the one view that has been consistent throughout is that one way or another, the government of ecuador is going to end up with half of the value of fdn and every other piece of property in the country.

i believe it was the vp from corriente who said they expected as much, they just didn't know what it would be called. maybe it will be a joint venture with a government-sponsored mining company, or maybe it will be royalties and taxes that add up to 50% of the economic value.

i think correa is smart enough to understand that with "one for me, and one for you," there is plenty for everyone. no matter how acosta or reuters or anyone else tries to spin this, even an enforced 49/51 joint venture is not nationalization. when everything falls into place, i expect the bottom line will be equal to half of the the top line revenue, and that should be plenty for the shareholders.