Ecuador - "L'État, c'est moi"

Brazil has suspended a planned trade mission to Ecuador after the Andean country rejected a dispute settlement offer by the Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht, the foreign ministry said on Thursday.

The mission, which was to have been headed by the transport minister next week, was to discuss issues related to Brazilian aid for infrastructure projects in Ecuador, a statement from the foreign ministry said.

The decision highlights the challenge Brazil has in pursuing one of its main foreign policy goals of promoting regional economic integration during a resurgence of economic nationalism in several neighboring countries.

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa rejected on Wednesday an offer by Odebrecht to end the contract dispute, shattering hopes of an agreement following a recent meeting he had with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The leftist Correa expelled Odebrecht in September and seized the company's installations over a hydroelectric dam that his government says was badly built.

Odebrecht had offered to comply with the government's demands for reimbursement of damages in a last-ditch effort to keep $800 million worth of contracts with the government.

Lula is friendly with Correa but pursues more market-friendly economic policies and closer ties to the United States.

The leftist presidents of Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador, where Brazil has significant investments, have been heightening state control over the economy, nationalizing various industries