President of Ecuador

Rafael Correa (born 6 April 1963) is an Ecuadorean economist, a former Finance Minister and currently the president-elect of Ecuador. In the 15 October 2006 general election he obtained second place (22.84%) behind banana tycoon Alvaro Noboa (26.83%). In the 26 November 2006 runoff election, partial results showed Correa won the election with 57.2% of the vote.

Biography

Correa received a Master's degree in Economics from the Universite Catholique de Louvain (Belgium) and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (United States) in 2001. In addition to Spanish, he is fluent in French, English and Quechua - the language of the majority of the native Indian population concentrated in the Andes region. According to The Washington Post, Correa's adviser at the University of Illinois, Werner Baer, supports his former student. "He appreciates the market to a certain point, but he knows that the market left alone concentrates wealth," he said. "He is not going to do anything foolish... because he is a fairly open-minded person."

In 2005 Correa served as the economy and finance minister under the current president, Alfredo Palacio. During his four months in office he advocated for poverty reduction and economic sovereignty. Correa was skeptical of a free trade deal with the U.S, defied the advice of the International Monetary Fund and worked to increase Ecuador's cooperation with other Latin American countries. He resigned from Palacio's government after the World Bank withheld a loan (citing the changes to the oil income stabilization fund), and also for proposing the issue of bonds at a lower interest rate than existing bonds (8.5%), of which Venezuela was to purchase half of the issue. Correa claimed in his resignation letter that the sale was done with full presidential authorization, but cited lack of support from the president as a factor in his decision to resign.

The decision by Palacio to ask for his resignation was seen by some political analysts as a concession by Palacio to U.S. pressure. When Correa resigned, polls showed he had the highest credibility of any official in the administration, with 57% of Ecuadorians saying they trusted him.

Platform

Correa, a professional economist, describes his five key areas of reform as: constitutional revolution, ethical revolution, economic and productivity revolution, education and health revolution, and dignity, sovereignty and Latin American integration revolution.

Correa founded the Alianza PAIS. The party did not run any congressional candidates, as Correa has stated that he will call for a referendum to call for a Constitutional Assembly. However, the Alianza PAIS movement signed a political alliance with the Ecuadorian Socialist Party, which did present candidates for Congress. The constituent assembly would rewrite the Constitution.

Correa has promised reform of the oil industry, including an increase in the percentage of oil revenues for Ecuador, following the reforms enacted by former Economy and Finance Minister Diego Borja. He has accused foreign oil companies operating in Ecuador of failing to meet existing environmental and investment regulations. MarketWatch quoted him as telling reporters, "Many of the oil contracts are a true entrapment for the country. Of every five barrels of oil that the multinationals produce, they leave only one for the state and take four... That is absolutely unacceptable. We're going to revise and renegotiate the contracts." He also advocates reform of the financial sector, including limiting offshore deposits by local banks to no more than 10% of their holdings.

Correa defines himself as a humanist, a Christian of the left (he is a Roman Catholic), and an advocate of political sovereignty and regional integration. He is a critic of the decision by President Jamil Mahuad in 2000 to adopt the U.S. dollar as the official currency of Ecuador, but he admits that it would not be feasible to abandon this policy at this juncture (and advocated eventually joining a common currency area for Latin America, similar to the Euro in Europe). He advocates increasing the participation of the State in the oil revenue. He opposes the draft Free Trade Agreement as currently negotiated with the United States, although he does advocate expanding trade and opening markets with other countries.

In August 2006, Correa told the Ecuadorean press that he is not part of the Venezuelan Bolivarian movement, although he considers Hugo Chavez a personal friend.

Correa has pledged to shut down the U.S. military base in Manta, where 400 U.S. soldiers are stationed as part of the Eloy Alfaro Air Base - though he has also jokingly stated that "We can negotiate with the U.S. about a base in Manta, and if they let us put a military base in Miami, if there is no problem, we'll accept". He also expressed his intention to reduce the burden of the debt service, through compulsory debt restructuring, saying he will give priority to social development.

Correa has stated that he does not consider the Colombian FARC guerrilla group to be a terrorist organization, believing that it would amount to declaring war on the group and further involving Ecuador in Colombia's internal conflict. In October 2006, Correa added that he would "pursue and capture" FARC members if they enter Ecuador. He also declared that he condemns their kidnappings, violations of human rights and bombings.

Correa's ability to communicate with Ecuador's indigenous population in their own language differentiated him from the other presidential candidates. He learned Quichua in his youth during a year he spent volunteering in a remote highland town. However, in the 15 October election, a large percentage of the votes in areas with high concentration of indigenous people went to candidate Gilmar Gutierrez, brother of former president Lucio Gutierrez, although Correa generally ran second in these areas (and a smaller proportion to Luis Macas, of the Indigenous movement Pachakutik).