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Correa Loses Support Again in Ecuador
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Public backing for Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa fell this month, according to a poll by Cedatos/Gallup. 57 per cent of respondents approve of Correa’s performance, down seven points since December.
Correa, a former finance minister, ran for president as an independent leftist under the Alliance Country (AP) banner. In November 2006, Correa defeated Álvaro Noboa of the conservative Institutional Renewal Party of National Action (PRIAN) in a run-off with 56.69 per cent of the vote. He officially took over as Ecuador’s head of state in January 2007, and vowed to change the country’s Constitution. Correa’s party nominated no candidates to the National Congress.
In April 2007, Ecuadorian citizens participated in a referendum to enact a Constituent Assembly. The president’s proposal was backed by 82 per cent of all voters. In September, Correa’s supporters—running under the Movement Country (MP) banner—secured 80 seats in the 130-member Constituent Assembly, enough to enact changes without seeking compromises with political opponents.
In November, Ecuador’s Constituent Assembly officially began its work, and suspended the National Congress. The ad-hoc legislative body has six months to finish a draft. The proposed Constitution must be ratified in a nationwide referendum. The Constituent Assembly is expected to discuss a wide variety of topics, including the possibility of consecutive presidential re-election, as well as new oil and mining regulations.
On Jan. 15, Correa unveiled a plan to restructure the country’s financial administration in order to stem corruption and reduce the country’s wealth gap. The president said he wants to create seven regional administrations to better handle the national budget and invest in highways and infrastructure so resources reach more people, and added: "We know this will meet the resistance of vested interests."
Polling Data
Do you approve or disapprove of Rafael Correa’s performance as president?
|
Jan. 2008 |
Dec. 2007 |
Nov. 2007 |
|
|
Approve |
57% |
64% |
72% |
|
Disapprove |
37% |
30% |
27% |
Source: Cedatos/Gallup
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 1,291 Ecuadorian adults, conducted from Jan. 10 to Jan. 14, 2008. Margin of error is 5 per cent.