Rafael Correa

{{Short description|President of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017}} {{family name hatnote|Correa|Delgado|lang=Hispanic American}} {{Lead rewrite|date=March 2022}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Rafael Correa | image = Rafael Correa 2017.jpg | caption = Correa in 2017 | order = 45th | office = President of Ecuador | vice_president = {{ubl|Lenín Moreno<br />(2007–2013)|Jorge Glas<br />(2013–2017)}} | term_start = 15 January 2007 | term_end = 24 May 2017 | predecessor = Alfredo Palacio | successor = Lenín Moreno | office1 = President of the PAIS Alliance | term_start2 = 2 April 2006 | term_end2 = 1 May 2017 | predecessor2 = ''Party established'' | successor2 = Lenín Moreno | office3 = Minister of Economy and Finance | president3 = Alfredo Palacio | term_start3 = 20 April 2005 | term_end3 = 9 August 2005 | predecessor3 = Mauricio Yépez | successor3 = Magdalena Barreiro | birth_name = Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1963|4|6|df=y}} | birth_place = Guayaquil, Ecuador | death_date = | death_place = | party = {{ubl|PAIS Alliance (until 2018)|Citizen Revolution Movement (since 2018)}} | other_party = {{ill|Acuerdo Nacional|es|Acuerdo Nacional (Ecuador)}} (since 2018) | spouse = {{marriage|Anne Malherbe Gosselin|1992}} | children = 3 | alma_mater = {{ubl|Catholic University of Guayaquil (BA)|UCLouvain (MA)|University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (MS, PhD)}} | signature = Rafael Correa signature.svg }} '''Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado''' ({{IPA|es|rafaˈel βiˈsente koˈre.a ðelˈɣaðo}}; born 6 April 1963) is an Ecuadorian politician and economist who served as the 45th president of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017. The leader of the PAIS Alliance political movement from its foundation until 2017, Correa is a democratic socialist and his administration focused on the implementation of left-wing policies. Internationally, he served as president ''pro tempore'' of the UNASUR. Since 2017, he has been living with his family in Belgium.

Born to a lower middle-class family in Guayaquil, Correa studied economics at the Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil, the University of Louvain (UCLouvain), and the University of Illinois, where he received his PhD. Returning to Ecuador, in 2005 he became the Minister for the Economy under President Alfredo Palacio, successfully lobbying Congress for increased spending on health and education projects.

Correa won the presidency in the 2006 general election on a platform criticizing the established political elites. Taking office in January 2007, he sought to move away from Ecuador's neoliberal economic model by reducing the influence of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. He oversaw the introduction of a new constitution, being reelected in 2009 and again in the 2013 general election.

Correa's presidency was part of the Latin American pink tide, a turn toward leftist governments in the region, allying himself with Hugo Chávez's Venezuela and bringing Ecuador into the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas in June 2009.<ref name="BBCfeb2017">{{cite news|title=Ecuador election: Who will succeed Rafael Correa?|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-38976948|access-date=24 February 2017|work=BBC News|date=18 February 2017}}</ref> Using its own form of 21st century socialism, Correa's administration increased government spending, reducing poverty, raising the minimum wage and increasing Ecuador's standard of living. From 2006 to 2016, poverty decreased from 36.7% to 22.5% and annual per capita GDP growth was 1.5% (as compared to 0.6% over the previous two decades). At the same time, economic inequality, as measured by the Gini coefficient, decreased from 0.55 to 0.47.<ref name="BBCfeb2017" /><ref name="ECONfeb2017">{{cite news|title=What to expect from Ecuador's elections|url=https://www.economist.com/news/americas/21717119-under-rafael-correa-living-standards-rose-he-governed-heavy-hand-and-leaves-lot|access-date=24 February 2017|newspaper=The Economist|date=16 February 2017}}</ref><ref name="FTfeb2017">{{cite news|last1=Schipani|first1=Andres|title=Ecuador's Lasso looks to overturn Correa's revolution|url=https://www.ft.com/content/e714ff42-f8f4-11e6-9516-2d969e0d3b65|access-date=24 February 2017|work=Financial Times|date=22 February 2017}}</ref> By the end of Correa's tenure, the 50% drop in the price of oil since 2014 had caused Ecuador's economy to enter a recession, resulting in government spending being slashed.<ref name="BBCfeb2017" /><ref name="ECONfeb2017" /><ref name="FTfeb2017" /><ref name="STfeb2017">{{cite news|last1=Solano|first1=Gonzalo|title=Official: Ecuador's presidential election headed to runoff|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/ruling-party-candidate-leads-in-ecuadors-presidential-vote/|access-date=24 February 2017|work=The Seattle Times|date=19 February 2017}}</ref>

After leaving office, Correa feuded with his successor, Lenín Moreno.<ref name=RedNotice>[https://apnews.com/general-news-ed4d27c57f4c4d98bc75ba65bbc8e75c Interpol rejects Ecuador request to call for Correa's arrest], Associated Press (December 5, 2018).</ref> Since leaving office in 2017, he has lived in self-imposed exile in Belgium, which granted him asylum.<ref name=AP2022>Samuel Pétrequin, [https://www.courthousenews.com/exiled-ex-ecuador-president-rafael-correa-doesnt-exclude-political-return/ Exiled ex-Ecuador President Rafael Correa doesn't exclude political return], Associated Press (April 25, 2022).</ref> Correa continues to exercise political influence in Ecuador through social media and as a leading figure in his political party.<ref name=NietoMoveon>Caroline Ávila Nieto, [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/11/opinion/rafael-correa-daniel-noboa-ecuador.html This Exiled Leader Ruled Ecuador for 10 Years. The Nation Still Can't Move On.], ''New York Times'' (April 11, 2025).</ref> Ecuadorean politics remains polarized between pro- and anti-Correa forces.<ref name=NietoMoveon/>

In 2018, a judge in Ecuador ordered a warrant for Correa's arrest after he failed to appear in court during a trial surrounding the kidnapping of his political opponent Fernando Balda in 2012.<ref name=BBCJuly2018>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-44706554|title=Ecuador court orders ex-president's arrest|date=4 July 2018|work=BBC News|access-date=4 July 2018|language=en-GB}}</ref> Interpol rejected requests by the Ecuadorian government to issue a red notice requesting Correa's arrest in connection with the kidnapping case,<ref name=RedNotice/> calling it "obviously a political matter."<ref name=DW2018>[https://www.dw.com/en/ecuadors-rafael-correa-requests-asylum-in-belgium-report/a-46217705 Ecuador's Rafael Correa requests asylum in Belgium: report], Deutsche Welle/AFP, 8 November 2018.</ref> In 2020, Correa was tried in abstentia by an Ecuadorian criminal court, convicted of accepting bribes in exchange for public contracts from 2012 and 2016, sentenced to eight years in prison, and banned from seeking office for 25 years.<ref name=LeónCabrera>{{Cite news|last=León Cabrera|first=José María |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/07/world/americas/ecuador-correa-corruption-verdict.html|title=Ecuador's Former President Convicted on Corruption Charges|date=7 April 2020|work=The New York Times|access-date=8 April 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Ecuador ex-president Correa jailed in absentia for corruption |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-52208588 |work=BBC News |date=7 April 2020}}</ref> Correa has denied all wrongdoing, and has called the charges against him politically motivated attempts to discredit his movement.<ref name=LeónCabrera/>

== Early life ==

=== Early life === Correa's father was Rafael Correa Icaza, born in Los Ríos Province, Ecuador, while his mother is Norma Delgado Rendón (born 1 September 1939).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geneall.net/H/per_page.php?id=633442 |title=Rafael Correa Icaza |publisher=GeneAll.net |date=23 March 1934 |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref> He had three siblings; Fabricio Correa, Pierina Correa and Bernardita Correa. Having grown up in the coastal city of Guayaquil, he has described his family background as being that of the "lower middle class".{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}

When Correa was five, his father was arrested and imprisoned for three years after attempting to smuggle illegal narcotics into the United States.<ref name="drug smuggling">{{cite news | last=Soto | first=Alonso | title=Ecuador's Correa admits father was drug smuggler | url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN1423713820070414 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110114045440/http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN1423713820070414 | url-status=dead | archive-date=14 January 2011 | work=Reuter News – Edition UK | publisher=Reuters | access-date=14 April 2007 | date=14 April 2007}}</ref><ref name="OpenDemocracy">{{cite web |author=Guy Hedgecoe |title=Rafael Correa: An Ecuadorian Journey |date=29 April 2009 |website=openDemocracy |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/article/rafael-correa-an-ecuadorian-journey |access-date=13 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054104/https://www.opendemocracy.net/article/rafael-correa-an-ecuadorian-journey |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Publicly acknowledging this incident while president, Correa stated that "I do not condone what he did [but] drug smugglers are not criminals. They are single mothers or unemployed people who are desperate to feed their families".<ref name="drug smuggling" /> Correa was 18 when he was told about his father's actions.<ref name="OpenDemocracy" />

While living in Guayaquil, Correa was highly involved in the Boy Scout program.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eluniverso.com/2007/01/15/0001/8/545FD60E431D4C759D9521271100289E.html|title=El scout que llegó a la presidencia |website=El Universo|date=15 January 2007}}</ref> When he was 17, despite his family facing financial hardship, a family friend paid for him to be educated at an elite local school, where he excelled.<ref name="OpenDemocracy" /> During his secondary studies he was president of the Lasallian Student Cultural Association ("ACEL" in Spanish).{{citation needed|date=May 2015}} Correa then obtained a scholarship to study at the Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil (UCSG), a private higher education institution in Guayaquil, Ecuador, where he obtained an undergraduate degree in economics in 1987.<ref name="OpenDemocracy" /><ref name="cidob.org" />

When attending UCSG, he was elected President of the Association of Students of Economy, Audit and Administration (AEAA) and, later on, President of the Federation of Students (FEUC) of the same education center, a position which in 1986 allowed him to preside over the Private Universities Students Federation of Ecuador (FEUPE).<ref name="cidob.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.cidob.org/documentacion/biografias_lideres_politicos/america_del_sur/ecuador/rafael_correa_delgado |title=Rafael Correa Delgado |language=es |publisher=CIDOB |date=20 October 2008 |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref>

=== University ===

Following the conclusion of his studies at UCSG, Correa worked for a year in a mission at a kindergarten run by the Salesian order in Zumbahua, Cotopaxi Province, where he taught Catholicism and mathematics. It was here that he furthered his faith in Catholicism,<ref name="OpenDemocracy" /> and developed a working understanding of the Quechua language spoken by most of Ecuador's indigenous people.<ref name="OpenDemocracy" /> He then secured a scholarship to study economics further at UCLouvain in Belgium, where he met Anne Malherbe Gosselin, whom he married and has three children with.<ref name="OpenDemocracy" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hoy.com.ec/noticias-ecuador/anne-dolida-por-mentiras-contra-su-esposo-rafael-249811-249811.html |title=Anne, dolida por "mentiras" contra su esposo Rafael |work=HOY &#124; Noticias del Ecuador y el mundo |publisher=Hoy |date=14 October 2011 |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref> He later received a Master of Arts in Economics from UCLouvain in June 1991.<ref name="presidencia.gob.ec" />

Correa was able to afford a university education with the aid of funding grants.{{sfn|Kozloff|2008|p=13}} He continued his studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he earned a Master of Science in economics in May 1999, and a PhD in economics in October 2001.<ref name="presidencia.gob.ec">{{cite web | url=http://www.presidencia.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2012/10/Econ.Rafael-Correa-Delgado.pdf | title=Econ. Rafael Correa Delgado | access-date=20 May 2015 | language=es | archive-date=29 July 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230729204331/https://www.presidencia.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2012/10/Econ.Rafael-Correa-Delgado.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref>

Returning to Ecuador, Correa secured a position at the University of San Francisco in Quito, where he taught economics.<ref name="OpenDemocracy" /> At the same time, he worked as an economic adviser to state and international agencies.<ref name="OpenDemocracy" /> During this period, Ecuador experienced a banking crisis and the government of President Jamil Mahuad replaced the Ecuadorean ''sucre'' currency with the U.S. dollar.<ref name="OpenDemocracy" /> Correa was highly critical of this dollarisation policy, arguing against it in various academic publications that he produced at the time.<ref name="OpenDemocracy" />

==Politics== Between 1992 and 1993, during the presidency of Sixto Durán Ballén, Correa was a director at the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) in Ecuador, tasked with administrative oversight and supervision of improvement programs for the national educational system. The improvement programs were funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thebusinessyear.com/ecuador-2012/the-underdog-with-bite/focus | title=The Underdog With Bite | access-date=11 April 2016 | language=es | archive-date=2 June 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602190913/https://www.thebusinessyear.com/ecuador-2012/the-underdog-with-bite/focus | url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Minister of Finance === On 20 April 2005, Correa was appointed to the position of Minister of Economy and Finance<ref name="finmins">{{cite web|url=http://www.finanzas.gob.ec/historico-de-autoridades-2001-2012/|title=Histórico de Autoridades 2001-2012 |work=Ministerio de Finanzas|date=15 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315065650/http://www.finanzas.gob.ec/historico-de-autoridades-2001-2012/|archive-date=15 March 2015}}</ref> in the government of President Alfredo Palacio,{{sfnm|1a1=Conaghan|1a2=De La Torre|1y=2008|1p=271}} having previously advised Palacio before his ascension to the presidency.<ref name="OpenDemocracy" /> As finance minister, Correa met with a number of Latin American presidents, including Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Argentina's Nestor Kirchner, and Venezuela's Hugo Chávez. He established himself as both a political maverick and a staunch critic of economic liberalization.{{sfn|Conaghan|De La Torre|2008|p=271}}

During his four months in charge of the portfolio, Correa was skeptical of signing a free trade agreement with the United States and declining advice from the International Monetary Fund, instead working to increase Ecuador's cooperation with other Latin American countries. Arguably his most notable decision within the Ministry of Finance was to reverse the fact that surpluses from oil sales go directly to prepay Ecuador's foreign debt and instead go to investment in health and education. After the World Bank stopped a loan, citing changes in the oil revenue stabilization fund, Correa resigned from Palacio's government. He had also proposed the issuance of government bonds at a lower interest rate than the 8.5% prevailing one at that time. Venezuela's government was buying half of the new bond issue. Correa claimed in his resignation letter that the sale was done with full presidential authorization, but cited lack of support from the president as a factor in his decision to resign.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ifis.choike.org/informes/122.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060822061002/http://ifis.choike.org/informes/122.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 August 2006 |title=A translation of Correa's letter of resignation into English |publisher=Ifis.choike.org |date=22 August 2005 |access-date=14 March 2010 }}</ref> When Correa resigned as minister, polls showed he had the highest credibility of any official in the administration at the time, with 57% of Ecuadorians saying that they trusted him.<ref>Solo, Tony. [https://web.archive.org/web/20051217142440/http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=8516 Sovereignty Takes One Step Backwards], Znet, 15 August 2005</ref>

Prior to becoming President, Correa denounced the "sophistry of Free Trade", in an introduction he wrote for a book titled ''The Hidden Face of Free Trade Agreements.'' One of the authors of that book is his ex-Minister and congressman Alberto Acosta. Citing as his source the book, ''Kicking Away the Ladder'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.paecon.net/PAEtexts/Chang1.htm |title=Ha-Joon Chang, "Kicking Away the Ladder" |publisher=Paecon.net |access-date=24 December 2015}}</ref> written by Korean economist based at Cambridge University and Center for Economic and Policy Research analyst Ha-Joon Chang, Correa identified the difference between an "American system" opposed to "a British System" of free trade. The latter, he says, was explicitly viewed by the Americans as "part of the British imperialist system". Correa wrote that Chang showed that it was Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, and not Friedrich List who was the first to present a systematic argument defending industrial protectionism. (Correa includes List's ''National System of Political Economy'' in his bibliographic references.)

