Ecuador set to join 'pink tide' washing across Latin America

Rafael Correa a former finance minister who resigned from the government after speaking out against a US-backed trade agreement, had seen support surge through the campaign as he addressed mass rallies wielding a leather belt and promising to "give the lash" to Ecuador's elite.

After years of government collapses Mr Correa had vowed to rewrite the constitution, curb political parties, suspend the free trade deal with Washington and refuse to renew an accord on a US military base used to fight drugs.

But Mr Correa's opponent, the billionaire banana tycoon Alvaro Noboa, gained ground in yesterday's voting, with exit polls last night suggesting that neither side had won a clear victory. A Cedatos Gallup poll showed Mr Noboa with 27.2 per cent of the votes and Mr Correa with 25.4 per cent after first round voting, while another poll showed Mr Noboa with 28.5 per cent of the votes and Mr Correa with 26.5 per cent.

If the polls prove accurate and no candidate has won more than 50 per cent, the presidency will be decided in a run-off next month. Latin America's pink tide had been stemmed in recent months with a narrow defeat for Manuel Lopez Obrador in Mexico and centrist Allan Garcia's win over Ollanta Humala in Peru.

Ecuador's election has been electrified by the looming figure of Mr Chavez, Venezuela's theatrical left-wing President. His barnstorming speech at the United Nations in New York in which he compared President George Bush to Satan and complained of the smell of sulphur on the platform was rapturously received by a growing anti-American movement worldwide.

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http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article1876631.ece