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GUEST: Mateo Martinez, Political Advisor for the Ecuadoran Government

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa celebrated the overwhelming majority gained by his ruling coalition in Sunday’s constituent assembly elections. As unofficial results continue to come in, President Correa predicted that his ruling Alianza Pais party would take 80 of the 130 available seats. The constituent assembly will convene on October 31 of this year and will have 180 days to rewrite the nation’s constitution. The draft will then have to be ratified by a second national referendum in 2008. Correa’s victory at the polls follows a political crisis earlier this year surrounding the referendum: Ecuador’s Electoral Tribunal approved holding a constitutional referendum and fired 57 lawmakers for trying to block the project. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, whom Correa has been unfavorably compared to by detractors, congratulated the Ecuadorian leader on his referendum victory. President Chavez stated that the referendum victory “is how Latin America is moving forward, from victory to victory, from triumph to triumph.”

For more information, visit www.presidencia.gov.ec/