=== 2006 presidential campaign === Correa decided to campaign for the presidency in the 2006 presidential election, although at the time he was a largely unknown figure among the Ecuadorean public.{{sfnm|1a1=Philip|1a2=Panizza|1y=2011|1p=35}} Employing Vinicio Alvarado as his campaign manager, Correa's campaign emphasised his personality as a macho family man of modest origins who was angry with the country's political elites.{{sfn|Conaghan|De La Torre|2008|p=272}} During his campaign, he described himself as the head of "a citizen's revolution" against the established political parties and corrupt elites,{{sfn|Philip|Panizza|2011|p=89}} and depicted himself as the leader of a second independence movement devoted to freeing Ecuador from American imperialism.{{sfn|Philip|Panizza|2011|p=89}} Touring the country aboard a motorized caravan attending political rallies, he emphasized this opposition using campaign songs such as Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It", as well as through the slogan "Se viene el correazo" ("''Here comes a whipping''"), a pun on the fact that "Correa" can be translated as whip.{{sfn|Conaghan|De La Torre|2008|p=272}}

Correa established a political vehicle, the PAIS Alliance (Alianza PAIS—''Patria Altiva y Soberana'', "Proud and Sovereign Fatherland Alliance"), which united a disparate group of leftist organizations.{{sfn|Conaghan|De La Torre|2008|p=271}} However, in an unusual move he announced that the PAIS Alliance would not put forward any congressional candidates during the election, thus reflecting his opposition to the established political system.{{sfn|Conaghan|De La Torre|2008|p=272}} During the campaign, Correa stated that if elected he would use an executive decree to introduce a national referendum on the establishment of a constituent assembly which had the potential to rewrite Ecuador's constitution.{{sfnm|1a1=Conaghan|1a2=De La Torre|1y=2008|1p=271|2a1=Philip|2a2=Panizza|2y=2011|2p=110}}<ref>McDermott, Jeremy [http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1520372006 Man of the people closes in on presidency] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312170637/http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1520372006 |date=12 March 2007 }}, ''The Scotsman'', 14 October 2006.</ref> He presented this as a process necessary to overthrow the established political elites, whom he termed the ''partidocracia'' ("partyarchy") and redistribute political power.{{sfn|Conaghan|De La Torre|2008|p=271}}

The Alianza PAIS movement signed a political alliance with the Ecuadorian Socialist Party, which did present candidates for Congress.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eluniverso.com/2012/03/28/1/1355/apoyo-oficialista-causa-fisura-socialistas.html|title=Apoyo oficialista causa fisura entre socialistas|work=El Universo|date=28 March 2012}}</ref> On 31 July 2006, Alianza PAIS also signed a Programmatic Political Agreement with the Communist Party of Ecuador when Correa was postulated for candidate for president.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.explored.com.ec/noticias-ecuador/los-candidatos-presidenciales-finalistas-multiplican-ofertas-248982.html|title=explored.com.ec|website=www.explored.com.ec|access-date=3 May 2013|archive-date=27 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927025910/http://www.explored.com.ec/noticias-ecuador/los-candidatos-presidenciales-finalistas-multiplican-ofertas-248982.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Other parties that joined Alianza PAIS coalition in a runoff election included Democratic People's Movement,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.eluniverso.com/2006/10/22/0001/8/12FDFE532C9543DE964CFDE49F21B46B.html |title=El MPD anuncia su apoyo a Alianza PAÍS – OCT. 22, 2006 – Política – Historicos |newspaper=El Universo |date=22 October 2006 |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref> Democratic Left,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.terra.com.ec/noticias/noticias/act622448/partido-izquierda-democratica-anuncia-apoyo-rafael-correa.html |title=Partido Izquierda Democratica anuncia apoyo a Rafael Correa |publisher=terra |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref> Pachakutik,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.eluniverso.com/2006/10/26/0001/8/6E6617F2E4074F088FBDD05D9D68B767.html |title=Pachakutik anunció que apoyará a Alianza PAÍS en la segunda vuelta – OCT. 26, 2006 – Política – Historicos |newspaper=El Universo |date=26 October 2006 |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref> and the Partido Roldista Ecuatoriano.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.eluniverso.com/2006/11/08/0001/8/EC707EA4E56C492CB537AC5A5DC6DD2D.html |title=Correa sostiene que las bases del PRE lo apoyan – NOV. 08, 2006 – Política – Historicos |newspaper=El Universo |date=8 November 2006 |access-date=4 December 2011 |archive-date=4 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004162850/http://www.eluniverso.com/2006/11/08/0001/8/EC707EA4E56C492CB537AC5A5DC6DD2D.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

During his campaign, Correa traveled to Barinas, Venezuela to spend time at Hugo Chávez's family home, describing the Venezuelan President as a personal friend.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

On economic policy, Correa called for reform of the petroleum industry, including an increase in the percentage of petroleum revenues spent on social programs for the Ecuadorian poor, following the reforms of the Hydrocarbons Law promoted by former Economy and Finance Minister Diego Borja. He accused foreign petroleum companies operating in Ecuador of failing to meet existing environmental and investment regulations.

In an interview, Correa stated:

<blockquote>Many of the oil contracts are a true entrapment for the country. Of every five barrels of oil that the multinationals produce, they leave only one for the state and take four... That is absolutely unacceptable. We're going to revise and renegotiate the contracts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?dist=newsfinder&siteid=google&guid=%7B595DEB3E-B1DB-4BFA-B1CD-BEB40B9081BC%7D |title=Ecuador candidate Correa to redraw private oil contracts |publisher=Marketwatch.com |date=18 October 2011 |access-date=4 September 2012}}</ref></blockquote>

Correa also proposed strategies for reducing the burden of Ecuador's foreign debt service through compulsory debt restructuring. He indicated that his top priority would be spending on social programs rather than servicing Ecuador's debt.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.latinbusinesschronicle.com/app/article.aspx?id=441 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061020054421/http://www.latinbusinesschronicle.com/app/article.aspx?id=441 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=20 October 2006 |title=Ecuador Sigh of Relief |publisher=Latinbusinesschronicle.com |access-date=4 September 2012 }}</ref> On foreign policy, Correa stressed Ecuador's aversion to becoming involved in Colombia's domestic conflict.<ref>[http://elcomercio.terra.com.ec/solo_texto_search.asp?id_noticia=45439&anio=2006&mes=10&dia=19 Correa cambia de discurso de campaña: dice que rompería con Chávez y perseguirá a las FARC] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313114505/http://elcomercio.terra.com.ec/solo_texto_search.asp?id_noticia=45439&anio=2006&mes=10&dia=19 |date=13 March 2007 }} Diario El Comercio, 19 October 2006</ref> In October 2006, Correa added that he would "pursue and capture" FARC members if they entered Ecuador. He also condemned their kidnappings, violations of human rights and bombings.<ref>{{in lang|es}} [http://elcomercio.terra.com.ec/solo_texto_search.asp?id_noticia=45439&anio=2006&mes=10&dia=19 "Correa cambia e discurso de campaña: dice que rompería con Chávez y perseguirá a las FARC"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313114505/http://elcomercio.terra.com.ec/solo_texto_search.asp?id_noticia=45439&anio=2006&mes=10&dia=19 |date=13 March 2007 }}. ''Diario El Comercio'', 19 October 2006.</ref> In addition to his platform on economic and social policy, Correa's ability to communicate with a large majority of Ecuador's indigenous population in their own language also differentiated him from other candidates. He learned Quichua<!-- This is the correct spelling, don't change it to "Quechua" --> in his youth during a year he spent volunteering in a remote highland town.<ref>Weitzman, Hal. [https://www.ft.com/content/23a5e4fa-5732-11db-9110-0000779e2340 Rafael Correa: Chavista with a whip hand], ''Financial Times''. 9 October 2006.</ref>

In the October 2006 general election, Correa obtained second place (23%) behind banana tycoon Álvaro Noboa (27%).{{sfn|Conaghan|De La Torre|2008|p=273}} The situation led to a run-off election, in which Correa portrayed Noboa as an exploitative oligarch and Noboa portrayed Correa as a dangerous leftist with strong links to Venezuela.{{sfn|Conaghan|De La Torre|2008|p=273}} Correa won the subsequent November 2006 runoff election with 57% of the vote.{{sfn|Conaghan|De La Torre|2008|p=273}}

== Presidency (2007–2017) ==

=== First term: 2007–2009 === thumb|Rafael Correa during his inaugural speech as president of Ecuador

Rafael Correa was officially declared President on 4 December 2006 by the electoral court. He was sworn in on 15 January 2007 as the 45th president of Ecuador, the seventh to occupy the post since the legislature removed President Abdalá Bucaram 10 years earlier in the midst of a debt crisis that had devastated the country. His inauguration was attended by most regional leaders, as well as the Iranian president and the Spanish Crown Prince.<ref>{{cite news | title = Ecuador swears in new president |work=BBC News | date = 16 January 2007 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6262555.stm }}</ref> Declaring that "Ecuador had voted for itself",{{sfn|Philip|Panizza|2011|p=90}} Correa proclaimed that his election meant an end to neoliberalism in the country.<ref>[http://breaking.tcm.ie/archives/2008/0927/world/mhqlsnmhkfsn/ "Voters expected to back new constitution in Ecuador"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718110959/http://breaking.tcm.ie/archives/2008/0927/world/mhqlsnmhkfsn/ |date=18 July 2011 }}. 27 September 2008. BreakingNews.ie</ref> Invoking the name of African-American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., Correa also spoke out against racial discrimination against indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorians in his speech.{{sfn|Kozloff|2008|p=112}} During the ceremony he wore a shirt decorated with motifs from the prehistoric Jama Coaque culture.{{sfn|Kozloff|2008|p=111}}

During his first months in office, Correa's government doubled the monthly poverty assistance payments to $30,{{sfnm|1a1=Philip|1a2=Panizza|1y=2011|1p=90}} doubled the credits for housing loans and reduced the electricity rates for individuals on low incomes.{{sfn|Philip|Panizza|2011|p=90}}

Correa ordered a plebiscite on the issue of whether or not Ecuador should establish a new constitution in April 2007; the proposal passed with over 80% of the vote.{{sfn|Philip|Panizza|2011|p=111}} Elections to establish a Constituent Assembly were held in 2007 and were won by Correa's government with over 60% of the vote.{{sfn|Philip|Panizza|2011|p=111}} The new constitution also increased the powers of the presidency by increasing the number of presidential decrees permitted.{{sfn|Philip|Panizza|2011|p=111}}

==== Economic policy ==== {{blockquote|Socialism will continue. The Ecuadorian people voted for that. We are going to emphasize this fight for social justice, for regional justice. We are going to continue the fight to eliminate all forms of workplace exploitation within our socialist conviction: the supremacy of human work over capital. Nobody is in any doubt that our preferential option is for the poorest people, we are here because of them. ''Hasta la victoria siempre!'' (Until victory, for ever!)| Rafael Correa, 30 April 2009<ref>[http://www.tribunemagazine.co.uk/2009/04/30/revolution-on-march-as-correa-makes-history/ "Revolution on March as Correa Makes History"] by Enrico Tortolano, ''Tribune Magazine'', 30 April 2009.</ref>}}

Correa adopted a confrontational approach to both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.{{sfn|Philip|Panizza|2011|p=90}} Correa's administration stated that the new government would not sign an agreement which allowed the International Monetary Fund to monitor its economic plan. In February 2007, Correa's economy minister Ricardo Patiño stated: "I have no intention … of accepting what some governments in the past have accepted: that (the IMF) tell us what to do on economic policy ... That seems unacceptable to us". However, as a member of the IMF, the annual report known as the "Article IV" report will be submitted.<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/02/01/ap3387781.html "Ecuador's Rejects IMF Review of Economy"]. Associated Press. 1 February 2007. {{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> In April 2007, Ecuador paid off its debt to the IMF. Correa said Ecuador wanted no further relationship with the fund.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ecuador says pays off last debt with IMF |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ecuador-referendum-imf-idUSN1522681220070416 |access-date=7 May 2022 |work=Reuters |date=16 April 2007 |language=en}}</ref> During his first year in office, Correa spoke of building an alternative to capitalist development, stating "we are building a conception of development that is different from that of the capitalist system, where we seek not to live better, to have competition, to have more every day, but to live well, to satisfy basic needs, where harmony with nature is sought, where we seek the indescribable life of cultures."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.semana.com/ecuador-correa-quiere-construir-nuevo-modelo-desarrollo/52454/|title=Ecuador: Correa quiere construir nuevo modelo de desarrollo|date=10 October 2007|website=Semana.com Últimas Noticias de Colombia y el Mundo}}</ref> This was reflected in an ideological manifesto of Correa's PAIS Alliance<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://movimientoalianzapais.com.ec/pagina-ejemplo-2/manifiesto-ap/|title=Manifiesto AP |work=Movimiento País|date=15 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215140257/http://movimientoalianzapais.com.ec/pagina-ejemplo-2/manifiesto-ap/ |archive-date=15 February 2012 }}</ref> and various development plans, which promoted as an alternative to capitalism ''Buen Vivir'' (Good Living).<ref>[https://www.ecuadorencifras.gob.ec/wp-content/plugins/download-monitor/download.php?id=62&force=1 Plan Nacional el Buen Vivir 2009-2013]</ref><ref>[https://www.gobiernoelectronico.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Plan-Nacional-para-el-Buen-Vivir-2013-%E2%80%93-2017.pdf Plan Nacional Para El Buen Vivir 2013 2017]</ref> He declared Ecuador's national debt illegitimate and announced that the country would default on over $3&nbsp;billion worth of bonds; he pledged to fight creditors in international courts and succeeded in reducing the price of outstanding bonds by more than 60%.<ref name="TRN2009Win" />

