MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Ecuador's Correa inching closer to pass new constitution

Thousands marched on Saturday to back Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa who public opinion polls show is inching closer to winning a September 28 vote to pass a new constitution that would expand the Executive's authority.

Correa, a former economy minister who took office last year, is widely popular for his spending on the poor and his pledges to fight powerful elites he blames for the political instability that toppled his last three predecessors and the general impoverishment of the mostly indigenous population. The new constitution would bolster Correa's sway over the oil-producing country's economy and political institutions such as Congress and the top courts. "We will crush the old country ruled by elites and mafia groups," Correa told cheering supporters waving the lime-green flags of his political party in the hilly capital, Quito. "We are not going to return to the past ... we will win this decisive battle." Three polls last week showed support for the new constitution is nearing the more than 50% majority Correa's needs to pass the document. Correa, a US trained economist, said a feeble opposition planned to resort to violence during the referendum campaign as a way to destabilize his government. The Ecuadorian leader has become a close friend of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Bolivia's Evo Morales, but so far has respected contracts.