MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Ecuadorian presidential candidate calls Bush “dimwitted”

The leftist presidential front-runner in Ecuador said that the devil should be insulted by comparisons to US President George W. Bush, whom he called a ??dimwitted'' leader who has done ??great damage'' to the world.

Rafael Correa, speaking to Quito's Channel 8 television, referred to a UN speech last week by his friend, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who caused an uproar in the United States by calling Bush ??the Devil.''

??Calling Bush the Devil is offending the Devil,'' said Correa, a US trained economist who leads 12 other candidates in polls ahead of the October 15 election. He said ??the Devil is evil, but intelligent.'' ??I believe Bush is a tremendously dimwitted president who has done great damage to his country and to the world,'' Correa said.

Correa said he merely expressed ??personal opinions'' and said that if elected, ??between states and at the level of leaders, the most absolute respect would be shown.''

Correa, who earned a doctorate from the University of Illinois, said his opinion of Bush did not extend to the people of the US, for whom he feels great affection. He said he lived in the United States when Bush won the presidency in 2000 through what Correa called ??trickery,'' apparently referring to allegations of irregularities in Florida voting.

The US Embassy did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment. Recent polls show Correa backed by about 26% of likely voters, 7 points ahead of his closest challenger León Roldos, a centre-left former vice-president.

Correa, 43, who served four months as economy minister under outgoing President Alfredo Palacio, has rattled markets with pledges to slash Ecuador's foreign debt payments, either through negotiation or a moratorium.

Merrill Lynch this week cut its recommendation on Ecuador's external debt to underweight from market weight amid a sell-off by jittery bondholders. Highly critical of free market policies advocated by Washington, Correa has expressed friendship with Chávez, whom he says he visited in August at the home of the Venezuelan leader's parents.

If no candidate wins more than half the vote, or at least 40% with a 10 points advantage over the nearest challenger, a runoff will be held on November 26 between the two top finishers.