Ecuador To Host ALBA Meeting On Opposing Corporate Lawsuits

By Mercedes Alvaro

QUITO, Ecuador--Ecuador'sForeign Ministry said Friday that a number of Socialist nations grouped in an organization known as ALBA will hold an April meeting in Ecuador to discuss strategies on how to contest lawsuits made by multinational corporations.

Venezuela and Cuba helped set up the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of Our America, or ALBA, in 2004 and have been joined by Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Antigua & Barbuda and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines.

Ecuador's government said that the ALBA meeting will aim to exchange information and establish juridical mechanisms of "mutual support."

Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said on his Twitter account that Venezuela and Bolivia have already confirmed their attendance to the meeting.

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa has called several times for Latin-American unity to avoid what he calls "abuses of the multinational corporations." He has charged that the corporations view Latin American countries as "colonies."

A meeting of the ALBA political council this week in Caracas called on governments in the region to show solidarity with Ecuador in its multibillion-dollar legal battle with Chevron Corp. ( CVX ) over environmental issues.

A report on Ecuador's state newswire Andes said that Venezuela's Vice President Nicolas Maduro has offered support to Ecuador in its legal battle with Chevron.

Write to Mercedes Alvaro at mercedes.alvaro@dowjones.com

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