For Edward Snowden, Why Ecuador?
For Edward Snowden, Why Ecuador?
Rafael Correa’s plan to provide refuge to Edward Snowden symbolizes a chance to show his anti-imperialist and populist leadership in the region and globally, affirms AS/COA’s Christopher Sabatini.
Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor currently trying to evade a U.S. arrest warrant, has applied for political asylum in Ecuador, a South American republic best known internationally for its dominion over the Galapagos Islands and many years of relative political stability.
The government of populist President Rafael Correa said Monday it is considering Snowden's request, but if recent history is any indication, it is likely to accept it. Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said Monday Snowden's asylum request "has to do with freedom of expression and with the security of citizens around the world."
On its surface, the real reason Correa is seriously considering helping Snowden may seem to have more to do with sticking it to the U.S., and while that certainly plays a part, it is not enough of an explanation.
"It goes beyond his own personal feelings of the United States," said Christopher Sabatini, senior policy director for Americas Society/Council of the Americas, in an interview with CBSNews.com. "It's sort of a larger project."
Sabatini said Correa's decision last year to grant refuge to WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange, who has accused the U.S. of trying to illegally detain him for leaking government secrets, and his current decision over whether to take in Snowden are more about "his own desire to serve as a regional leader."
Additionally, Correa "sees himself as a symbol of anti-imperialism globally, not just in his region," Sabatini said. "He really sees himself of being a leader of this global zeitgeist against the United States-led drive towards multilateralism."
Correa was recently reelected to a third and final term as president earlier this year, and making a stand on behalf of Snowden and other like-minded idealists like WikiLeaks is a chance for him to cement a legacy international importance, Sabatini said.
Correa's feelings for America are surely complicated. Sabatini said Correa's father was indicted for drug trafficking by the U.S., but he also earned a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2001....
