Ecuador rejects Brazil's Odebrecht bid to end dispute
QUITO, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa rejected an offer by Brazilian construction company Odebrecht to end a heated contract dispute, a government official said on Wednesday, a move that could fray ties with ally Brazil.
Correa expelled Odebrecht in September and seized the company's installations over a disputed hydroelectric dam that the government says was badly built.
The company later 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.
"We have analyzed the terms and we believe it's not possible to continue with the company," Strategic Sectors Minister Galo Borja told reporters. "This (offer) was only a small part; the damages and their (company) debt is much bigger."
Since he took office last year, Correa has kept good ties with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Correa's decision shows the leftist's tough negotiating stance even with allies. During the weekend he threatened to nationalize Brazil's Petrobras oilfields over delays in negotiations to switch its current contracts.
Correa, who is widely popular for his pledges to redistribute the country's wealth to the poor, has pushed oil and mining companies to rework contractual terms to boost state control over the industries. He won a Sept. 28 referendum to expand his powers over the economy and political institutions.
(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; editing by Philip Barbara)
