Ecuadorean Leftist Takes Office

QUITO, Ecuador -- U.S.-educated economist Rafael Correa assailed Washington's free-market policies in his first speech as president of Ecuador, promising to push for an "economic revolution" that would emphasize renegotiating the country's foreign debt.

One of six leftist Latin American leaders to win office or be re-elected in little more than a year, Correa took the office Monday pledging a "profound transformation" in Ecuador.

Strapping on the red, yellow and blue presidential sash before cheering supporters in the galleries of Congress, Correa said the policies promoted by Washington since the 1980s failed to help Ecuador develop.

His remarks drew applause from several U.S. antagonists who attended the ceremony _ Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Bolivian President Evo Morales and Iran's hardline leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad _ as well as from Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and more moderate left-leaning leaders from Brazil, Chile, Peru.

But some Ecuadoreans worry that Correa's real goal is to consolidate political power in the presidency as Chavez has done. They say he has shown early signs of not respecting the opinions of his political opponents, even moderate ones.

Correa, 43, who has a doctorate in economics from the University of Illinois, becomes the Ecuador's eighth president in a decade.

He addressed the gathered leaders and said they all now share a new responsibility: "The people won't forgive us if we don't advance the integration of our America," he said.

A political outsider who won election in a November runoff, Correa said he would work for an "economic revolution" in Ecuador that would emphasize the renegotiating of foreign debt, "paying only what we can after attending to the needs of the poor."

He said some of the loans arranged by previous governments had been lost to corruption, and an international tribunal should be set up to decide what debt should be repaid. More than 60 percent of Ecuadoreans live in poverty.

Keeping his campaign promise, Correa decreed a March 18 national referendum on the need for a special assembly to rewrite the constitution. He says the measure is necessary to limit the power of Ecuador's traditional parties, which he blames for the country's instability.

"We seek a profound transformation. Our leadership has failed. We want a democracy where our voice is heard, where our representatives understand that they are there to serve us," Correa said.

His plans for a constitutional assembly could put him on a collision course with Congress, which is dominated by the traditional parties. Lawmakers have dismissed the last three elected presidents after huge street protests demanding their ousters.