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If the constitution ratified in July 2008 gives recently re-elected President Correa extensive power over the nation's legislature and courts, one faction the socialist president has not been able to bring under control is Ecuador's lawyers. Many leading attorneys have been outspoken against the administration's policies towards foreign trade and private operators in the country's oil, mining, transportation and telecoms industries....

If the constitution ratified in July 2008 gives recently re-elected President Correa extensive power over the nation's legislature and courts, one faction the socialist president has not been able to bring under control is Ecuador's lawyers. Many leading attorneys have been outspoken against the administration's policies towards foreign trade and private operators in the country's oil, mining, transportation and telecoms industries. As one lawyer put it: "We don't have a president – we have a dictator."

It would seem the erratic policies of Correa – which include freezing all mining and exploration activities in April 2008 and then lifting the ban early last year – have sent mixed messages to foreign investors attracted to Ecuador's vast wealth of natural resources. In the midst of a global financial crisis it may be an easy choice for investors to forgo venturing into Ecuador altogether.

Foreign investors have found vocal advocates in their representative lawyers, who have been publishing critical editorials in local media sources and tirelessly lobbying the government to change its tune regarding private businesses. While Correa has utilised state media channels to reply to critics, his actions speak louder than his words. In July 2008 Ecuadorean police seized several television stations that had at times been critical of the regime and the stations' managers were replaced by the president.

Another station embroiled in disputes with the government is Teleamazonas, which broadcasts over channel four in Ecuador. Journalists at the station have been accused by the government of disseminating false information about the recent elections and transmitting images of bullfighting before the permitted time, among other charges. Some lawyers in Ecuador point to one particular reporter's relation to a prominent attorney as a sign that they are under a focused attack by the government. Other lawyers play down the notion of a conspiracy, noting that many of the actions undertaken by the government are in line with socialist agendas throughout the region.

If the president is making few friends among the nation's lawyers, he is extending the same chilly relationship to some of his neighbours. In November 2008 the Brazilian government withdrew its envoy from Ecuador after Correa expelled Brazilian developer Odebrecht over a dispute involving the San Francisco hydroelectric power plant. Ecuador's refusal to recognise its obligation to the Brazilian development bank BNDES, which supported the project with $460 million in financing, not only further cooled relations with Brazil but effectively closed an important source of capital for infrastructure projects.