On September 28th Ecuadorians voted by an almost two-thirds majority (64%) to approve a new constitution-Ecuador's 20th since independence-giving President Rafael Correa sweeping new powers and the possibility of remaining in office until 2017. This, he says, will consolidate his "citizens' revolution" and bring stability to this chronically unstable Andean nation that has had eight presidents in the past 11 years. But many Ecuadorians worry that the left-wing populist president is creating a Venezuelan-style autocracy.rnIn championing the new constitution, Mr Correa has certainly followed the path of two fellow leftist presidents, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Evo Morales of Bolivia. The three share an antipathy towards neoliberalism and central-bank autonomy, along with a belief in state-owned businesses, the welfare state and a redistribution of wealth-made easier in all three countries by the surge in energy prices.
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