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| World News - updated 12:24 AM ET Sep 24 |
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By Carlos A. DeJuana QUITO, Ecuador (Reuters) - Ecuadoreans waved goodbye to their national currency, the sucre, on Saturday, lamenting the loss of a national symbol but also optimistic the adoption of the U.S. dollar would usher in a new period of stability. While some held mock burials to protest the death of the 116-year-old sucre, other Ecuadoreans praised the Andean country's dollarization as a way to bolster an economy on the verge of collapse last year. ``I think this is great. We finally have a stable currency,'' said Mercedes Gutierrez, one of the over a hundred people standing in line at a shopping mall to change their last sucres into dollars. ``This will help the country grow.'' As of Sunday, the dollar will replace the sucre as Ecuador's main currency, capping the first phase of the shock move announced in January. Only a few new dollar-pegged sucres coins will change hands with the newly minted pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters that have slowly flooded the country since April when the exchange began. Although prices will be officially in dollars, Ecuadoreans will be able to exchange their sucres for dollars until March. ``This is a good thing for the long-term. Everything should stabilize,'' said Christian Mora, a 21-year-old student. President Jamil Mahuad announced Ecuador's dollarization in January following the country's worst economic crisis in decades. The economy contracted 7.5 percent in 1999, inflation was Latin America's worst at over 60 percent and the sucre lost two thirds of its value. By scrapping the beleaguered sucre for a more-stable greenback, Mahuad hoped inflation would stabilize and investment would flow back into the country -- kick-starting the economy and creating jobs for the largely impoverished nation of 12.4 million people. Mahuad was eventually kicked out in a coup and replaced by his vice president. So far, inflation has slowed after an initial jump in prices and the economy is expected to grow between 0.5 and 1 percent this year. But economists say dollarization is still a work in progress that must be backed up by a long list of reforms to guarantee a smooth flow of dollars into the country. Even other countries with similar monetary systems, like Argentina, which pegged its peso to the dollar in 1991, have had a tough time making the measure work. Ecuadoreans Concerned About Identity But not everyone was cheerful about replacing national heroes on their currency for the likes of U.S. legends George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. And polls have also shown that many are opposed to the measure because they do not understand it. ``This is a sad day in Ecuador's history. The country is losing its traditional currency, the sucre, and officially adopting an alien one, the dollar,'' said El Comercio newspaper in its main editorial. About 200 artists and actors carrying anti-dollarization posters held a mock burial of Antonio Jose de Sucre, a revolutionary war hero after whom the currency is named, while radio stations have held commemorative programs all week. One of the country's largest indigenous groups has called for a strike to protest dollarization and a series of other economic reforms. Carlos Aldrade, an elderly taxi driver, was simply worried he wouldn't know how to make correct change. ``See this. This is 1,000 sucres. But I'm not sure what this is,'' he said, thumbing a nickel.
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