In May 2007, evidence surfaced that some of the Ecuadorian government rhetoric might have been part of an alleged market manipulation to benefit Ecuador from movements in the price of financial instruments linked to Ecuadorian bonds.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20201125084451/http://www.economist.co.uk/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9546462 "Caught on camera A setback for Rafael Correa"] The Economist, 26 July 2007</ref> A fall in Ecuador bond prices, ignited by aggressive default rhetoric, would trigger a buyback by Ecuador, financed by Venezuelan banks. This strategy collapsed due to operations by Venezuelan financial institutions who profited from the market swings. Correa referred to the allegations as a conspiracy from a powerful banker.<ref>[http://www2.elcomercio.com/solo_texto_search.asp?id_noticia=73516&anio=2007&mes=5&dia=23 "El caso Patiño sacude todo el tablero político"] El Comercio, 12 June 2007 {{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>[https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aJMwHjRq.5m0&refer=latin_america "Ecuador Prosecutors Probe Patino, Banker Meeting"] Bloomberg, 24 May 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.eluniverso.com/2007/05/29/0001/9/02327D5029A14F8594DED5F9666DDDCB.aspx "Una parte no revelada del video señala a venezolanos"]. El Universo, 29 May 2007 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905042841/http://www.eluniverso.com/2007/05/29/0001/9/02327D5029A14F8594DED5F9666DDDCB.aspx |date=5 September 2008 }}</ref> On 26 July 2007, Rafael Correa replaced finance minister Patiño, due to Patiño's appearance in a video recording, apparently discussing the market manipulation. Patiño then assumed a newly created position responsible for the Pacific coast region and later assumed the Political Affairs Ministry.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120921000307/http://search.ft.com/ftArticle?queryText=pati%C3%B1o+bonds&aje=true&id=070726001148&ct=0 "Correa replaces finance minister after Ecuador bond allegations"]. ''Financial Times''. 26 July 2007</ref> In a radio address on 13 December, Correa said that he wanted to force a "big discount" on creditors, whom a day earlier he called "true monsters who won't hesitate to crush the country".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aDviT_DhTcBE&refer=home|author1=Lester Pimentel |author2=Stephan Kueffner|publisher=Bloomberg|title=Ecuador May Hit 'True Monsters' Harder Than Argentina|date=15 December 2008|access-date=15 December 2008}}</ref> "I have lost sleep over this … this will cost us tears and sweat but I think we are doing the right thing."<ref name="reuters1">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN1348226820081215|author=Maria Eugenia Tello|work=Reuters|title=REFILE-Ecuador plans "very large" cut in debt restructuring|date=15 December 2008|access-date=15 December 2008}}</ref> Correa, who endorses anti-debt NGO Jubilee 2000's slogan "life before debt", is popular among Ecuadorians for his stance against foreign investors.<ref name="reuters1" />

Correa has criticized the neoliberal policies of previous presidents, particularly former president Mahuad's adoption of the U.S. dollar as Ecuador's domestic currency in 2000 to combat the country's inflation. Correa has characterized American dollarisation as a "technical error" which has effectively eliminated Ecuador's ability to set its own currency and exchange policy. However, Correa has also acknowledged that it would be politically and economically impossible to abandon that policy now. After his election victory of 15 April 2007, he pledged to maintain dollarisation during the entire four years of his administration, though he also indicated his support for the idea of replacing the US dollar with a regional South American currency at some point in the future.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rafaelcorrea.com/la_noticia/583/Rafael%20Correa%20anuncia%20en%20Nueva%20York%20que%20mantendrá%20la%20dolarización%20y%20no%20firmará%20el%20TLC |title= Rafael Correa anuncia en Nueva York que mantendrá la dolarización y no firmará el TLC|website=www.rafaelcorrea.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090307025129/http://www.rafaelcorrea.com/la_noticia/583/Rafael%20Correa%20anuncia%20en%20Nueva%20York%20que%20mantendr%C3%A1%20la%20dolarizaci%C3%B3n%20y%20no%20firmar%C3%A1%20el%20TLC |archive-date=7 March 2009}}</ref>

On 16 April 2009, Finance Minister María Elsa Viteri embarked on a trip to Europe in a mission to present Ecuador's offer to buy back global bonds 2012 and 2030 at 30% of their current value. In May 2009, Ecuador announced that it had successfully bought 91% of the bonds at a cost of 35 cents on the dollar.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=al0Dx5vF84aI&refer=latin_america|author=Kueffner, Stephan|publisher=Bloomberg|title=Ecuador Pays 35 Cents for Defaulted Bonds in Buyback (Update4)|date=26 May 2009|access-date=27 July 2010}}</ref>

In May 2008, the Ecuadorian government renegotiated radio spectrum franchises for mobile phone operators Porta and Movistar for a total price of 700 million dollars, far more than that recommended by studies conducted under previous governments, which had proposed granting the same franchises for only 70&nbsp;million dollars.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.telegrafo.com.ec/macroeconomia/noticia/archive/macroeconomia/2008/05/07/Porta-pagar_E100_-los-480-millones-de-d_F300_lares-al-Estado.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115014106/http://www.telegrafo.com.ec/macroeconomia/noticia/archive/macroeconomia/2008/05/07/Porta-pagar_E100_-los-480-millones-de-d_F300_lares-al-Estado.aspx|newspaper=El Telégrafo (Ecuador) |title=Porta pagará los 480 millones de dólares al Estado|archive-date=15 January 2009}}</ref>

==== Foreign policy ==== {{Main|Foreign policy of Rafael Correa}}

thumb|Presidents of South American countries meet in Rio de Janeiro. From left to right: Rafael Correa (Ecuador), Evo Morales (Bolivia), Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Brazil), Michelle Bachelet (Chile), Hugo Chávez (Venezuela) and Nicanor Duarte (Paraguay) [[File:Dmitry Medvedev with Rafael Correa-3.jpg|thumb|Correa and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow, 29 October 2009]]

During Rafael Correa's tenure as president, he took some radical alternative steps to change the course of Ecuador's relations with the rest of the world. Amongst these were economic moves to correct Ecuador's debt imbalance, distancing from the United States, a rift with its northern neighbor Colombia, and a strengthening of ties with ALBA (including Venezuela and Bolivia), as well as Iran.

Correa adopted a confrontational approach to the governments of both the United States and neighboring Colombia.{{sfn|Philip|Panizza|2011|p=90}} At the time of his election, Ecuador contained Manta Air Base, the only U.S. military base in South America. Correa refused to renew the base's lease when it expired in 2009 and the constitution was changed to ban foreign military bases being established in Ecuador.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Collyns |first1=Dan |title=Galápagos Islands: outcry after Ecuador allows US military to use airstrip |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/17/galapagos-islands-ecuador-us-military-airstrip |access-date=12 February 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=17 June 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://justf.org/blog/2009/06/03/new-commander-southcom-lt-gen-douglas-fraser |title=Southcom's New Commander – Lt. Gen. Douglas Fraser |publisher=Justf.org |date=3 June 2009 |access-date=4 September 2012 |archive-date=24 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130824061843/http://justf.org/blog/2009/06/03/new-commander-southcom-lt-gen-douglas-fraser |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 1 March 2008 at 00:25 local time (05:25 UTC), Colombia launched a military operation, {{convert|1.8|km|mi|sp=us}} into Ecuador.<ref name="MSNBC-rebel-leader">{{cite web|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23421855/print/1/displaymode/1098/ |title=Colombian military says senior rebel commander killed in combat |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080306013138/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23421855/print/1/displaymode/1098/ |archive-date=6 March 2008 }}</ref><ref name="BBC20080301">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7273320.stm |title=Farc aura of invincibility shattered|work=BBC News |date=1 March 2008 |access-date=2 March 2008 | first=Jeremy | last=McDermott}}</ref><ref name="Bloomberg">{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=a5HnABwKGrZc&refer=latin_america|title=Colombian Rebel Leader Raul Reyes Killed by Army, Minister Says|publisher=Bloomberg|date=1 March 2008|access-date=2 March 2008}}</ref> According to Colombian authorities, the guerrillas responded militarily to this initial bombardment from a position in the vicinity of Santa Rosa de Yanamaru, on the Ecuadorian side of the border, killing a Colombian soldier, Carlos Hernández. A second bombardment was then carried out, resulting in the deaths of Raúl Reyes and at least 20 more FARC members.<ref name="BBC20080325">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7312192.stm |title=Ecuador 'concerned' at raid death|work=BBC News |date=25 March 2008 |access-date=3 April 2008}}</ref> Two bodies, several documents and three laptops found in the guerrilla camp were returned to Colombia.<ref name="MSNBC-rebel-leader" /><ref name="Bloomberg" /> This was the first time the Colombian military had killed a member of FARC's leadership council in combat.<ref name=regional>{{cite news|url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5htqm5A0bbSSTN2xbt-HNS0KmvT7g |title=Regional tensions rise after Colombia raid into Ecuador |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=2 March 2008 |access-date=2 March 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080309100706/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5htqm5A0bbSSTN2xbt-HNS0KmvT7g |archive-date=9 March 2008}}</ref> After this operation, Colombia increased its security measures nationwide, fearing FARC retaliation.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/03/content_7706083.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080309145609/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/03/content_7706083.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 March 2008|title=Colombia boosts security against possible rebel retaliation|publisher=Xinhua News Agency|date=3 March 2008|access-date=3 March 2008}}</ref>

According to the Ecuadorian government, the attack happened {{convert|3|km}} inside its own territory, lacked its permission and was a planned strike, intended to be followed by the incursion of Colombian troops by helicopter. It pointed out that the attack had left a total of more than 20 people dead in Ecuadorian territory, many of whom were found to be wearing underwear or sleeping clothes.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite news |language=es |url=http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2008/03/03/internacional/1204515279.html |title=Correa: 'No permitiremos que este hecho quede en la impunidad' |newspaper=El Mundo |date=3 March 2008 |access-date=5 March 2008}}</ref> The government of Ecuador concluded that the attack was a "massacre" and not the result of combat or "hot pursuit". Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa had reason to believe that the Colombian warplanes had penetrated 10&nbsp;km into Ecuador's territory and struck the guerrilla camp while flying north, followed by troops in helicopters who had completed the killings. He claimed that some of the bodies had been found to be shot from behind.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2008/03/03/internacional/1204515279.html|title=Correa: 'No permitiremos que este hecho quede en la impunidad'|website=El Mundo}}</ref>

The Ecuadorian authorities found three wounded women in the camp, including a Mexican student who was identified as Lucía Andrea Morett Álvarez.<ref name="El Tiempo">{{cite news|language=es |url=http://www.eltiempo.com/conflicto/noticias/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR-3984400.html |title=Identifican a ciudadana mexicana que resultó herida en campamento de Raúl Reyes |newspaper=El Tiempo |date=3 March 2008 |access-date=3 March 2008 }}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |language=es |url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/487444.html |title=Carta de los padres de Lucía Andrea Morett Álvarez |work=El Universal |date=5 March 2008 |access-date=5 March 2008 |archive-date=6 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080306004941/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/487444.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Lucía Morett claimed that she was visiting the guerrilla group as part of an academic investigation, refusing to answer other questions about the circumstances surrounding her presence there.<ref name=MexicanaHerida>{{cite news|language=es |url=http://www.eltiempo.com/politica/2008-03-06/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR-3988789.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110521172011/http://www.eltiempo.com/politica/2008-03-06/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR-3988789.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 May 2011 |title=Mexicana herida en acción contra 'Raúl Reyes' recibía cursos de explosivos de las Farc |newspaper=El Tiempo |date=5 March 2008 |access-date=5 March 2008 }}</ref> Regarding the attack on the camp, she has stated: "I was asleep when we received a first aerial attack. Two or three hours later we were attacked again".<ref name=MexicanaHerida /> Ecuador said that it was cooperating with Mexico to investigate whether any Mexicans had been killed during the raid.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/americasCrisis/idUSN06246962|title=Ecuador, Mexico probe deaths of Mexicans in raid|work=Reuters|date=6 March 2008|access-date=6 March 2008}}</ref> According to the director of the Ecuadorian military hospital which treated the three women, they had received some sort of medical attention from both the attacking Colombian forces and the Ecuadorian soldiers who later found them.<ref>{{cite news|language=es |url=http://www2.elcomercio.com/noticiaEC.asp?id_noticia=175284&id_seccion=4 |title=Heridas en operativo contra las FARC sí recibieron atención médica colombiana |publisher=El Comercio |date=6 March 2008 |access-date=6 March 2008 }}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

President Uribe of Colombia spoke by telephone with his Ecuadorian counterpart, Rafael Correa, early on the morning of the raid, to inform him of the incident.<ref name="BBC Mundo 48 horas">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/latin_america/newsid_7274000/7274806.stm|title=48 horas frenéticas|publisher=BBC Mundo|date=3 March 2008|access-date=4 March 2008}}</ref> In a press conference that evening, Correa denounced the attack as "aggression" against Ecuador, calling it a "massacre", and claiming that the rebels had been killed in their sleep using "advanced technology". He announced that he was summoning his ambassador in Colombia for consultations.<ref name="BBC Mundo 48 horas" /> On Sunday, 2 March, Correa said that a diplomatic note would be sent in protest at the incursion,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/02/america/bogota.php|title=Ecuador's President protests Colombian incursion|work=The Hindu |location=India}}</ref> claiming that the action had been a violation of Ecuador's airspace.<ref name="IHT 20080302">{{cite web|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/02/america/bogota.php|title=Colombia forces kill key member of rebel group FARC|work=International Herald Tribune }}</ref> Ecuador formally recalled its ambassador from Colombia and expelled the Colombian ambassador from Quito.<ref name="BBC Mundo 48 horas" />

Correa withdrew his government's ambassador in Bogotá, Colombia, and ordered troops to the country's border following the 2008 Andean diplomatic crisis in early March 2008.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/03/02/chavez.colombia/index.html |title=Ecuador pulls diplomat from Bogotá |work=CNN|date=2 March 2008 |access-date=14 March 2010}}</ref> On 3 March 2008, Colombia's police said that documents found in a camp in Ecuador where Colombian troops killed Raul Reyes, a top guerrilla boss, showed ties between the FARC rebels and Correa, including contacts about political proposals and local military commanders.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSN02297382._CH_.2400 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516232713/http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSN02297382._CH_.2400 |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 May 2008 |title=Colombia says FARC documents show Correa ties |publisher=Reuters.com |date=2 March 2008 |access-date=4 September 2012}}</ref> Correa denied the accusations, calling them lies.<ref>[http://www2.elcomercio.com/noticiaEC.asp?id_noticia=174446&id_seccion=4 Acusación de Colombia es una patraña], El Comercio, 3 March 2008 {{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Correa also said that a deal to release political prisoners – including former Colombian Sen. Ingrid Betancourt – was nearly complete before the 1 March 2008 Colombian raid into his country.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/03/02/chavez.colombia/index.html |title=Ecuador: Colombian raid prevented release of captives |work=CNN|date=2 March 2008 |access-date=14 March 2010}}</ref> On 5 March 2008, Correa and Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez met to discuss Colombia's attack and made a series of accusations against Colombia's government.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080309170021/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/03/06/chavez.colombia.ap/index.html Chavez: Cross-border raid a 'war crime'], CNN, 6 March 2008</ref>{{specify|date=February 2021}} During the meeting, Correa dismissed Colombia's president Álvaro Uribe as just a "puppet" while others are the "puppet masters".<ref>[http://www2.elcomercio.com/noticiaEC.asp?id_noticia=175176&id_seccion=3 Rafael Correa insiste en la condena] El Comercio, 6 March 2008 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301201035/http://www2.elcomercio.com/noticiaEC.asp?id_noticia=175176&id_seccion=3 |date=1 March 2009 }}</ref> On 18 May 2011, Colombia's Supreme Court ruled documents found on computers of slain FARC commander "Raul Reyes" are inadmissible as evidence in court as the material is illegally obtained and provides no evidence.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/16368-supreme-court-dismisses-reyes-files-as-evidence.html |title=Supreme Court dismisses Reyes files as evidence |publisher=Colombiareports.com |date=18 May 2011 |access-date=4 September 2012 |archive-date=27 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127020119/http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/16368-supreme-court-dismisses-reyes-files-as-evidence.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

thumb|Presidents Fernando Lugo of Paraguay, Evo Morales of Bolívia, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brasil, Rafael Correa of Ecuador, and Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, in Fórum Social Mundial for Latin America

