Stephan Kueffner

Bloomberg

December 15, 2008

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa halted payment on foreign bonds he calls “illegal” and “illegitimate,” putting the South American country in default for a second time in a decade.

A d v e r t i s e m e n t



The government won’t make a $30.6 million interest payment by Dec. 15, when a monthlong grace period expires, Correa told reporters in his office in Guayaquil. The $510 million bonds due in 2012 plunged to 23 cents on the dollar from 31 yesterday and 97.5 cents three months ago.

“I have given the order that interest payments not be made,” Correa said. “The country is in default.”

By defaulting, Correa, a close ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, fulfills a threat he has made since a 2006 presidential campaign that ended in a landslide victory. His decision comes as a deepening global economic slump throttles demand for oil, the country’s biggest export. Ecuador, which defaulted in 1999, owes about $10 billion to bondholders, multilateral lenders and other countries.

“I couldn’t allow the continued payment of a debt that by all measures is immoral and illegitimate,” Correa said. “It is now time to bring in justice and dignity.”

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