Ecuador backs extra powers for Correa

Published on Monday 29 September 2008 22:24

ECUADOR'S left-wing president, Rafael Correa, yesterday urged his opponents to join him in building a more just society, after his overwhelming victory in a constitutional referendum.

"Thank God my triumph was so convincing and so crushing, beyond all our expectations," he told reporters at a breakfast. "Let's hope they reflect and let the country advance peacefully."

With 80 per cent of ballots counted from Sunday's vote, 64 per cent backed the constitutional change. Mr Correa needed just 50 per cent plus one.

Ecuador's 20th constitution considerably broadens Mr Correa's powers and will let him run for two more consecutive terms. It is nowhere near as radical as similar projects in Venezuela and Bolivia, but critics say it gives him far too much control over the economy, the judiciary and legislature. Large landholders fear it will spur seizure of their properties, though Mr Correa has made no such threat, and social conservatives say it could lead to legalising abortion, which he denies.

Mr Correa, 45, said that his government must now determine the cost of new programmes the constitution enshrines, including pensions for stay-at-home mothers and informal sector workers, and free education to college level.

The president yesterday repeated his threat to reduce payments on Ecuador's $10 billion foreign debt if domestic priorities are more pressing.

Correa seeks a social safety net for the 38 per cent of Ecuadoreans who live below the poverty line. He

is expected to swiftly overhaul the judiciary, the Central Bank and other key institutions, giving the US- and European-trained economist greater liberty to fashion what he calls a "new political model".