Correa dismisses the possibility to return to the sucre, but favors the use of a regional currency

Rafael Correa

During an interview with the news agency AFP in Paris, the Ecuadorian President, Rafael Correa, advocated for the creation of a regional currency, as well as a new financial architecture that allows Latin America to have its own Bank of the South and its own reserves Fund.

Regarding the position of his country in relation to the economic blocs, Correa said that he opposes free trade partnerships, “which have done so much damage in Latin America”, and asserted that his strategy “is not free trade, but trade for mutual benefit, benefit of the peoples and not the capital”.

“Mercosur is a very important market and we are looking very seriously at our integration into the bloc, as well as to achieve a trade agreement with the European Union”, said the President, and added that Ecuador will have to be very cautious with these decisions, since it is a country that does not have a national currency.

When the interviewer asked him if his Government intends to restore a national currency in the future, the President dismissed the measure, considering that it would represent “a high cost” and would create “economic and social chaos”, however noted that at the level of UNASUR, he has proposed a new financial architecture.

“At this moment we already have systems of compensation for trade, without using physical currency, allowing it to minimize the use of the dollar as a means of transaction. The next logical step would be the common currency”, stressed Correa.