Ecuador, the U.S. and Seizure of Oxy Assets
I lived for 12 years in Ecuador, and I can say that the United States has not destroyed that nation and its people, as Stephany Yablow asserts (Ecuador Move Is a Wake-Up Call,” May 21).
Ecuador is still a beautiful country. The problem there, and many Ecuadoreans would agree, is corruption. That is why they took over Occidental Petroleum Corp. assets.
It’s not that they don’t like Americans -- it’s just that they like our dollars too much. And when they have a chance to grab them, they will. It’s not just Ecuador that has this problem. It’s most of the world.
Our country was founded on justice and fair business practices, and that is a foreign concept to many nations.
Bob Vogel
Monrovia
*
Yablow makes legitimate statements about our country and how we sometimes carry a big stick.
What’s missing is the fact that when it comes to developing oil fields in foreign countries, it’s those very companies that Yablow criticizes that provide the financial and technical resources needed to do the job.
Of course, now that the hard work is done, many of these countries’ leaders want to look good and reap the benefits.
Frank Dayton
Apple Valley
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