==== 2008 Constitution ====

===== Relations with Congress and Legislative crisis ===== In February 2007, Correa's plan to have a referendum on the convening of a constituent assembly was approved by Congress. The referendum took place on 15 April 2007. However, after this date was set, the "statutes" for the referendum were modified by Correa to allow more powers to the constituent assembly.<ref name="Gulfnews">{{cite news |url=http://www.gulfnews.com/world/Venezuela/10104351.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130125040945/http://www.gulfnews.com/world/Venezuela/10104351.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 January 2013 |title=Gulfnews |newspaper=Gulfnews |access-date=4 December 2011 }}</ref><ref>Solano, Gonzalo, [http://www.localnewsleader.com/brocktown/stories/index.php?action=fullnews&id=73971 "Ecuador tribunal warns president,"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927010209/http://www.localnewsleader.com/brocktown/stories/index.php?action=fullnews&id=73971 |date=27 September 2007 }} Brocktown News, 11 March 2007</ref> One of these powers was the ability to dismiss Congress, a power which Congress never approved. The newer version of the referendum was approved by the majority of the seven-seat Electoral Tribunal. In early March, Congress, which was controlled by Correa's opposition, reacted by trying to impeach the President of the electoral tribunal.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6429191.stm |title=Ecuador referendum row escalates |work=BBC News |date=8 March 2007 |access-date=4 September 2012}}</ref> The electoral tribunal then removed from office the 57 members of Congress who tried to impeach the President of the Electoral Tribunal, on the grounds of attempting to intervene an electoral process. Correa backed the electoral tribunal (which approved his version of the referendum) while stating that the removal of the 57 congressmen was constitutional. The situation escalated to a feud between the opposition in Congress and the Executive and marches in the street against Congress and police intervention to prevent the Congressmen from entering the legislative building.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kennedy |first=Alex |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=adOEAy8AA5ec |title=Ecuador Opposition Supporters Shot as Deputies Gather |publisher=Bloomberg.com |date=13 March 2007 |access-date=4 September 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eluniverso.com/2007/03/14/0001/8/89A11E959A9844BD9DB64D44AEE3ACBE.aspx |title=Gritos, golpes, balas y fallo del TC caotizan más al Congreso |publisher=Eluniverso.com |date=14 March 2007 |access-date=4 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926220147/http://www.eluniverso.com/2007/03/14/0001/8/89A11E959A9844BD9DB64D44AEE3ACBE.aspx |archive-date=26 September 2007 }}</ref>

On 22 March 21 alternate deputies were sworn in, allowing the Congress to regain quorum, and on 23 and 24 March a further 20 deputies were sworn in. The new majority (formed by 28 alternate deputies and 31 deputies from parties that support the referendum and Assembly) pledged to support the referendum on the Constitutional Assembly.<ref>[http://elcomercio.terra.com.ec/noticiaEC.asp?id_noticia=100078&id_seccion=3 13 diputados suplentes fueron posesionados hoy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070328170623/http://elcomercio.terra.com.ec/noticiaEC.asp?id_noticia=100078&id_seccion=3 |date=28 March 2007 }}, El Comercio, 22 March 2007</ref>

On 23 April, the Constitutional Court decided to try to reinstate 51 of the 57 Congressmen who had been fired by the Electoral Tribunal. The Constitutional Court claimed that it was illegal to remove them in the first place and approved a petition by the 51 requesting their reinstatement.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/23/AR2007042301993.html Ecuador Reinstates 51 Ousted Lawmakers]{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} ''Washington Post'', 24 April 2007</ref> But before the congressmen had the chance to reenter Congress, Congress voted to fire all nine judges of the Constitutional Court for their "unconstitutional actions".<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6590245.stm Ecuador's Congress sacks judges], BBC News, 24 April 2007</ref>

On 15 April 2007, Ecuadorians voted overwhelmingly (81.72% in favor) to support the election of a constituent assembly.<ref>[http://www.tse.gob.ec/Resultados2007/ Constitutional Assembly official report Tribunal Supremo Electoral]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> On 30 September 2007, due to the extraordinarily large number of candidates and lists (26 national lists, 428 provincial lists, 44 emigrant lists) the 2007 Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly election was the most complex in Ecuador's history.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} As a result, in the national election, President Correa won backing for his plans to rewrite Ecuador's constitution and expand state control of the nation's economy. Correa's faction won approximately 61% of the seats in the National Assembly (80 of 130 Assembly Members).<ref>{{cite news|last=Kueffner |first=Stephan |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ahC.qiXINCA8 |title=Correa Wins Majority in Ecuador Vote to Rewrite Constitution |publisher=Bloomberg.com |date=1 October 2007 |access-date=4 September 2012}}</ref>

==== Constituent Assembly ==== The Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly first convened on 29 November 2007 in Montecristi and was given six months to write a new constitution, with a possible two-month extension.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}} When Ecuador began the process of writing a new constitution, they received help from the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund to draft environmental laws giving nature and ecosystems rights.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.feature/id/1529/page/1 |title=Wild Law: The New Jurisprudence |publisher=Sustainablebusiness.com |date=19 September 2006 |access-date=4 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207073216/http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.feature/id/1529/page/1 |archive-date=7 February 2012}}</ref>

A constitutional referendum was held in Ecuador on 28 September 2008 to ratify or reject the constitution drafted by the Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly elected in 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prensa-latinaenglish.com/article.asp?ID={C0C91E78-4425-4BEC-AFB0-3271D94DF2DD})&language=EN|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080605123002/http://www.prensa-latinaenglish.com/article.asp?ID=|url-status=dead|title=Ecuador Assembly Approves Constitution – Prensa Latina|archive-date=5 June 2008}}</ref> Partial results show that 64% of voters voted to approve the 2008 Constitution of Ecuador.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7640704.stm |work=BBC News | title=Ecuadoreans back new constitution | date=29 September 2008}}</ref>

==== Environmental conservation ==== The President affirmed that his was a "green" Government for its defense of the environment."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.presidencia.gob.ec/noticias.asp?noid=8528|title=Presidencia de la República – Economía}}</ref> In line with this, he had decided to return to the International Whaling Commission to impede the restart of the hunt of whales;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.presidencia.gob.ec/noticias.asp?noid=9362&hl=true |title=Unknown |access-date=14 August 2023}}{{dead link|date=August 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> established a prohibition on the extraction of prized types of wood;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.presidencia.gob.ec/noticias.asp?noid=9959 |title=Unknown |access-date=14 August 2023}}{{dead link|date=August 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> and announced that for an annual compensation of 350 million dollars from the international community it would give up the exploitation of an oil field of around 1 billion barrels, one of their biggest reserves of petroleum<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.presidencia.gob.ec/noticias.asp?noid=9771&hl=true |title=Unknown |access-date=14 August 2023}}{{dead link|date=August 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>[http://www.amazoniaporlavida.org/es/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=82&Itemid=34 Ecuador busca fondos internacionales para no explotar petróleo] Amazonia por la Vida, 6 June 2007</ref> located in a reservation of the Yasuní National Park biosphere<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.presidencia.gob.ec/noticias.asp?noid=9307&hl=true |title=Unknown |access-date=14 August 2023}}{{dead link|date=August 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> in the Amazon Basin. The proposal hoped to collect contributions starting from 2010.

===== Oil politics ===== In 2013 Ecuador announced that it would auction more than three million hectares of Amazonian rainforest in the Yasuni Nature Reserve to Chinese oil companies. The indigenous people inhabiting the land protested the deal. They claim that the oil projects would threaten their traditional way of life and devastate the area's environment. Ecuador's Shuar people's women's leader, Narcisa Mashienta, said that the government lied when claiming that the people would have given their consent.<ref name="auction" />

The NGO Amazon Watch claims that the reason for the projects is the government's 7-billion-dollar debt to China and the desire to get Chinese funding to build a 12.5&nbsp;billion dollar oil refinery.<ref name="auction">[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/26/ecuador-chinese-oil-bids-amazon Ecuador auctions off Amazon to Chinese oil firms], The Guardian, 26 March 2013.</ref>

An 11,000-barrel oil spill in the Amazon was considered problematic to Correa's desire to win a third term, because he had tried to assure his critics of him being environment-friendly.<ref name="gp">[http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/130610/oil-spill-ecuador-brazil-peru-amazon Ecuador oil spill threatens Brazil and Peru], The Globalpost, 11 June 2013.</ref>

===== Yasuní-ITT Initiative ===== {{main|Yasuní-ITT Initiative}} The Yasuní-ITT Initiative is aimed at ceasing crude oil extraction in the Ishpingo-Tiputini-Tambococha (ITT) oil fields, which are located in the highly vulnerable area of Yasuní National Park. The proposal would contribute to preserving biodiversity, reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and their way of life.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}

President Correa has stated that Ecuador's first option is to maintain the crude oil in the subsoil. The national and international communities would be called on to help the government implement this costly decision for the country. The government hopes to recover 50% of the revenues it would obtain by extracting the oil. The procedure involves the issuing of government bonds for the crude oil that will remain "in situ", with the double commitment of never extracting this oil and of protecting Yasuní National Park. The hoped for-amount is estimated at 350 million dollars annually.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/08/16/ecuador-asked-the-world-to-pay-it-not-to-drill-for-oil-the-world-said-no/|title=Ecuador asked the world to pay it not to drill for oil. The world said no.|author=Brad Plumer|date=16 August 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>

A more promising alternative{{Original research inline|date=April 2010}} would be a strategy to provide the government with the 50% of resources in such a way as to provide a consistent income for an indefinite period of time. This resource would be channeled towards activities that help to free the country from its dependency on exports and imports and to consolidate food sovereignty.<ref>[http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/apr2007/2007-04-24-04.asp Ecuador Seeks Compensation to Leave Amazon Oil Undisturbed] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018050703/http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/apr2007/2007-04-24-04.asp |date=18 October 2017 }} Environment News Service, 24 August 2007</ref>

In August 2013, Correa abandoned the initiative and approved oil drilling, blaming lack of support from the international community for the decision.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23722204 Ecuador approves Yasuni park oil drilling in Amazon rainforest] BBC News, 21 August 2013</ref>

===== Sea conservation ===== Correa overturned a ban on the sale of shark fins, which are popular in Asia, but stipulated that the fins can only be sold if the sharks are caught accidentally and by artisan fishermen. He did not say how authorities would determine whether the shark had been caught accidentally or deliberately.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/worldlatest/story/0,,-6795051,00.html Correa Lifts Ban on Sale of Shark Fins] The Guardian 21 July 2007 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071128171735/http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6795051,00.html |date=28 November 2007 }}</ref>

On 3 August 2007, Correa ordered the deportation of Sean O'Hearn-Gimenez, director of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, saying that he would not allow "gringuitos" (literally, "little gringos") to tell Ecuadorians what to do or to pursue local fishermen. However, a local newspaper noted that O'Hearn-Gimenez had signed a 5-year agreement with Ecuador's own Environmental Police rather than acting unilaterally (as a foreigner with no authority of his own), and was married to an Ecuadorian.<ref>[http://www.eluniverso.com/2007/08/05/0001/8/A2E6DC07D97449928A3F0256881F520E.aspx Correa se retracta de expulsar a un ecologista foráneo] El Universo 5 August 2007 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926220043/http://www.eluniverso.com/2007/08/05/0001/8/A2E6DC07D97449928A3F0256881F520E.aspx |date=26 September 2007 }}</ref> The deportation was ordered because Sea Shepherd, in partnership with the Ecuadorian National Environmental Police, exposed and stopped the biggest shark-fin shipment in the port city of Manta.<ref>[http://www.clarin.com/diario/2007/08/05/elmundo/i-02402.htm Expulsan de Ecuador a un ecologista de EE.UU.] El Clarín, 5 August 2007</ref> Correa later rescinded the extradition order because O'Hearn-Gimenez was married to an Ecuadorian woman. All the arrested fishermen were released, too, and the confiscated shark fins returned to them.<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2007-08-05-3885617595_x.htm Ecuador frees activist, halts expulsion] USA Today, 6 August 2007</ref>

==== Security and defense ====

In June and July 2007 in several communities of the Amazonía and domestic South, protests were carried out against oil and mining concessions to transnational companies (PetroChina, PetroBras and Canadian mining). According to some media, the Government repressed abusing from the force to these mobilizations.<ref>http://www.lahaine.org/index.php?p=23542, http://www.ecuadorinmediato.com/espanol/mostrarnoticia.php?id=44&noticiaid=56520{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

=== Second presidential term: 2009–2013 === Rafael Correa was re-elected for a second term in the April 2009 general election, where he gained 52% of the vote.{{sfn|Philip|Panizza|2011|p=111}} He was the first Ecuadorian President to serve a second consecutive term since the 19th century.{{sfn|Philip|Panizza|2011|p=91}} It was the first time in thirty years that the country had re-elected a president and the first elected president from Guayaquil (The coast) who had finished his term after Leon Febres Cordero (1984–1986).<ref name="Ecuador's Correa aims for citizens revolution in 2nd term" /> He won by a large margin over the other seven candidates, taking 52 per cent of the vote to the 28 per cent of Lucio Gutiérrez, his nearest rival. His party also won the largest legislative block in the National Assembly, although not a majority.<ref name="TRN2009Win">''[https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171010140108/http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=3622 "Avenger against oligarchy" wins in Ecuador]'' The Real News, 27 April 2009.</ref>

