Ecuadoran President Correa favoured to cruise to new term

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An outspoken voice of the Latin American left and friend of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the charismatic, US-educated economist is far ahead of his seven rivals in all opinion polls after six years in office.

“This is not one man’s project, this is a citizen revolution. We must make it irreversible,” Correa said during his final campaign rally in a blue-collar Quito district on Thursday as the crowd chanted: “We already have a president!”

In office since 2007, Correa has brought back stability to this rebellious Andean country of 15 million, which had seven presidents in 10 years.

Born into a modest family in the southwest port of Guayaquil, the 49-year-old leader has become a popular figure thanks to social programs funded by the country’s oil proceeds.

“His victory appears more than assured. The only uncertainty is by how much,” Marco Romero, a political scientist at Andina University, told AFP. – AFP.