Ecuador and Egypt

Ecuador recalled its ambassador from Egypt in response to the military crackdown on protesters. That prompted me to see if any other Latin American country had done the same. The answer seems to be no.

This is interesting for a variety of reasons. I've criticized the many pundit attempts to proclaim that Rafael Correa (or anyone for that matter) is trying to be the next "leftist" leader of Latin America, and this seems to confirm that. Correa decided to make this move, but has kept quiet about it. There is just a short statement at the website of the Ministero de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana. If Correa really wanted to take on the mantle as regional leader, presumably he would be sure to make a bigger splash.

At the same time, though, I wonder whether this will set a precedent for other countries. It is an easy but symbolic way of expressing displeasure with military coups and, depending on the country, to show foreign policy independence from the United States.