[[File:Ecuadorian President Correa and Secreatry Clinton Say Goodbye (4686488940).jpg|thumb|Correa and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Quito, 8 June 2010]] Correa was sworn into the Presidency on 10 August 2009, the same day as Ecuador's bicentennial.<ref name="Correa promises gigantic struggle to deepen Socialist revolution">{{cite web|url=http://en.mercopress.com/2009/08/11/correa-promises-gigantic-struggle-to-deepen-socialist-revolution|title=Correa promises "gigantic struggle" to deepen Socialist revolution|date=11 August 2009|access-date=11 August 2009|publisher=MercoPress}}</ref><ref name="Ecuador's Correa kicks off second presidential term" /> His speech took place in front of several Latin American dignitaries, such as the president of Argentina Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Bolivian President Evo Morales, Cuban President Raúl Castro, and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.<ref name="Correa promises gigantic struggle to deepen Socialist revolution" /> Correa used the opportunity to promise a continuation of his "socialist revolution", his plans to end poverty and to go on "stamping out the structural causes of poverty".<ref name="Correa promises gigantic struggle to deepen Socialist revolution" /> He also said the actions of the media were opposing his government.<ref name="Ecuador's Correa kicks off second presidential term">{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/08/10/ecuador.president.election/|title=Ecuador's Correa kicks off second presidential term|date=11 August 2009|access-date=11 August 2009|work=CNN}}</ref> He claims that the continuation of his "The Citizens' Revolution" policy is intended to ensure all citizens are equal.<ref name="Ecuador's Correa aims for citizens revolution in 2nd term">{{cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-08/11/content_11863725.htm|title=Ecuador's Correa aims for "citizens revolution" in 2nd term|date=11 August 2009|access-date=11 August 2009|publisher=Xinhua News Agency|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090814201112/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-08/11/content_11863725.htm|archive-date=14 August 2009}}</ref>

==== Health ====

The health budget was $561&nbsp;million in 2006 and was increased to $1.774 billion in 2012, which is 6.8% of the national budget.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.telegrafo.com.ec/index.php?option=com_zoo&task=item&item_id=36122&Itemid=16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512143226/http://www.telegrafo.com.ec/index.php?option=com_zoo&task=item&item_id=36122&Itemid=16|archive-date=12 May 2013|title=Ecuador cumple objetivos del milenio de la ONU a buen ritmo antes de 2015|date=12 May 2013}}</ref> The Ecuadorian government signed an agreement with the Cuban government to allow public company Enfarma to massively produce medicine at low cost. Working hours for doctors were increased to 40 hours/week and their salaries were also increased. Mobile hospitals have been implemented. Another program has been implemented to increase the rate of return of medics amongst Ecuadorian emigrants.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.salud.gob.ec/ecuador-saludable-vuelvo-por-ti-2/|title=Ecuador saludable, Voy por ti – Ministerio de Salud Pública|website=www.salud.gob.ec}}</ref>

Infant mortality, from 24.4 per 1000 in 2005, declined to 18.3 in 2015. Between 2008 and 2016, new public hospitals have been built, the number of civil servants has increased significantly, and salaries have been increased. In 2008, the government introduced universal and compulsory social security coverage. In 2015, corruption remains a problem. Overbilling is recorded in 20% of public establishments and in 80% of private establishments.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.medelu.org/La-dificil-construccion-de-la | title=La difícil construcción de la sanidad pública en Ecuador}}</ref>

==== Closure of Teleamazonas ==== In June 2009, CONARTEL (a radio and television regulating body) imposed fines on a television station, Teleamazonas. A third fine could lead to a temporary or permanent ban on this private television channel. In December 2009, the station was taken off the air by the Superintendent of Telecommunications [es], under a provisional suspension of 72 hours for purportedly "spreading false information."<ref>{{cite web|author=Louis Belanger |url=http://globalvoices.org/2009/12/23/ecuador-government-suspends-television-channel-teleamazonas/ |title=Ecuador: Government Suspends Television Channel Teleamazonas |publisher=Global Voices |date=30 November 2011 |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref>

==== 2009 Ecuador electricity crisis ==== {{Main|2009 Ecuador electricity crisis}} Beginning 5 November, rolling blackouts took place across Ecuador for two to six hours per day.<ref name="wsj">Mercedes Alvaro. [https://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091109-717612.html "Ecuador Negotiates Emergency Electricity Imports With Peru"]. ''Wall Street Journal'' (9 November 2009). {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100124010259/http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091109-717612.html |date=24 January 2010 }}</ref> Government officials also urged citizens to conserve energy.<ref name="laht2" /> Economic losses from the blackouts are estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars; factory output slowed, and storage of perishables was disrupted.<ref name="laht2">[http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=347191&CategoryId=14089 "Drought Blamed for Blackouts in Ecuador"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704123624/http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=347191&CategoryId=14089 |date=4 July 2018 }}. ''Latin American Herald Tribune'' (11 November 2009).</ref><ref name="upi">[http://www.upi.com/Science_News/Resource-Wars/2009/11/17/Ecuador-energy-crisis-cripples-production-disrupts-cities/UPI-91091258489130/ "Ecuador energy crisis cripples production, disrupts cities"]. United Press International (17 November 2009).</ref>

On 6 November, the government declared an emergency in the power sector, which was expected to "allow the Finance Ministry to seek to guarantee fuel imports for thermoelectric plants".<ref name="wsj" /> The government also agreed to purchase an additional "5,200 MW per hour{{sic}} of electricity from Peru and Colombia".<ref name="laht" /> Government officials aimed to end power rationing before Christmas.<ref name="laht">[http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=347558&CategoryId=14089 "Ecuador Aims to End Power Rationing Before Christmas"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704123749/http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=347558&CategoryId=14089 |date=4 July 2018 }}. ''Latin American Herald Tribune'' (17 November 2009).</ref>

The power crisis led to criticism of the Correa administration's management of the power sector as water levels of the reservoirs became depleted.<ref name="upi" />

==== Mining protests ==== In January, Ecuador experienced mass protests against large-scale mining. Indigenous people were demanding that they not be exploited at all and were blockading highways to make their point. Correa cited a constitutional article that prohibited the blocking of roads.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biodiversidadla.org/Menu_Derecha/Prensa/Ecuador_Correa_admitio_un_muerto_en_protestas_indigenas|language=es|title=Ecuador Admits One Death in Protests|publisher=Biodiversidad en America Latina y El Caribe|date=2 October 2009|access-date=4 September 2012}}</ref> Police officers were also injured in attempting to clear blockades.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Denvir |first=Daniel |url=http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/4252/resource_wars_in_ecuador/ |title=Resource Wars in Ecuador |magazine=In These Times |date=28 February 2009 |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref> An opposition leader claimed to witness, "The response from the government was gunfire from the ground and the air," The leader said that police, backed by a helicopter, opened fire on the protesters unprovoked.<ref name="autogenerated3">{{cite news | url=http://articles.cnn.com/2009-10-02/world/ecuador.violence_1_indigenous-nationalities-protesters-indigenous-leaders?_s=PM:WORLD | work=CNN | title=Clashes in Peru leave more than 30 dead | date=8 June 2009 | access-date=17 May 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101005085341/http://articles.cnn.com/2009-10-02/world/ecuador.violence_1_indigenous-nationalities-protesters-indigenous-leaders?_s=PM:WORLD | archive-date=5 October 2010 | url-status=dead}}</ref> In an interview with the state-run media on Thursday, Correa said that the police were not armed and had only riot gear to protect them from demonstrators who were wielding shotguns. The Shuar man that died was killed by protesters' own weapons, and police were also injured by the same shotgun pellets that killed the brother Shuar, Correa said.<ref name="autogenerated3" />

==== Hydrocarbon production reforms ==== Correa announced that on 26 July 2010 Ecuador would enact reforms to a hydrocarbons law that aims to expropriate foreign-company operations unless they sign service contracts increasing state control of the industry. Correa reminded oil companies that if they did not abide by the state's policies, they would have their fields nationalized and would be forced from the country.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=al0Dx5vF84aI&refer=latin_america|author=Alvaro, Mercedes|publisher = Dow Jones News Wire|title=Ecuador's Correa To Enact Hydrocarbons Reforms on Monday|date=24 July 2009|access-date=28 July 2010}}</ref>

==== Higher Education Law ==== A debate to modify this and other reforms, especially the one which granted control of the Higher Education System by the government, was practically passed with consensus by the multi-partisan National Assembly on 4 August 2010 but vetoed by the president Rafael Correa,<ref>{{cite web|author=Joi Ito|url=http://globalvoices.org/2010/09/16/ecuador-president-vetoes-higher-education-bill/ |title=Ecuador: President Vetoes Higher Education Bill |publisher=Global Voices |date=16 September 2010 |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref> who wanted to keep the law strictly as it was originally redacted by his political party and SENPLADES (National Secretary of Planning and Development). Due to this change, there are many highly educated professionals and academicians under the old structure but estimated that only 87% of the faculty in public universities have already obtained a master's degree and fewer than 5% have PhD (although many of them have already Ecuadorian granted Doctorate degrees).<ref>{{cite web|last=Blumenstyk |first=Goldie |url=http://chronicle.com/article/Ecuador-Approves/123770 |title=Ecuador Approves Higher-Education Law With Some Concessions to Universities |publisher=The Chronicle of Higher Education |date=4 August 2010 |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref> To raise the number of Masters and PhDs the Government started a scholarship program to send Ecuadorians to study in the top ranking Universities around the world (around 8,500 scholarships until 2013)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.andes.info.ec/en/sociedad/main-destinations-ecuadorian-scholarship-recipients-2012-spain-and-united-states.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130625062141/http://www.andes.info.ec/en/sociedad/main-destinations-ecuadorian-scholarship-recipients-2012-spain-and-united-states.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 June 2013 |title=Main destinations for Ecuadorian scholarship recipients in 2012: Spain and the United States |publisher=ANDES |access-date=24 December 2015}}</ref> and around 820 more have been approved for 2014.

==== 2010 Ecuador crisis ==== {{Main|2010 Ecuador crisis}}

On 30 September 2010, the National Police went on strike over the passage of a bill that would end the practice of giving medals and bonuses with each promotion.<ref name="Guardian20100930">{{Cite news |last=Carroll |first=Rory |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/30/ecuador-chaos-police-rafael-correa |title=Ecuador declares state of emergency as country thrown into chaos |date=30 September 2010 |work=The Guardian|location=London |access-date=4 October 2010 }}</ref> In what was called an attempted coup d'état, protests included road blockades, storming the National Assembly and state-run television station, and the military seizure of the Old Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito.<ref>{{cite news|language=es|url=http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1309804|title=Decretan el estado de sitio en Ecuador y la policía tomó el Parlamento|newspaper=La Nación|date=30 September 2010|access-date=4 October 2010|archive-date=5 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101005034518/http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1309804|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="bbcfirst">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11447519|title=Ecuador declares state of emergency amid 'coup attempt'|work=BBC News |date=30 September 2010}}</ref><ref name="unasur_coupdetat">{{cite news |agency=National News Agency of Argentina |title=UNASUR Summit condemned attempt of coup d'etat in Ecuador and reasserted commitment to democratic institutions |date=1 October 2010 |publisher=Telam |url=http://english.telam.com.ar/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10270:unasur-summit-condemned-attempt-of-coup-daetat-in-ecuador-and-reasserted-commitment-to-democratic-institutions&catid=42:politics |access-date=3 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706082439/http://english.telam.com.ar/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10270%3Aunasur-summit-condemned-attempt-of-coup-daetat-in-ecuador-and-reasserted-commitment-to-democratic-institutions&catid=42%3Apolitics |archive-date=6 July 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="zapatero_coupdetat">{{cite news|language=es |title=Zapatero condena el "intento de golpe de Estado" en Ecuador |date=30 September 2010 |publisher=La Razon |url=http://www.larazon.es/noticia/1394-zapatero-condena-el-intento-de-golpe-de-estado-en-ecuador |access-date=3 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101001041128/http://larazon.es/noticia/1394-zapatero-condena-el-intento-de-golpe-de-estado-en-ecuador |archive-date=1 October 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> President Correa went to debate with the rebellious police, but he was unsuccessful and instead challenged them to kill him, saying, "I'm not taking one step back. Gentlemen, if you want to kill the president, here he is, kill him if you have the guts."<ref name="Guardian20100930" /> At this point none of the policemen dared to shoot him, so instead they decided to attack him and take him hostage. While held in the hospital inside the police headquarters, Correa declared a national state of emergency.<ref name="Guardian20100930" /><ref name="wsj_chavez_condemn">{{cite news |url=https://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100930-714219.html |title=Chavez Condemns 'Coup Attempt' On Ecuador's Correa |work=The Wall Street Journal|date=30 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101115164756/http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100930-714219.html |archive-date=15 November 2010}}</ref> That night, an elite army unit rescued him from the hospital amid violent clashes between the police and the army.<ref name="CHOQUES">{{cite news|language=es|url=http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Ejercito/enfrenta/tiros/policias/retienen/Correa/elpepuint/20100930elpepuint_5/Tes|title=El Ejército se enfrenta a tiros a los policías que retienen a Correa|newspaper=El País|date=30 September 2010}}</ref> The Army then took him to Carondelet Palace, where he announced he would not pardon those responsible.<ref name="LNL">{{cite news|language=es|url=http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1309804|title=Para Correa, detrás de la revuelta "hay muchos infiltrados de partidos políticos"|newspaper=La Nación|access-date=1 October 2010|date=30 September 2010|archive-date=5 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101005034518/http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1309804|url-status=dead}}</ref> Throughout Ecuador, eight people were killed and 274 wounded in the unrest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elcomercio.pe/noticia/647624/ecuador-hubo-muertos-193-disturbios-policiales |title=El Comercio Peru via Reuters: Ecuador ocho muertos y 274 heridos por disturbios policiales |publisher=Elcomercio.pe |access-date=4 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101005231342/http://elcomercio.pe/noticia/647624/ecuador-hubo-muertos-193-disturbios-policiales |archive-date=5 October 2010 }}</ref> thumb|After the rescue, Correa immediately was presented in the Palacio of Carondelet in the night of 30 September. On the same night, eight South American presidents attended an emergency summit of UNASUR convened that night in Buenos Aires<ref name="Mercopress1">{{cite web|url=http://en.mercopress.com/2010/10/01/unasur-emergency-summit-in-buenos-aires-in-support-of-correa-and-democracy |title=Unasur emergency summit in Buenos Aires in support of Correa and democracy, Mercopress |publisher=En.mercopress.com |access-date=1 October 2010}}</ref> to express their full support for Ecuadorean democratic institutions and Rafael Correa.<ref name="Telam110" /> The summit also announced a "democratic clause" to the UNASUR Constitutive Treaty and an agreement to take immediate and concrete steps if further similar attempts should occur.<ref name="Telam110">{{cite web |url=http://english.telam.com.ar/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10270:unasur-summit-condemned-attempt-of-coup-daetat-in-ecuador-and-reasserted-commitment-to-democratic-institutions&catid=42:politics |title=UNASUR Summit condemned attempt of coup d´etat in Ecuador and reasserted commitment to democratic institutions |publisher=Télam |date=1 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304125319/http://english.telam.com.ar/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10270%3Aunasur-summit-condemned-attempt-of-coup-daetat-in-ecuador-and-reasserted-commitment-to-democratic-institutions&catid=42%3Apolitics |archive-date=4 March 2012}}</ref>

