Poor, Sad Ecuador

See this article by Mary Anastasia O'Grady in The Wall Street Journal about the situation in Ecuador. She writes about the undemocratic behavior of President Rafael Correa, whom she describes as Ecuador's version of Hugo Chavez. She says:

Now that Mr. Correa has consolidated his power, he is employing state intimidation to destroy his opponents. The press is under constant threat, critics are being driven into exile, the economy is in shambles, and it has come out that Colombia's FARC rebels consider Mr. Correa's government an ally. Iran is a good friend.

Another autocrat in Latin America, the latest in a long, sad tradition. I suspect they are artifacts of the Spanish colonial culture.