The US vs. Social Democracy in Ecuador
On this episode of American Prestige, Ryan Grim and Jose Olivares discuss the US’s interest in Ecuadorian politics.
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Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
On this episode of American Prestige, Ryan Grim, co-founder of Drop Site News, and investigative journalist José Olivares join the show to talk about their recent piece for Drop Site revealing how Ecuador’s US-linked attorney general is using her office to attack the country’s left. The group gives the background of Rafael Correa and his left-wing “Correísmo” movement, how Correa and his successors became targets of “anti-corruption” Attorney General Diana Salazar, leaked messages of Salazar’s obtained by Drop Site leading to explosive allegations, the United States' potential links with assassinated presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, and why the US remains interested in domestic Ecuadorian politics.
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People march to the headquarters of the Attorney General’s Office in support of the actions of Attorney General Diana Salazar in Quito on March 27, 2024.
(Rodrigo Buendia / AFP)On this episode of American Prestige, Ryan Grim, cofounder of Drop Site News, and investigative journalist José Olivares join the show to talk about their recent piece for Drop Site revealing how Ecuador’s US-linked attorney general is using her office to attack the country’s left. The group gives the background of Rafael Correa and his left-wing “Correísmo” movement, how Correa and his successors became targets of “anti-corruption” Attorney General Diana Salazar, leaked messages of Salazar’s obtained by Drop Site leading to explosive allegations, the United States’ potential links with assassinated presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, and why the US remains interested in domestic Ecuadorian politics.

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
On this episode of American Prestige, William Hartung — senior research fellow focusing on the arms industry and US military budget at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft — joins the program to discuss reports that the Trump administration is planning “sweeping budget cuts” for the Pentagon. We talk about these “cuts” being more accurately termed “reinvestments” into other areas, the enormous amount of defense spending and the culture that engendered this, how the defense industry has changed in the past 20 years, actual moves that could meaningfully reduce the military budget like reducing bloated systems (F-35s, aircraft carriers) and overseas bases, whether there exists an influential constituency to support military budget cuts, and more.
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