Presidential insults and innuendo spark controversy between Ecuador and Argentina

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The president of Ecuador, Lenín Moreno, on Thursday, March 11th, described his Argentine counterpart, Alberto Fernández, as an “international mafioso” and “stupid” in a message posted on social networks with no apparent target, but confirmed by senior sources of the Presidency that it was directed at him.

“Regarding the international mafia gang that operate in sync…,” reads Moreno’s tweet, which includes a picture and a quote from writer Mark Twain: “Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”

The message has been spread through networks and by the Ecuadorian Presidency’s Whatsapp group of journalists with no personal imputation, but a senior source in Carondelet, seat of the Executive, confirmed that the targets of the message are Fernández and former Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa.

This was apparently a reaction to statements made Tuesday by the Argentine president in an interview with Channel 5 news (CN5) in which he referred to the estrangement between Moreno and his former vice president Jorge Glas, in prison since 2017, when asked about a potential rupture with his vice-president Cristina Fernández.

“I am not Lenín Moreno. I am not Lenín Moreno ok? Anyone who thinks so does not know me. I may have differences with Cristina. I have them, I didn’t have them, I do have them. We have different views on many things or on some, I do not know if on many. But I got here with Cristina and I’m leaving here with Cristina,” said the Argentine ruler.

Glas has been in prison since 2017 for a corruption case related to a scheme involving Brazilian construction company Odebrecht and, like his associates, he considers himself to be the target of political persecution.

The Ecuadorian government interpreted the comparison made by Fernández as an “unacceptable intervention” in the country’s internal affairs and first issued a “strong protest” in writing from the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry.

In the letter, the Ecuadorian government said it “does not accept any insulting comparisons to the President of the Republic of Ecuador”, while defending the independence of its Judiciary.

On Wednesday, Ecuador summoned its ambassador in Buenos Aires, Juan José Vásconez, for clarification in order to “proceed to an exhaustive review of Ecuador’s relations with the Government of Fernández and to provide him with the appropriate instructions,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a brief text.

The exchange of statements was joined Wednesday from Belgium by Ecuador’s left-wing ex-president Correa, who interpreted Fernández’s message as support for his allegations that Moreno carries the image of a “traitor”.

“They will have to make thousands of copies. Lenín Moreno as a synonym for traitor, is already part of the world political dictionary,” Correa wrote on Twitter.

Both politicians, who jointly founded the Alianza País movement in 2006 and with which both reached the Presidency of Ecuador, drifted apart in 2017 shortly after Correa left the country by handing over the presidency to Moreno.

In that respect, Moreno’s message yesterday about “the international mafia gang that operate in sync” is also attributable to his predecessor, the source confirmed.