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Chavez ally wins Ecuador election

Victory strengthens South America's Left tilt

QUITO (Ecuador): Rafael Correa, a Leftist economist, who called for Ecuador to cut ties with international lenders, on Monday won the presidency of this poor, politically unstable Andean nation, strengthening South America's tilt to the Left.

Mr. 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.

The returns showed Mr. Correa with as many as twice the votes recorded as for his banana tycoon rival, who claimed the polls were rigged.

Fresh face

Mr. 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 IMF. Mr. Correa, who has called U.S. President George W. Bush ``dimwitted,'' also wants to hold a referendum to rewrite the Constitution. ``We receive this triumph with deep serenity and humility,'' the 43-year-old, who has an economics doctorate from the University of Illinois, said. — Agencies

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