November 27, 2006 in Nation/World

Leftist leading in Ecuador presidential race

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Associated Press photo

Ecuadorean presidential candidate Rafael Correa greets supporters in Guayaquil on Sunday.
(Full-size photo)

QUITO, Ecuador – Rafael Correa, a leftist nationalist who is friendly with Venezuela’s anti-U.S. president, handily defeated a Bible-toting banana tycoon in Ecuador’s presidential runoff on Sunday, partial results indicated.

A victory by Correa, a U.S.-trained economist who has rattled Wall Street by threatening to reduce foreign debt payments and oppose free trade efforts, would strengthen South America’s tilt to the left, with Ecuador joining like-minded governments in Venezuela, Bolivia and several other countries.

“We receive this very high honor that the Ecuadorean people have bestowed on us with profound serenity, with profound hope,” Correa told a news conference.

His opponent, Alvaro Noboa, declined to concede defeat, saying he would wait for the official count to be finished.

With about 21 percent of the ballot counted, Correa had 65 percent compared to 35 percent for Alvaro Noboa, according to Ecuador’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal. The results were consistent with an unofficial quick count by the citizens election watchdog group and two exit polls.

The 43-year-old Correa, who is an outspoken admirer of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez, secured a place in Sunday’s runoff by pledging a “citizens’ revolution” to radically reform the discredited political system. Ecuadoreans have driven the last three elected presidents from power, and Correa appealed to voters as a fresh face in a field of established politicians.

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