(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Public support for Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa has dwindled following an improvement earlier this year, according to a poll by Cedatos/Gallup. 58 per cent of respondents approve of Correa’s performance, down four points since March.

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 proposed Constitution must be ratified in a nationwide referendum in 2008. The Constituent Assembly has discussed a wide variety of topics, including the possibility of consecutive presidential re-election, as well as new oil and mining regulations.

On Apr. 17, Correa said he is considering suspending some of the country’s mining activity for up to six months to allow a thorough revision of existing legislation. The president said that new regulations should "revert all concessions handed out illegally, all concessions where no investment has been done, and which were used only to speculate." Ecuador is home to several international mining companies.

Polling Data

Do you approve or disapprove of Rafael Correa’s performance as president?

Source: Cedatos/Gallup
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 1,208 Ecuadorian adults, conducted from Apr. 28 to Apr. 30, 2008. Margin of error is 3.7 per cent.

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