Correa blasts Moreno in Belgium Tweet storm

Former president Rafeal Correa has fired off 44 Tweets in three days, almost all attacking President Lenin Moreno’s assessment of Ecuador’s economy.

Cartoon in El Universo

Many of the Tweets, sent from Correa’s new home in Belgium, are aimed at protecting his legacy, which he says is under attack from Moreno. “We have wolves disguised as lambs in the new government,” wrote in one Tweet. “They are trying to destroy everything that reminds them of Rafael Correa.”

Correa’s anger is focused on Moreno’s contention that the country’s economy is in “critical” condition and that Correa’s government vastly understated the national debt. In his Friday address to the nation, Moreno presented numbers showing that the total national debt is almost double the amount reported by Correa.

When he left office, Correa said that “La mesa servida,” or, the table is served, meaning the economy was in good condition. Moreno replied that the table, in fact, was bare.

In three Tweets, Correa accuses Moreno’s economists of dishonesty. “The current economic team is the same one that served my administration. How can they devise entirely different numbers today than they did two months ago?” Correa also claims that Moreno was aware of all government liabilities before he agreed to run for president. “He knew everything and now he says he didn’t,” Correa Tweeted.

Although Moreno has not responded to Correa, a former accountant for the finance ministry did. Carlos Plata, who left his position in late 2016, says there was great pressure on the accounting team during the Correa administration. “It was well-known that they expected us arrive at certain numbers so the books looked good,” he Tweeted. “Today, the accountants can do their jobs honestly.”

Alianza País party officer Marcela Aguiñaga Tweeted a response to Plata, saying his claim amounted to “horse excrement.”