New Ecuador constitution approved in national referendum
- Ecuador
- 09/30/2008
In a national referendum on Sunday, Ecuadorean voters overwhelmingly approved a new constitution which consolidates and significantly broadens the powers held by leftist President Rafael Correa. The new constitution gives the president the power to remove Congress in the middle of a four-year term, to control monetary policy, and to seek re-election for an additional term. The constitution also includes plans to tighten control of Ecuador’s vital mining and oil industries. President Correa called the vote a ‘historic victory,’ commenting, “Today, Ecuador has decided on a new nation, the old structures are defeated.”
The special assembly charged with rewriting the constitution provisionally approved the document in July. The success of Correa’s referendum fulfills Correa’s pledge to rewrite the country’s constitution after his leftist coalition’s landslide victory in October 2007. Correa’s Alianza PAIS party has a majority in the Constituent Assembly. Critics continue to fear the 444-article constitution gives the president too much control over the economy and the judiciary, which would allow Correa to follow the example set by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in using the reform to further expand his powers.
