Ecuadorians More Pessimistic About Future

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The amount of people in Ecuador who think the South American country is going in the right direction has decreased over the past six months, according to a poll by Cedatos/Gallup. 39 per cent of respondents think Ecuador is on the right track, down five points since January.

Rafael 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.

On Jul. 18, a full constitutional draft was approved by the pro-government majority in the Constituent Assembly. The text includes a clause allowing for one consecutive presidential re-election. Two articles that would have legalized same-sex unions and given the indigenous Quechua tongue the status of official language were pulled out at the last minute. The proposed Constitution must be ratified in a nationwide referendum on Sept. 28.

On Jul. 30, the Ecuadorian government issued a statement, calling on the United States to dismantle its military base in the country once its 10-year lease expires in 2009. During the presidential campaign, Correa had vowed not to renew the base’s permit, arguing that he wanted to "diminish" American influence in Ecuador. The statement said that anti-drug surveillance flights will conclude in August 2009, with the "withdrawal of foreign personnel from the Ecuadorian Air Force base in Manta" following in November.

Polling Data

Is the country on the right track or the wrong track?

Source: Cedatos/Gallup
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 1,433 Ecuadorian adults, conducted from Jul. 11 to Jul. 14, 2008. Margin of error is 3.2 per cent.