miércoles, enero 19, 2005

¿ Cómo nos mira la CIA ?


¿Qué ves desde arriba, pequeña águila calva?

A veces cuando visito CIA - The World Factbook-Ecuador me da un cierto escalofrio, porque es evidente que ellos saben mas de nuestro pais que quienes lo habitamos. El Almanaque Mundial se queda bien corto.

Y sobre todo sus referencias son siempre orientadas a dar ideas comparativas a cualquier norteamericano sobre como conocer a nuestro pais. (Juro que a veces recuerdo peliculas como "Proof of Life", o "Enemy of the State" preparando una invasión o rastreandonos con satélites).

Unos ejemplos:

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Background:
The "Republic of the Equator" was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Colombia and Venezuela). Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors. A border war with Peru that flared in 1995 was resolved in 1999.


Area: total: 283,560 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Nevada


Legislative branch: unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (100 seats; members are popularly elected by province to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 20 October 2002 (next to be held NA October 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PSC 25, PRE 15, ID 16, PRIAN 10, PSP 9, Pachakutik Movement 6, MPD 5, DP 4, PS-FA 3, independents 7; note - defections by members of National Congress are commonplace, resulting in frequent changes in the numbers of seats held by the various parties

Flag description: three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; similar to the flag of Colombia, which is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms.

Economy - overview...A coup, however, ousted MAHAUD from office in January 2000, and after a short-lived junta failed to garner military support, Vice President Gustavo NOBOA took over the presidency. In March 2000, Congress approved a series of structural reforms that also provided the framework for the adoption of the US dollar as legal tender. Dollarization stabilized the economy, and growth returned to its pre-crisis levels in the years that followed. Under the administration of Lucio GUTIERREZ, who took office in January 2003, Ecuador benefited from higher world petroleum prices, but the government has made little progress on fiscal reforms and reforms of state-owned enterprises necessary to reduce Ecuador's vulnerability to petroleum price swings and financial crises.

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"No mires hacia arriba, te podrian identificar". No los podemos ver, pero ellos si.