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OAS Secretary General Calls on the Region to Make “a Greater Effort around the Principles that Unite Us”

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, made a call today to the governments of the hemisphere to redouble their efforts in the defense of democracy in each and every one of the countries of the region, following last week’s attempted coup d’état in Ecuador.

“We have the obligation to fully support the existence of democratic regimes, because any defeat anywhere in the hemisphere is a grave damage to all,” the Secretary General said during a presentation to the OAS Permanent Council of a report on a visit to Ecuador he made hours after the incidents in Quito.

“Independently of any disagreements that may exist,” the head of the hemispheric organization continued, “let us make a greater effort around the principles that unite us,” beginning with “solidifying and strengthening the dialogue and civic friendship” that are implied by the existence of “government and opposition, but government and opposition that are willing to legitimize the system of government they have and not to undermine it.”

The Secretary General made this call upon describing the existing scenario following the incident in Ecuador. “This happened in a country where President Rafael Correa enjoys strong popular support, which shows that in our continent there are those who, even when a minority, are willing to take advantage of the circumstances to destabilize a democratic regime,” he concluded. “That is why we must be on the alert not only in Ecuador but throughout the hemisphere.”

At the same time, referring to the Inter-American Democratic Charter, he said that “the tools we have at hand are sufficient to unite the continent around the common cause of democracy.”

During the presentation of his report, the Secretary General described the events that occurred in Ecuador throughout the day Thursday, September 30, and gave specifics about his trip to Quito the morning of Friday, October 1st, a trip during which he met with President Correa; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ricardo Patiño; the Minister of Security, Miguel Carvajal; and the Vice President of the National Assembly, Irina Cabezas, among others.

“The vast majority of the population supported the Government and was against what was being carried out. What stopped this coup was not a lack of will on the part of its authors, but a lack of political will and, afterwards, thanks to the support the Armed Forces gave the President. But the risks were very much apparent,” he explained.

Secretary General Insulza said he returned from Quito “convinced that Ecuadoran democracy is solid, that it has resisted an important attack” and that “it has the strength to move forward.” However, he warned that what occurred in Ecuador also convinced him that “we must reflect a lot on the ways to strengthen and defend democracy in the hemisphere.”

The Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the OAS, María Isabel Salvador, thanked the Secretary General for the “opportune and effective” decision to travel to her country at a time that was “key for the defense of democracy,” and reiterated the gratefulness of her Government to the OAS, and to the Permanent Council for the support provided during these times, mainly through the Council’s resolution to repudiate the attack on the democratic order.

Ambassador Salvador also called on the Governments of the Americas “to be attentive of any new attempts to bring destabilization to the region, since we can no longer think of these as isolated or improvised though they be disguised with masks and other forms.” She added that “the OAS must be on the alert, to react with strength and opportunity, as it did last week in Ecuador.”

Member State Permanent Representatives spoke during the special session of the Permanent Council, held at Organization headquarters in Washington, DC, to thank the Secretary General for his report and reiterate their support to the Government of President Rafael Correa and the principles of democracy.

A photo gallery of the event will be available here soon.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-367/10