Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa on Global Capitalism, Why He Won't Renew the U.S. Base in Manta, Chevron in the Amazon...

Last week President Correa was in New York, attending the United Nations Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development. Correa was one of just a handful of world leaders who attended the conference.

Speaking at the General Assembly last Thursday, President Correa, an economist by training, outlined the steps by which Latin America could free itself from relying on international financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

The former finance minister of Ecuador was elected President in 2006 and then re-elected to a second term earlier this year.

I interviewed President Correa on Thursday and began by asking him to comment on the absence of so many heads of state at the UN conference. According to press reports Western diplomats said the conference was just a platform to attack capitalism.

Rafael Correa, President of Ecuador.