MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Ecuadorian leader in control of charter reform assembly

President Rafael Correa

Ecuador's populist President Rafael Correa will control more than 60% of an assembly tasked with drafting a new constitution for the politically unstable nation, according to official election results released earlier this week.

Correa's new political movement, Pais, won 80 of the assembly's 130 seats in the September 30 vote, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal reported. Correa has called on the assembly to dissolve Congress and says the new constitution will take power away from Ecuador's traditional political elite, which he blames for the country's ongoing problems and instability. Correa's strongest opposition is the Patriotic Society Party of former President Lucio Gutierrez, who was ousted in April 2005 amid massive street protests. It won just 18 seats. The assembly could begin to meet as early as November 29. Correa, Ecuador's eighth president in the last decade wants to increase the number of four-year consecutive terms allowed from one to two, but he denies that he seeks to stay in power indefinitely. Correa is a close ally of Washington's foe Hugo Chávez, who is seeking extensive changes to his own country's constitution in Venezuela. Ecuador's main production is oil which generates most foreign exchange and budget revenue. US educated Correa has been squabbling with foreign oil corporations about windfall taxes and would like to rewrite existing contracts demanding a bigger share for the country. Correa during the campaign trail also promised a rescheduling of the country's foreign debt and bonds. For this task Mr Correa has requested and received support from Argentina's president Nestor Kirchner administration. In oil affairs the Ecuadorian president advisor is Venezuela's Chavez. After almost two decades this past week Ecuador formally returned to the OPEC fold.