AMBATO, ECUADOR (CN) - After singing a local folk tune, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa on Saturday answered a New York judge's decision blocking a $9.5 billion verdict against Chevron with a fiery speech that decried "lies," "bias" and "imperialism."
"Imagine for a moment that an Ecuadorean judge said that a sentence from North American tribunals was not valid," Correa said.
He was drawing a parallel to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan's Tuesday finding that Ecuador's judgment had been "procured by corrupt means," such as bribery. Kaplan devoted two separate subsections of the 500-page decision to Correa's election and "influence" on the Lago Agrio litigation.
Those sections described how Correa pushed for the prosecution of Chevron lawyers, offered to call a judge, and launched a public relations campaign attacking Chevron and its allies to help the country's citizens win in court.
Before slamming Kaplan as "biased" in his 364th enlase, a Saturday tradition that spokespeople say started in 2007, Correa had withheld comment on the ruling.
"But I insist, there is no proof that President Correa, imagine the craziness, is interfering in a trial between private parties," an animated Correa said in the third person, during his enlase ciudadano address, Spanish for "Citizen Link." "What is the reality? That we refused to submit to Chevron's pressures."
Officials estimated that more than 5,000 people filled the seats at the center of the Estadio Tisaleo in the Tisaleo, a canton just outside of the commercial hub of Ambato, with more sitting around the perimeter of the stadium.
A seven-man folk band greeted the speakers with traditional canciones like the love ballad "Pobre Corazón," and Correa regaled the crowd during his entrance with a rendition of "Tierra de Los Flores y Las Frutas" ("The Land of Flowers and Fruits"), a song that predated Ambato's annual festival of the same name. Ambato ironically plays no role in Ecuador's enormous flower industry, and its local economy is sustained by car manufacturing.
As he entered, Correa shook hands with and hugged the attendants of every social class, and many of the men and women there waved red, fuschia, pink and white roses as he sang. State-run media broadcast the proceedings throughout the country and in the stadium, while representatives of indigenous communities provided translation.
Correa followed the festive entrance with a more-than-three-hour lecture touching upon various topics. He talked about the anniversary of the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Coca-Cola's recent $1 billion investment in Ecuador, explained his thoughts on microeconomics and "21st century socialism," and remarked that it was also International Women's Day.
As usual, he also delivered sharp words for what he called the "corrupt press" and bankers.
"A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins to rain," Correa said, tying a quotation that he attributed to Mark Twain to Ecuador's banking crisis of 1999.
Speaking about the New York front of the Chevron litigation as the speech drew to a close, Correa remarked: "The government has nothing to do with this trial."