Ecuador: Correa sends defiant message to bondholders

In the next few weeks, Ecuador’s president, Rafael Correa, will decide whether to voluntarily take his country into default on up to $10.2 billion of external sovereign debt, equivalent to 25% of GDP. As the international community holds it breath, those close to the government are more philosophical. "Correa runs as a 21st-century socialist government. He wants to continue sending the message to the people that the poor come before debt," says Antonio Acosta Espinosa, president at Banco Pichincha, the leading bank in Ecuador. "This default threat does exactly that – sends a clear political message to his supporters. I personally think it is a political strategy and that payments will resume in the coming weeks, but I’m expecting that some international court will analyse the legality...