Ecuador’s new President

Ecuador has elected a new leftist president, Rafael Correa. The final tally of votes may take weeks , but he has already declared victory. According to a Voice of America report ” Rafael Quintero of Central university of Quito says Sundays vote shows “Mr. Correa’s agenda for sweeping changes within the government has wide popular appeal. He says “Ecuadorians are tired of being treated by the government as subjects and not as citizens with full rights”. Here is a link to the full article on voanews.com. I spent some time in this beautiful country in 2000. I photographed this woman during the unrest and street protests that led to the removal of president Jorge Jamil Mahuad Witt. Quintero says “the constitutional process in Ecuador is not inspired by Venezuela or any other Latin American government. The demand for change partly stems from major protests by indigenous groups in Ecuador in 1990 and has been brewing since then”. I wish them luck and success. I loved Ecuador and will do my best to travel back there as soon as possible.