The United States declared support for Correa through its ambassador to the Organization of American States. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed "full support for President Rafael Correa, and the institutions of democratic government in that country." On 5 October, Ecuadorian foreign minister Ricardo Patiño said "I firmly believe that Mr. Obama had nothing to do with this. I hope, and trust that neither his (immediate subordinates) did.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.noticias24.com/actualidad/noticia/175144/ecuador-cree-firmemente-que-obama-no-estuvo-detras-de-rebelion-policial-contra-correa/ |title=Ecuador cree "firmemente que Obama no estuvo detrás" de rebelión policial contra Correa en |publisher=Noticias24.com |access-date=4 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001080700/http://www.noticias24.com/actualidad/noticia/175144/ecuador-cree-firmemente-que-obama-no-estuvo-detras-de-rebelion-policial-contra-correa/ |archive-date=1 October 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== President of UNASUR ==== Correa was a signatory to The UNASUR Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations on 15 July 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.flacso.org/programas-y-proyectos/observatorio-integracion-regional-latinoamericana-oirla/noticias-de-integracion-regional/noticia-integracion/ecuador-segundo-pais-en-ratificar-tratado-constitutivo-de-unasur/cooperacion/pag7/ |title=Ecuador segundo país en ratificar Tratado Constitutivo de UNASUR Flacso |publisher=Flacso.org |access-date=4 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309151051/http://www.flacso.org/programas-y-proyectos/observatorio-integracion-regional-latinoamericana-oirla/noticias-de-integracion-regional/noticia-integracion/ecuador-segundo-pais-en-ratificar-tratado-constitutivo-de-unasur/cooperacion/pag7/ |archive-date=9 March 2012 }}</ref> Ecuador has ratified the treaty. According to treaty, the UNASUR headquarters will be located in Ecuador.<ref>{{cite news |title=En plena crisis, Unasur estrena sede parlamentaria en Bolivia |url=https://www.france24.com/es/20180913-unasur-sede-parlamentaria-bolivia-crisis |newspaper=France24 |date=13 September 2018 |access-date=29 December 2019}}</ref>

On 10 August 2009 Correa hosted the Heads of Government of South America in Quito, as he took over the one-year Pro Tempore Presidency of UNASUR.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90852/6724213.html |title=Ecuadorian president receives Unasur presidency |work=People's Daily |date=11 August 2009 |access-date=30 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.infosurhoy.com/cocoon/saii/xhtml/en_GB/features/saii/features/2009/08/05/feature-02 |title=Correa to assume six-month Unasur presidency |publisher=Infosurhoy.com |access-date=4 December 2011 |archive-date=1 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111201205346/http://infosurhoy.com/cocoon/saii/xhtml/en_GB/features/saii/features/2009/08/05/feature-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Correa announced on 3 April 2010 that he would propose to UNASUR the creation of a united front against transnationals like the American Chevron, which he accused of attempting to destroy his country.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

Correa also asked that UNASUR create a commission to investigate the events that led to the 30 Sep police revolt in Ecuador in which about a dozen people died and 270 were wounded. The uprising was led by police upset over a new law that would deny them promotion bonuses.

During Friday's summit, leaders also approved a democratic charter that would serve as a guide for the 12-nation bloc if any of them faced an attempted coup. The charter would have been an effective tool during Ecuador's revolt, Correa said. On 29 November 2010, UNASUR's presidency passed from Ecuador to Guyana.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kmtv.com/story/13572258/south-american-leaders-urged-to-strengthen-ties?clienttype=printable |title=Unknown |access-date=14 August 2023}}{{dead link|date=August 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

In 2014, Correa opened the $65&nbsp;million headquarters in Quito.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2019/03/21/why-prosur-is-not-the-way-to-unite-south-america|title=Why Prosur is not the way to unite South America|newspaper=The Economist|language=en|date=21 March 2019 |access-date=7 January 2020}}</ref>

==== Lawsuit against the ''El Universo'' newspaper and ''Big Brother'' authors ==== Correa announced another lawsuit this time against an editorial writer and the directors of El Universo newspaper. The legal action included the opinion editor of the paper, Emilio Palacio, who was sued for defamation by a high-ranking public official last year. Correa alleged that several of Palacio's editorials were "accusations" and "slander", where Palacio stated "...ordered fire at will and without warning against a hospital full of civilians and innocent people..."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eluniverso.com/2011/02/06/1/1363/mentiras.html|last=Palacio|first=Emilio| title=No a las mentiras |date= 6 February 2011 |access-date=4 September 2012}}</ref> In an official Universo editorial it was said that Correa committed crimes against humanity reasons, which Palacio was sued for. El Universo says the president's suit was announced several hours after the newspaper published an article about an information access request denial. While Palacio claimed, he was sued for calling Correa a "dictator".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ojoalahoja.com/?p=1901|title=370. No cabe ser cómplices de una mentira|year=2011|access-date=4 September 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927212739/http://ojoalahoja.com/?p=1901|archive-date=27 September 2013}}</ref>

"We are not only suing the editorial writer, but also the newspaper El Universo's directors", said Correa, in a radio interview on Ecuadorinmediato, quoted by El Universo. "Ecuador's autocrat cracks down on media freedom," was the title of an editorial published by ''The Washington Post'' on 27 July 2011:

<blockquote>Last week the president personally attended the trial while thuggish supporters threw eggs and bottles at the defendants outside the courthouse. To no one's surprise, the provisional judge hearing the case quickly ruled in the president's favor, sentencing Mr. Palacio and the three El Universo directors to three years in prison and awarding $40&nbsp;million in damages to Mr. Correa – an amount that exceeds the total value of the newspaper.<ref name="washingtonpost.com">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ecuadors-autocrat-cracks-down-on-media-freedom/2011/07/27/gIQA5BRtfI_story.html?wpisrc=nl_cuzheads |title=Ecuador's autocrat cracks down on media freedom |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=29 July 2011 |access-date=5 December 2012}}</ref></blockquote>

As of 16 February 2012, the National Court of Justice (Ecuador's highest court) confirmed the lower court's award of $40&nbsp;million in damages, as well as the three-year prison sentences against a journalist and three executives of the newspaper.<ref name="miamiherald.com">{{cite news|last=Wyss |first=Jim |url=http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/02/16/2645657/ecuadors-correa-wins-fresh-victory.html |title=BOGOTA: Ecuadors Correa wins fresh victory against press |newspaper=Miami Herald |access-date=5 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310073717/http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/02/16/2645657/ecuadors-correa-wins-fresh-victory.html |archive-date=10 March 2012 }}</ref> The case related to unrest in September 2010, described by Correa as an attempted coup, which saw him trapped inside a hospital for several hours by police officers. In an opinion article from February 2011 which appeared in ''El Universo'', Emilio Palacio alleged that the president had ordered soldiers to fire on the hospital, which was full of civilians.<ref name="bbc.co.uk">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17060578 |title=Ecuador court upholds $40m Rafael Correa libel victory |publisher=BBC |date=16 February 2012 |access-date=5 December 2012}}</ref>

Correa also filed a lawsuit against Juan Carlos Calderón and Christian Zurita, investigative journalists and authors of the book ''Gran Hermano'' (Big Brother). Rafael Correa insisted that if the authors of the book admitted wrongdoing and asked for forgiveness he would pardon them.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ecuavisa.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45592&catid=79&Itemid=336|work=Ecuavisa|title=Caso 'Gran Hermano' revela 'gran mentira' contra Correa|date=7 February 2012|access-date=4 September 2012}}</ref> The lawsuit is based on the book's accusation that Correa knew of his brother Fabricio Correa's multimillion-dollar contracts with the government, a journalistic "investigation" into contracts signed between the president's brother, Fabricio Correa, and the State.<ref name="ifex.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.ifex.org/ecuador/2011/04/01/correa_lawsuit/ |title=President demands US$80 million in case against newspaper, directors and feature writer |date=April 2011 |publisher=IFEX |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://knightcenter.utexas.edu/blog/ecuador%E2%80%99s-president-sues-journalists-book-alleging-nepotism |title=Ecuador's president sues journalists for book alleging nepotism |publisher=Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas |date=21 March 2011 |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref> The authors claim was based on a testimony by Pablo Chambers, who based his accusation on a manipulated video of Correa during an interview with a radio station in Quito.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hoy.com.ec/noticias-ecuador/presidente-ecuador-acusa-a-veedor-de-mentir-en-caso-de-contratos-de-hermano-547381.html|publisher=hoy.com.ec|title=Presidente Ecuador acusa a veedor de mentir en caso de contratos de hermano|work=HOY &#124; Noticias del Ecuador y el mundo |date=19 May 2012|access-date=4 September 2012}}</ref>

Following wide condemnation of the sentences in the El Universo case,{{citation needed|date=September 2012}} Correa announced on 27 February 2012 that he would pardon the four individuals involved, also reminding that from the very beginning he asked for a rectification by the newspaper or an apology,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ecuadorenvivo.com/2011071475385/politica/correa-_si_quiebra_el_universo_sera_porque_no_quieren_rectificar.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130616054004/http://www.ecuadorenvivo.com/2011071475385/politica/correa-_si_quiebra_el_universo_sera_porque_no_quieren_rectificar.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 June 2013 |work=Ecuador en Vivo |title=Correa: Si quiebra EL UNIVERSO será porque no quieren rectificar |publisher=ecuadorenvivo.com |date=14 July 2011 |access-date=4 September 2012 }}</ref> both which the newspaper refused, instead claiming this was censorship,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eluniverso.com/2012/05/11/1/1363/asalto-libertad-expresion-ecuador.html|work=El Universo|publisher=Eluniverso.com|title=El asalto a la libertad de expresión en el Ecuador|date=11 May 2012|access-date=4 September 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.periodistas-es.org/medios-de-comunicacion/censura-en-ecuador-el-universo-amenazado-con-dos-juicios-mas-por-autoria-coadyuvante |work=periodistas-ec.org |title=Censura en Ecuador |date=2 October 2011 |access-date=4 September 2012 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111114083949/http://www.periodistas-es.org/medios-de-comunicacion/censura-en-ecuador-el-universo-amenazado-con-dos-juicios-mas-por-autoria-coadyuvante |archive-date=14 November 2011 }}</ref> including asking Correa what he wanted them to publish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.telegrafo.com.ec/index.php?option=com_zoo&task=item&item_id=10307&Itemid=2|work=El Telegrafo|title=El Universo pide a Rafael Correa que él escriba la rectificación|date=20 July 2011|access-date=4 September 2012|publisher=telegrafo.com.ec|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512123355/http://www.telegrafo.com.ec/index.php?option=com_zoo&task=item&item_id=10307&Itemid=2|archive-date=12 May 2013}}</ref> Despite the subsequent pardons, "the lawsuit had," according to Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, "a powerful chilling effect on the press."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Levitsky|first1=Steven|last2=Ziblatt|first2=Daniel|title=How Democracies Die|date=16 January 2018|publisher=Crown Publishing|isbn=9781524762957|page=72|edition=Nook e-book, first}}</ref>

Correa also said he would drop his case against the authors of ''Gran Hermano''.<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news|last=Neuman |first=William |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/28/world/americas/president-of-ecuador-to-pardon-four-in-libel-case.html |title=President of Ecuador to Pardon Four in Libel Case |location=Ecuador |newspaper=NYTimes.com |date=27 February 2012 |access-date=5 December 2012}}</ref>

Correa has been accused, in the words of the President of the Inter-American Press Association, of mounting a "systematic and hostile campaign to do away with the independent press and establish, by law or through the courts, ownership of the truth that all the Ecuadoran people must swallow."<ref name="washingtonpost.com" /> These complaints relate both to a series of lawsuits against journalists and to government takeovers of many media outlets.

''The Washington Post'' reported in July 2011 that, according to a report for the National Endowment for Democracy, the government had controlled one radio station when Mr. Correa became president in 2007, but that by the time of the report it owned five television channels, four radio stations, two newspapers and four magazines.<ref name="washingtonpost.com" />

==== Ecuadorian constitutional referendum, 2011 ==== Correa announced a constitutional referendum, which took place on 7 May 2011. The Ecuadorian people were asked to vote on ten questions, including a reform of the judiciary, although opposition members denounced what they called a "power grab" on behalf of Correa's government.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.trust.org/trustlaw/news/analysis-correa-rivals-could-take-a-beating-in-ecuador-vote |title=ANALYSIS-Correa rivals could take a beating in Ecuador vote |publisher=Trust.org |date=29 April 2011 |access-date=4 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110821224758/http://www.trust.org/trustlaw/news/analysis-correa-rivals-could-take-a-beating-in-ecuador-vote |archive-date=21 August 2011}}</ref> Although an exit poll conducted by the Santiago Perez pollster showed that the 10 questions won with the 62% of the votes,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elciudadano.gob.ec/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=24248:62-de-ecuatorianos-dijeron-si-a-la-consulta-popular&catid=40:actualidad&Itemid=63 |title=62% de ecuatorianos dijeron SÍ a la Consulta Popular – 62% de ecuatorianos dijeron SÍ a |publisher=ElCiudadano.gob.ec |date=9 May 2011 |access-date=4 December 2011 |archive-date=30 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330023033/http://www.elciudadano.gob.ec/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=24248:62-de-ecuatorianos-dijeron-si-a-la-consulta-popular&catid=40:actualidad&Itemid=63 |url-status=dead }}</ref> as the count continued the "yes" lost presence even going as far as slightly losing to the "no" for a short period of time in questions 4 and 9. Correa pledged that the data had been manipulated by counting first the votes from the provinces where the "no" have won to create the "sensation of fraud" and he predicted that the "yes" will win with at least 250.000 votes on all 10 questions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elciudadano.gob.ec/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=25066:triunfo-de-la-pregunta-9-de-la-consulta-popular-fue-con-mas-de-250-mil-votos-diferencia-&catid=40:actualidad&Itemid=63 |title=Triunfo de la pregunta 9 de la Consulta Popular fue con mĂĄs de 250 mil votos diferencia |publisher=ElCiudadano.gob.ec |access-date=4 December 2011 |archive-date=30 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330023056/http://www.elciudadano.gob.ec/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=25066:triunfo-de-la-pregunta-9-de-la-consulta-popular-fue-con-mas-de-250-mil-votos-diferencia-&catid=40:actualidad&Itemid=63 |url-status=dead }}</ref> At the end the "yes" won all 10 questions but only the first question got more than the 50% of the votes<ref>{{cite web |url=http://app2.cne.gob.ec/resultados/resultadosn.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510022838/http://app2.cne.gob.ec/resultados/resultadosn.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 May 2011 |title=Consejo Nacional Electoral |publisher=App2.cne.gob.ec |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ecuador-referendum-fabricio-idUSTRE74708Y20110508 | work=Reuters | title=Ecuador leader's brother urges tolerance | date=8 May 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-13325112 |work=BBC News | title=Ecuador President Rafael Correa 'wins referendum' | date=8 May 2011}}</ref> This was the eighth election to pass during Correa's term in office.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2011/05/20115805518328220.html |title=Ecuador's president declares referendum win|publisher=Al Jazeera English |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref>

==== Chinese credits ==== In 2010 and 2011, Ecuador received Chinese credits for around US$5&nbsp;billion. One of this financing model's projects is the hydroelectric Coca Codo Sinclair that China builds and it finances with something more than US$2&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite web|author=Fredy Dice |url=http://andes.info.ec/2009-2011.php/?p=141559 |title=Correa: El endeudamiento con China responde a la necesidad del país|work=Andes|date=17 February 2012 |access-date=4 September 2012}}</ref>

Correa pointed out that China gives credits to Ecuador at 7.0 percent, but the credits are to finance projects with 23 or 25 percent of profitability, that is extremely good business, when referring to two thousand million dollars which will be dedicated to public investment initiatives. The Chinese credits are a "good business" with interests of 7 percent to finance projects with a profitability that goes from 23 to 25 percent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.diariouniversal.net/2011/07/06/correa-afirma-que-relaciones-con-china-son-ortancia-estrategica-de-relaciones-con-china/ |access-date=19 February 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112134844/http://www.diariouniversal.net/2011/07/06/correa-afirma-que-relaciones-con-china-son-ortancia-estrategica-de-relaciones-con-china/ |archive-date=12 January 2015 |title=Nothing found for 2011 07 06 Correa Afirma Que Relaciones Con China Son Ortancia Estrategica de Relaciones Con China }}</ref> Correa discarded the idea that Ecuador is delivered to or have mortgaged its petroleum to China.

