Unsettled situation in Ecuador.

The situation in Ecuador since its new leftist president took office in January 2007 is unsettled. The new president has high approval ratings but his charisma does not extend to the country's business community. A March 27, 2007 Dow Jones report said that business confidence in Ecuador had dropped to its lowest level in two years.

Dow Jones cited as its source the global research and consulting firm Deloitte & Touche, which conducts a monthly business confidence poll in Ecuador. "The Business Confidence Index stood at 77.8 points out of a possible 250, down 4% from the level in January [2007]," according to the firm.

The Dow Jones story also reported that "many companies" are experiencing lower revenues when compared with the same period in 2006. Only 2.0 percent of the executives surveyed in the Deloitte poll said they were optimistic about the Ecuadoran economy in February 2007. Some 70 percent of respondents said they were less optimistic than when questioned in January 2007.

Meanwhile, the security situation in the country is deteriorating, according to a March 7, 2007 briefing by The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC), part of Bureau of Diplomatic Security of the United States Department of State. Political violence is an "ever-present threat," in part because of the country's economic difficulties.