance minister, Jorge Gallardo, is a popular man on
Wall Street. He's very bright, with a quick wit and a solid grasp
of economic fundamentals and economists' concerns. But when he
visited New York in May, his demeanour was visibly subdued.
It is understandable that Gallardo could do with a bit of a rest
these days: the Ecuadorean government has come through a huge
battle with the legislature, which threatened the whole basis of
its fiscal accounts. The war is not completely over, but the
theatre of conflict has moved from congress to the courts, and the
government's achievements so far have proved enough for a crucial
vote of confidence in the country in May from the IMF.
Ecuador was originally scheduled to get the second disbursement
from its IMF programme in September 2000. Everything in Ecuador
takes longer than expected, and a few delays here and there are
usually built...