On this point he mentioned that in the year 2006 75% of the Ecuadorian petroleum went to United States, in exchange for nothing. "Now we have 50% of the committed petroleum with China, in exchange for thousands of millions of dollars to finance the development of this country.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://andes.info.ec/2009-2011.php/?p=72692 |title=Presidente Correa dice que relaciones del Ecuador con China "son estratégicas y complementarias" |work=Andes |date=6 July 2011 |access-date=4 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130816020527/http://andes.info.ec/2009-2011.php/?p=72692 |archive-date=16 August 2013}}</ref>

In 2012, China loaned Ecuador 240 million dollars for the purpose of overhauling the Ecuadorian security system. This system comprises 4,300 new surveillance cameras, drones, automated evidence processing systems, and increased manpower to manage each of these new technologies, which have been collectively dubbed the ECU 911 Integrated Security Service.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/08/09/ecuadors-all-seeing-eye-is-made-in-china/|title=Ecuador's All-Seeing Eye Is Made in China|last=Rollet|first=Charles|website=Foreign Policy|date=9 August 2018 |language=en}}</ref> Much of this new hardware has been developed in Ecuador, but in laboratories designed and set up by China National Electronics Import and Export Corporation (CEIEC), which is a state-owned company and a subsidiary of national defence contractor China Electronics Corporation (CEC). The CEC has also undertaken similar surveillance overhauls in Venezuela and Bolivia and has also introduced technology to monitor the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2129912/ecuador-fighting-crime-using-chinese-surveillance|title=Ecuador is fighting crime using Chinese surveillance technology|work=South China Morning Post|language=en}}</ref> The Ecuadorian government has highlighted the benefits of this extensive security system, which has been installed across the nation's 24 provinces. They argue that it has been able to decrease the response time for everyday emergencies such as life-threatening illness,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/nino-llamada-hermana-problema-salud.html|title=Niño de 7 años llama al ECU 911 y ayuda a su hermana de 3 años|website=El Comercio|date=16 July 2018 |language=es-LA}}</ref> and have cited the system as a large factor in the dramatic drop in crime in Ecuador since its installation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-01/19/c_136908255.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119103413/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-01/19/c_136908255.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 January 2018|title=Feature: Chinese technology brings falling crime rate to Ecuador |website=Xinhua |access-date=29 December 2019}}</ref> Some individuals have expressed concern about the nature and the pervasiveness of these technologies, however, and how they may be used to create an Ecuadorian police state.<ref name=":1" />

==== Restructuring of the justice ==== After the results of the popular consultation<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ecuadortimes.net/2011/07/14/the-transition-of-the-ecuadorian-judicial-council-is-on-its-way/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120803165148/http://www.ecuadortimes.net/2011/07/14/the-transition-of-the-ecuadorian-judicial-council-is-on-its-way/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 August 2012 |title=The Transition of the Judicial Council is on its Way |publisher=EcuadorTimes.net |date=14 July 2011 |access-date=4 September 2012 }}</ref> was created the Council of the Transitory Judicature integrated by three members Tania Aryans (delegate of the Legislative), Paulo Rodríguez (delegate of the Executive) and Fernando Yávar (delegate of the Function of Transparency).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ecuadortimes.net/2011/08/05/161-officials-were-dismissed-by-cjt-decision/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120905073423/http://www.ecuadortimes.net/2011/08/05/161-officials-were-dismissed-by-cjt-decision/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 September 2012 |title=161 Officials Were Dismissed by CJT Decision |publisher=EcuadorTimes.net |date=5 August 2011 |access-date=4 September 2012 }}</ref> This advice has 18 months to restructure the Judicial Function Among its functions it was the one of creating the new National Court of Justice whose possession was given January 2012,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ecuadortimes.net/2012/01/28/national-court-of-justice-elected-new-president/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120731015904/http://www.ecuadortimes.net/2012/01/28/national-court-of-justice-elected-new-president/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=31 July 2012 |title=National Court of Justice Elected New President |publisher=EcuadorTimes.net |access-date=4 September 2012 }}</ref> 21 whose members will be in the positions for nine years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ecuadortimes.net/2012/01/19/21-new-judges-in-the-ecuadorian-court-of-justice/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120731005559/http://www.ecuadortimes.net/2012/01/19/21-new-judges-in-the-ecuadorian-court-of-justice/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=31 July 2012 |title=21 New Judges in the Ecuadorian Court of Justice |publisher=EcuadorTimes.net |date=19 January 2012 |access-date=4 September 2012 }}</ref> The court of justice was created through a competition of merits and opposition. Correa who participated of the act of possession of the new domestic magistrates,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ecuadortimes.net/2012/01/26/21-new-magistrates-assumed-their-office-today/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120729112546/http://www.ecuadortimes.net/2012/01/26/21-new-magistrates-assumed-their-office-today/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 July 2012 |title=21 New Magistrates Assumed their Office today |publisher=EcuadorTimes.net |date=26 January 2012 |access-date=4 September 2012 }}</ref> said that the administration of justice is an imperium of the state and at the same time, it is a public service, also it expressed his total back to the new judges of the National Court of Justice (CNJ)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cre.com.ec/Desktop.aspx?Id=143&e=161265 |title=Correa felicita a nuevos jueces y expresa su total respaldo |publisher=CRE |access-date=4 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629101619/http://www.cre.com.ec/Desktop.aspx?Id=143&e=161265 |archive-date=29 June 2012}}</ref>

In 2014, the law is amended to allow same-sex unions to benefit from legal recognition.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2014/08/23/nota/3520961/rafael-correa-anuncia-que-homosexuales-podran-registrar-union-hecho|title=Rafael Correa anuncia que los homosexuales podrán registrar unión de hecho en la cédula|date=23 August 2014|website=El Universo}}</ref>

==== 2012 Ecuadorian protests ==== {{Main|2012 Ecuadorian protests}}

Ecuador's largest advocacy group for Indians, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, planned a two-week march to Quito beginning on Thursday to protest Correa's land and water policies that they say were hurting their way of life. Correa condemned the action and accused them of being hypocrites for having allied with the extreme right,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ecuadorinmediato.com/Noticias/news_user_view/conaie_y_junta_civica_de_guayaquil_evaluan_unirse_contra_el_gobierno--123153 |work=ecuador imediato |title=Conaie y Junta Civica de Guayaquil evaluan unirse contra el Gobierno |date=3 March 2010 |access-date=4 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112142751/http://www.ecuadorinmediato.com/Noticias/news_user_view/conaie_y_junta_civica_de_guayaquil_evaluan_unirse_contra_el_gobierno--123153 |archive-date=12 January 2015 }}</ref> of seeking to exploit mining for themselves<ref>{{cite web|url=http://andes.info.ec/pol%C3%ADtica/795.html|last=Flor|first=Layedra|work=Andes|title=Lourdes Tibán es la socia-fundadora de una corporación que busca invertir en proyecto minero Mirador |date=15 March 2012|access-date=4 September 2012}}</ref> and of trying to destabilize his government, urging his followers to mobilize against them. The Indians were supported by the Popular Democratic Movement, a leftist party, the National Union of Educators and CONAIE, which supported Correa at the start of his administration in 2007 but soon moved to the opposition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20120307-ecuador-indians-march-protest-correas-land-policies |access-date=19 February 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131028132137/http://www.france24.com/en/20120307-ecuador-indians-march-protest-correas-land-policies |archive-date=28 October 2013 |title=France 24 }}</ref>

The support march on the Government concentrated on thousands of demonstrators coming from different zones that met in a park where they enjoyed artistic shows put on to celebrate the Woman's International Day.<ref>{{cite web |agency=AFP/EFE |url=http://www.la-razon.com/mundo/Marchan-favor-Rafael-Correa_0_1574242570.html |title=Marchan en contra y a favor de Rafael Correa |publisher=La Razon |access-date=4 September 2012 |archive-date=26 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130526031210/http://www.la-razon.com/mundo/Marchan-favor-Rafael-Correa_0_1574242570.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The march began in an Amazon region to the southeast and it arrived in Quito on 22 March. It had the support of the teachers' organizations and students.

Correa declared that the protests were intended to destabilize his government and he encouraged his followers "to keep mobilized until March 22"... "to resist peacefully. Those in favor of the Government also announced countermarches in various localities,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hispano.com/2012/03/08/marchas-a-favor-y-en-contra-de-correa-en-ecuador/ |title=Marchas a favor y en contra de Correa en Ecuador |publisher=Hispano.com |date=8 March 2012 |access-date=4 September 2012 |archive-date=19 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120819145228/http://www.hispano.com/2012/03/08/marchas-a-favor-y-en-contra-de-correa-en-ecuador/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> such as in Cuenca where they had a concentration that gathered around fifteen thousand people.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.larepublica.ec/blog/portada/2012/03/12/los-del-8-m-entran-ya-a-cuenca-una-contramarcha-los-espera/ |title=Los del 8-M entran ya a Cuenca. Una contramarcha los espera |newspaper=La República |date=1 January 1980 |access-date=4 September 2012}}</ref>

==== Sex education and contraceptive services ==== Correa established the National Interagency Strategy for Family Planning and the Prevention of Teen Pregnancies (ENIPLA) in 2011. It had an annual budget of $2&nbsp;million and focused on preventive doctor visits and family planning, including access to the morning-after pill. In the four years since ENIPLA was established pregnancies amongst girls between the ages of 11 and 14 decreased by 18 percent.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Guidi |first1=Ruxandra |title=Is Ecuador's Correa blurring the lines between religion and politics? |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2015/0305/Is-Ecuador-s-Correa-blurring-the-lines-between-religion-and-politics |website=The Christian Science Monitor |access-date=9 July 2019 |date=5 March 2015}}</ref> At the end of 2014 Correa replaced ENIPLA with Plan Familia (a family-based abstinence only program). One study found that this shift led to an increase in teenage pregnancy in Ecuador.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Galárraga|first1=Omar|last2=Harris|first2=Jeffrey E|date=2019|title=Effect of an Abrupt Change in Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy on Adolescent Birth Rates in Ecuador, 2008–2017|series=Working Paper Series |url=http://www.nber.org/papers/w26044|doi=10.3386/w26044|s2cid=198379041|doi-access=free}}</ref>

====CIA==== Correa alleged that the United States attempted to meddle in the country's affairs during his presidency, saying that a representative from the American Central Intelligence Agency requested a meeting with him at the start of his administration and that the accounts of senior state officials had been hacked.<ref>{{Cite web|date=11 June 2016|title=Agente de la CIA visitó al presidente Correa|url=https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/politica/2/agente-de-la-cia-visito-al-presidente-correa|access-date=5 October 2021|website=El Telégrafo|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023022801/https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/politica/2/agente-de-la-cia-visito-al-presidente-correa |archive-date=23 October 2020 |language=es}}</ref><!--Source & sentence hidden due to Infowars authorship. He also claimed that the U.S. was using narco-trafficking money to fund the opposition.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://elreporterosf.com/pdf/Vol-22/edition_29.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806005559/http://elreporterosf.com/pdf/Vol-22/edition_29.pdf|archive-date=6 August 2016|link-status=dead|access-date=5 August 2021|work=El Reportero|date=November 2012|last=Rojas|first=Matías|title=CIA estaría usando dinero del narcotráfico para derrocar al Presidente de Ecuador Rafael Correa}}</ref>--> Former British diplomat Craig Murray claimed that the CIA had tripled its budget to destabilise Rafael Correa's government during 2012.<ref>{{cite web|date=22 October 2012|title=CIA Look to Swamp Correa|url=https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2012/10/cia-look-to-swamp-correa/|website=Craig Murray|language=en}}</ref>

=== Third presidential term: 2013–2017 === {{Main|2013 Ecuadorian general election}} [[File:Paris, Presidentes de Ecuador y Francia se reúnen (10724467276).jpg|thumb|Correa and French President Francois Hollande, 7 November 2013]] [[File:PAPA FRANCISCO EN CARONDELET (19294390829).jpg|thumb|Rafael Correa with Pope Francis, 6 July 2015]] [[File:Macri y Correa.jpg|thumb|Correa and President of Argentina Mauricio Macri, 10 December 2015]] General elections were held in Ecuador on 17 February 2013 to elect the President, the National Assembly, Provincial Assemblies and members of the Andean Parliament. Correa was reelected president, winning by a large margin in the first round of the presidential election.<ref>{{cite news|last=Neuman|first=William|title=President Correa Handily Wins Re-election in Ecuador|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/18/world/americas/rafael-correa-wins-re-election-in-ecuador.html?_r=0|newspaper=The New York Times|date=17 February 2013}}</ref> According to the quick count released by Participación Ciudadana, the Alianza PAIS movement (AP) reached two-thirds of the new National Assembly. The results gave the movement 100 of the 137 seats contested in the polls.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ecuadortimes.net/2013/02/19/ap-takes-the-lead-with-two-thirds-of-the-assembly/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130413182212/http://www.ecuadortimes.net/2013/02/19/ap-takes-the-lead-with-two-thirds-of-the-assembly/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 April 2013 |title=AP takes the lead with two-thirds of the Assembly |publisher=Ecuador Times |access-date=24 December 2015 }}</ref> Correa's closest electoral rival, Guillermo Lasso (with 11 of the 137 seats in the new National Assembly), conceded shortly after the election concluded.

