Heine Comments on DFC-Ecuador Lending Agreement
Ambassador Jorge Heine, Research Professor at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, was interviewed by the Latin America Advisor on the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation’s (DFC) deal with Ecuador’s government to repay billions in loans to China in exchange for Ecuador reportedly agreeing to exclude Chinese companies from its telecommunications networks.
Heine’s responses were published in the March 9, 2021, issue’s feature Q&A. Experts were asked if the loan will work out for the DFC or Ecuador and if the deal could change under President Biden. While Heine applauded the creation and mission of the DFC, he called the Ecuador deal “crony capitalism” stating that it takes “the conditionality of Western financial institutions to new heights.” He went on to criticize the mandate that Ecuador privatize its public sector assets and the outrageous notion that determining those assets would be a joint DFC-Ecuador decisions.
An excerpt:
The requirement to exclude Chinese technology from Ecuador’s telecommunications network means that Ecuador should give up access to what some consider to be the most advanced and cost-effective technology in the market—hardly the way to promote development in the digital age…This is only a framework agreement, not a final deal. The Biden administration can and should scrap it.
The full issue can be read on the Inter-American Dialogue’s website.
Ambassador Jorge Heine is a Research Professor at the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University. He has served as ambassador of Chile to China (2014-2017), to India (2003-2007) and to South Africa (1994-1999), and as a Cabinet Minister in the Chilean Government. Read more about Ambassador Heine on his Pardee School faculty profile.