Bronco_Beerslug
11-27-2006, 08:17 AM
Looks like Bush has helped elect another "democratic" South American leader.
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Leftist economist wins Ecuador election
By MONTE HAYES, Associated Press Writer
QUITO, Ecuador - A leftist economist who called for Ecuador to cut ties with international lenders appeared to have easily won the presidency of this poor, politically unstable Andean nation, strengthening South America's tilt to the left.
Partial returns from Sunday's voting showed that Rafael Correa — who has worried Washington with calls to limit foreign debt payments — would join left-leaning leaders in Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Venezuela, where he is friends with anti-U.S. President Hugo Chavez.
http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20061127/capt.6c264f06a96d42e699e7ebe03e4045e5.ecuador_elec tions_celebration_qto103.jpg?x=380&y=255&sig=amW65XROXxYri8EP1LRcew--
Rafael Correa and his wife Anne Malherbe celebrate his election as the new president of Ecuador according to exit polls, in Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, Nov. 26. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
The returns showed Correa with as many as twice the votes recorded as for his banana tycoon rival, who claimed the polls were rigged.
Correa was a fresh face in a field of established politicians, and won a place in Sunday's runoff by pledging a "citizens' revolution" against Ecuador's discredited political system.
During the campaign, he called for Ecuador to cut ties with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Correa, who has called President Bush "dimwitted," also wants to hold a referendum to rewrite the constitution to reduce the power of traditional parties and limit U.S. military activities in Ecuador.
"We receive this triumph with deep serenity and humility," the 43-year-old, who has an economics doctorate from the University of Illinois, told a news conference. "When we take office it will finally be the Ecuadorean people who are assuming power."
With 31 percent of the ballots counted, Correa had nearly 67 percent compared to 33 percent for Alvaro Noboa, Ecuador's Supreme Electoral Tribunal said before dawn Monday. Election officials said more returns were expected later Monday but that final results may not be known until Tuesday.
CONT (http://tinyurl.com/yyf36e)
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Leftist economist wins Ecuador election
By MONTE HAYES, Associated Press Writer
QUITO, Ecuador - A leftist economist who called for Ecuador to cut ties with international lenders appeared to have easily won the presidency of this poor, politically unstable Andean nation, strengthening South America's tilt to the left.
Partial returns from Sunday's voting showed that Rafael Correa — who has worried Washington with calls to limit foreign debt payments — would join left-leaning leaders in Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Venezuela, where he is friends with anti-U.S. President Hugo Chavez.
http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20061127/capt.6c264f06a96d42e699e7ebe03e4045e5.ecuador_elec tions_celebration_qto103.jpg?x=380&y=255&sig=amW65XROXxYri8EP1LRcew--
Rafael Correa and his wife Anne Malherbe celebrate his election as the new president of Ecuador according to exit polls, in Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, Nov. 26. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
The returns showed Correa with as many as twice the votes recorded as for his banana tycoon rival, who claimed the polls were rigged.
Correa was a fresh face in a field of established politicians, and won a place in Sunday's runoff by pledging a "citizens' revolution" against Ecuador's discredited political system.
During the campaign, he called for Ecuador to cut ties with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Correa, who has called President Bush "dimwitted," also wants to hold a referendum to rewrite the constitution to reduce the power of traditional parties and limit U.S. military activities in Ecuador.
"We receive this triumph with deep serenity and humility," the 43-year-old, who has an economics doctorate from the University of Illinois, told a news conference. "When we take office it will finally be the Ecuadorean people who are assuming power."
With 31 percent of the ballots counted, Correa had nearly 67 percent compared to 33 percent for Alvaro Noboa, Ecuador's Supreme Electoral Tribunal said before dawn Monday. Election officials said more returns were expected later Monday but that final results may not be known until Tuesday.
CONT (http://tinyurl.com/yyf36e)