Ecuadorian president pledges more attention to poor people
24/12/2008 17:27
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said yesterday that his government
would pay more attention to the poor people amid the ongoing global financial
crisis.
At the inauguration of a state fuel station in Guayaquil, Correa
reaffirmed that in the face of the crisis, a major task of his government was to
develop a less vulnerable economy without affecting public investment, mainly in
the fields of education, health and housing.
"The drop in oil prices even
hits the most prepared economy, but we will not allow this ruin to fall over the
head of the poorest," Correa said. Oil is the major source of income in
Ecuador.
Correa said that his government was taking "intelligent" measures to
distribute the weight of the crisis on different sectors, and even to take the
opportunity of the crisis to narrow the inequalities in the country.
Correa
urged the people not to pay attention to proposals made by businessmen and
bankers, which he described as "dishonest" and "opportunistic", and would leave
children without school and the Ecuadorian people without health care.
Correa
censured bankers and businessmen for blaming him for the economic deceleration
in Ecuador when the causes were external.
Correa said businessmen and bankers
were "irresponsible", because during the time of abundance "they were not able
to save" for the difficult times.
Xinhua
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