Far More Rational

In stark contrast to the monomaniacal focus on Hugo Chávez that we see from the Post editorial staff, this piece from the LA Times about Rafael Correa was much more sensible:

One measure of the political turmoil that has roiled Ecuador, the Colorado-sized country in the Andes, is its rapid turnover for presidents: eight in the last 13 years. So the recent reelection of Rafael Correa is a notable step toward a more mature democracy.

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Often, Correa is lumped into a sort of "axis of potential problems" with Chavez and Bolivian President Evo Morales. But although the three men share humble beginnings and leftist ideology, Correa is a neither a Fidel Castro-wannabe like Chavez nor a populist rabble-rouser like Morales. He is more complicated and more nuanced: If the former economics professor is not pro-American, neither is he anti-American.

The only question I have is if they don't soft-peddle Correa confrontational side a bit. For instance, they make it sound like Correa's links with the Farc are more a matter of debate than I had understood them to be.