The Ministry of Telecommunication and Information Society won the WSIS 2013 prize in category C5: Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs with the project Digital Training through Mobile Classrooms.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://groups.itu.int/stocktaking/WSISProjectPrizes2013.aspx|title=WSIS Project Prizes 2013|website=groups.itu.int}}</ref> In 2013, a comprehensive communication law was adopted, called Ley Orgánica de Comunicación.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ley Orgánica de Comunicación {{!}} Descargar PDF Ley Orgánica de Comunicación {{!}} Actualizado 2024 |url=https://www.lexis.com.ec/biblioteca/ley-organica-comunicacion |access-date=2024-07-14 |website=Lexis S.A. |language=es}}</ref>

==== Economy ==== Correa's government accepted a US$364&nbsp;million loan from the IMF for earthquake reconstruction.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/americas/21707588-latin-america-wants-rejoin-world-will-world-reciprocate-growth-and-globalisation|title=Of growth and globalisation|newspaper=The Economist}}</ref>

At the same time, inequalities, as measured by the Gini index, decreased from 0.55 to 0.47.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://cepr.net/images/stories/reports/ecuador-2017-02.pdf |title=Report |publisher=cepr.net |date=2017 |access-date=13 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.andes.info.ec/|title=ANDES|date=29 January 2020}}</ref> Between 2006 and 2016, poverty decreased from 36.7% to 22.5%.<ref name="ECONfeb2017" /> Annual per capita GDP growth was 1.5 percent (as compared to 0.6 percent over the prior two decades).{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}}

==== Foreign policy ==== In November 2013, Correa's government said that the United States Agency for International Development was supporting the opposition and asked it to end its activities in Ecuador.<ref name="guardian250414">{{cite news |title=Ecuador expels US military staff |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/25/ecuador-expels-us-military-attaches |access-date=12 February 2021 |work=The Guardian |agency=AP |date=25 April 2014 |language=en}}</ref>

In April 2014, Correa's government ordered all US Defence Department employees working in the US embassy out of the country. Correa had previously stated that the US had too many military officers in Ecuador and that they had "infiltrated ... all sectors" of the country.<ref name="guardian250414"/>

== Post-presidency == [[File:Cristina Fernández de Kirchner en el marco del III Foro Mundial de Derechos Humanos - 52764452433.jpg|thumb|Correa with Cristina Kirchner in 2023]]

===Self-imposed exile in Belgium=== Since leaving office in 2017, Correa has lived in self-imposed exile in Belgium,<ref name=AP2022/> his wife's native country and the one where, during his time in office, he reportedly purchased a small apartment, to some criticism.<ref name=BBCJuly2018/><ref> https://www.cato.org/blog/rafael-correas-flat-belgium</ref> In April 2022, Belgium's Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons granted Correa asylum.<ref name=AP2022/> Correa described himself and his family as "persecuted people."<ref name=AP2022/> His presence in the country has not gone unnoticed, especially in the context of the ongoing security crisis taking place in his native country.<ref>https://brusselssignal.eu/2023/08/as-ecuador-descends-into-violence-its-former-president-hides-in-belgium/</ref> He has been represented by Christophe Marchand,<ref>https://www.courthousenews.com/exiled-ex-ecuador-president-rafael-correa-doesnt-exclude-political-return/</ref> who has represented Julian Assange, the family of assassinated Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba<ref>https://www.thebulletin.be/family-assassinated-congolese-leader-patrice-lumumba-seek-truth-justice-and-reparation-brussels</ref> and, more recently, Eva Kaili, former Vice-President of the European Parliament involved in the Qatargate scandal.<ref>https://www.politico.eu/article/belgiangate-investigation-qatargate-prosecution-eva-kaili-francesco-giorgi-european-parliament/</ref>

===Continuing influence in Ecuador=== After finishing his term, Correa has remained politically influential in Ecuadorian politics.<ref name=NietoMoveon/> He frequently comments on social media;<ref name=NietoMoveon/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/politica/2/oposicion-busca-cancelar-la-cuenta-en-twitter-de-correa|title=Oposición busca cancelar la cuenta en Twitter de Correa|date=8 June 2017|website=El Telégrafo }}</ref> as of 2024, he had approximately one million followers on TikTok and four million on X (formerly Twitter).<ref name=NietoMoveon/> More than a decade after Correa left office, Ecuadorian politics has remained largely polarized between ''correísmo'' and anti-''correísmo'' forces.<ref name=NietoMoveon/> although in a 2023 interview with ''El País'', Correa said, "I have never liked the word Correismo."<ref name=Rodríguez2023>Andrés Rodríguez, [https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-10-04/rafael-correa-the-ecuadorian-government-is-infiltrated-by-organized-crime.html Rafael Correa: 'The Ecuadorian government is infiltrated by organized crime'], ''El País English'' (October 4, 2023).</ref> At the time of the 2023 ''muerte cruzada'' (the decision of Lasso to trigger early elections), the largest bloc of legislators in Ecuador's National Assembly were pro-Correa.<ref>[https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/four-keys-understanding-what-happening-ecuador Four Keys to Understanding What is Happening in Ecuador], ''Weekly Asado'', Wilson Center (June 2, 2023).</ref>

Correa's successor as president was Lenín Moreno, his protégé and former vice president, but the two men fell out within weeks of Moreno taking office, and Correa emerged as a critic of Moreno.<ref name=LeónCabrera/><ref name=Bury>[https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2018/02/02/ecuadors-president-lenin-moreno-tries-to-bury-the-legacy-of-his-predecessor Ecuador's President Lenín Moreno tries to bury the legacy of his predecessor], ''Economist'' (February 2, 2018).</ref> Moreno moved closer to segments in Ecuador that had feuded with Correa, including business interests,<ref name=APReferendum>Associated Press, [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/05/ecuador-votes-to-limit-presidents-terms-in-blow-to-rafael-correa Ecuador votes to limit presidents' terms in blow to Rafael Correa], ''The Guardian'' (February 5, 2018).</ref><ref name=AFP2021>{{Cite web |date=2018-01-05 |title=Ecuador's Correa returns to fight referendum campaign |url=https://sg.news.yahoo.com/ecuadors-correa-returns-fight-referendum-campaign-175719697.html|access-date=2025-05-25 |agency=Agence France-Presse|language=en-SG}}</ref> the political right,<ref name=AFP2021/> and indigenous groups that had been marginalized under Correa.<ref name=APReferendum/> Correa was also angered by Moreno's decision, in April 2019, to withdraw the asylum granted by the Ecuadorian government to Julian Assange under Correa; Moreno invited Scotland Yard into the Ecuadorian embassy in London to arrest Assange, leading Correa to call Moreno a "traitor" and "a corrupt man" and the withdrawal of asylum, "one of the greatest betrayals in Latin American history."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Blake |first1=Andrew |title=Former Ecuador President Correa slams successor as 'traitor' for turning over Julian Assange |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/apr/11/rafael-correa-ex-ecuadorian-president-slams-succes/ |access-date=21 April 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Times |date=11 April 2019}}</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-internacional-47902702 Arresto de Julian Assange: "Es una de las traiciones más grandes en la historia latinoamericana", la dura acusación de Correa a Lenín Moreno], BBC Mundo (April 11, 2019).</ref>

In April 2019, Facebook blocked access to Correa's "fan" page, which had more than 1.5&nbsp;million followers, citing the social network's rule against disclosing others' personal data.<ref>[https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/facebook-rafael-correa-politica-seguridad.html Facebook dio de baja la ‘fan page’ de Rafael Correa] [Facebook canceled the 'fan page' of Rafael Correa], ''El Comercio'' (April 11, 2019).</ref> Correa had been using his account since the previous month to publish details of the "INA Papers" case, involving an alleged offshore bank account linked to Moreno's brother; Lenin Moreno himself was not tied to the account.<ref>[https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/facebook-blocks-page-of-ex-ecuadorian-leader-rafael-correa/ Facebook blocks page of ex-Ecuadorian leader Rafael Correa], Associated Press (April 12, 2019).</ref>

During the Correa-Moreno feud caused a deep split within the ruling PAIS Alliance.<ref name=AFP2021/><ref name="Gibbs">{{cite news|last=Gibbs|first=Stephen|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/bribery-conviction-completes-downfall-of-assanges-protector-rafael-correa-lf3tckd3l|title=Bribery conviction completes downfall of Assange's protector Rafael Correa|work=The Times|location=London|date=11 April 2020|access-date=11 April 2020}} {{subscription required}}</ref> Correa assailed the Moreno government's performance in the newspaper ''El Telégrafo''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/rafaelcorrea-investigacion-odebrecht-ecuador-corrupcion.html|title=Correa frente a la lucha anticorrupción: 'Sorprende que se nombren oficialmente comisiones ad hoc'|website=El Comercio |date=6 June 2017 }}</ref> In the February 2018 Ecuadorian referendums, Moreno supported a measure to restate presidential term limits in Ecuador, thus blocking Correa from returning to the presidency.<ref name=APReferendum/> (Correa had suggested he might run in the 2021 election.)<ref name=AFP2021/> Correa led "No" campaign, returning to Ecuador from Belgium to campaign against the measure.<ref name=AFP2021/> The referendum passed by a two-to-one margin, thus reinstating term limits that had been dropped from the Ecuadorian constitution under Correa in 2015.<ref name=APReferendum/> Another referendum passed at the same time barred those convicted of corruption offenses from seeking office, a measure aimed at Correa's ally and former vice-president Jorge Glas, who was recently been found guilty of corruption.<ref name=APReferendum/>

Moreno was succeeded by Guillermo Lasso and Daniel Noboa, both Correa opponents and part of the country's political right.<ref name=NietoMoveon/> In 2023 election, Noboa led an anti-Correa coalition to defeat Correa ally Luisa González.<ref name=NietoMoveon/> In the 2025 election, Noboa again defeated González.<ref name=NietoMoveon/>

Correa has hosted a talk show, ''Conversation with Correa'', on RT Spanish, the Spanish-language project of the Russian state-controlled RT network.<ref>Sam Jones, [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/17/spanish-tv-hacked-to-run-interview-with-carles-puigdemont Russian interview with Carles Puigdemont airs on hacked Spanish TV], ''The Guardian'' (December 17, 2019).</ref>

===Legal cases in Ecuador=== In July 2018, a judge in Ecuador ordered the arrest of Correa (who by that point lived in Belgium) after he failed to appear in court during a trial surrounding the kidnapping of his political opponent Fernando Balda.<ref name=DW2018/><ref name=BBCJuly2018/> Baldo, a lawmaker, was once a Correa ally who later became a critic of Correa; in 2012, he was briefly kidnapped in Bogotá, Colombia, during the 2010 Ecuadorian crisis, before being released by Colombian police, who blamed the Ecuadorean intelligence agency, Senain, for the incident.<ref name=DW2018/> Balda had at the time been accused of involvement in a coup attempt against Correa.<ref name=BBCJuly2018/> The court said that sufficient evidence existed to try Correa on the kidnapping charges, but suspended the trial because Ecuadoran law provided that Correa could not be tried in absentia.<ref name=DW2018/> Pablo Romero, the former director of Ecuadoran intelligence, and two police officers were also accused of involvement.<ref name=DW2018/> Correa denied any involvement in the alleged kidnapping.<ref name=BBCJuly2018/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/international-news-general-news-6b4c41b107924b29a4eff9f240ea1b08|title=Court Includes Ecuador's Ex-President Correa in Kidnap Probe|work=Associated Press News|date=19 June 2018}}</ref> In July 2018, Interpol rejected an Ecuadorian government's request for a red notice in connection with the case, and called it "obviously a political matter."<ref name=DW2018/>

Separately, Correa's trial in absentia on charges of bribery began in February 2020<ref name=AFPFebruary2020>{{cite news |url=http://www.rfi.fr/en/wires/20200210-bribery-trial-ex-president-correa-begins-ecuador |author=Agence France-Presse |publisher=Radio France Internationale |title=Bribery trial of ex-president Correa begins in Ecuador |date=10 February 2020}}</ref> in the National Court of Justice.<ref name=Solano2020>Gonzalo Solano, [https://www.courthousenews.com/bribery-trial-begins-against-ex-ecuador-leader-rafael-correa/ Bribery Trial Begins Against Ex-Ecuador Leader Rafael Correa], Associated Press (February 10, 2020).</ref> The Ecuadorian government accused him of accepting illegal bribes from businesses to finance his campaign in the 2023 election, and granting state contracts in return.<ref name=AFPFebruary2020/> The case, called Caso Sobornos 2012-2016,<ref name=BBCApril2020>{{cite web|date=April 7, 2020|publisher=BBC News Mundo|title=Condenan en Ecuador al expresidente Correa a 8 años de prisión por corrupción por el caso sobornos 2012-2016|url=https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-52205452}}</ref> stemmed from an investigation initially called ''Arroz Verde'' (Green Rice), after the name of a file in an email sent to an ex-Correa aide.<ref name=LeónCabrera/> The prosecution of the case was led by Attorney-General Diana Salazar.<ref name=LeónCabrera/> Correa and his former vice president Jorge Glas were among the 20 political and business leaders charged in the case, which alleged $8 million of bribes accepted between 2012 and 2016.<ref name=LeónCabrera/><ref name=Solano2020/> Correa has denied wrongdoing and has framed the charges against him as politically motivated<ref name=LeónCabrera/> and farcical.<ref name=Solano2020/> In April 2020, the court found Correa and the other defendants guilty.<ref name=BBC2020Trial>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-52208588|title=Ecuador ex-president Correa jailed in absentia|date=7 April 2020|work=BBC News|access-date=8 April 2020|language=en-GB}}</ref> The court sentenced Correa and Glas to eight years in prison,<ref name=LeónCabrera/><ref name=BBCApril2020/> and banned all the defendants from having any political role for 25 years.<ref name=BBC2020Trial/>

Moreno's government made three requests to Interpol for a red notice to ask foreign governments to arrest Correa. Interpol rejected each request on human rights grounds.<ref name="fair160221">{{cite web |last1=Emersberger |first1=Joe |title=Ignoring Repression and Dirty Tricks in Coverage of Ecuador's Election |url=https://fair.org/home/ignoring-repression-and-dirty-tricks-in-coverage-of-ecuadors-election/ |website=FAIR |access-date=21 February 2021 |date=16 February 2021}}</ref>

===US travel ban=== On 9 October 2024, U.S. State Department (DoS) Spokesperson Matthew Miller announced that Correa, Glas, and their immediate families were declared as "generally ineligible" from entering the United States due to "significant corruption" allegations during Correa's and Glas' time in office.<ref>https://2021-2025.state.gov/designation-of-two-former-ecuadorian-public-officials-for-involvement-in-significant-corruption-during-their-tenures-as-public-officials/</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/former-ecuador-president-vice-president-barred-entering-us-2024-10-09/ | title=US bars ex-Ecuador president, former vice president from entry over corruption | work=Reuters | date=10 October 2024 }}</ref> Correa publicly condemned the announcement, saying that neither he or his family had applied for an American visa, and called the measure arbitrary, barbaric and politically motivated despite what he claimed were evidences of his innocence and of the politicization of the Ecuadorian justice system, like Interpol's rejection of red notice alerts for his arrest. He also claimed that the announcement risked his and his family's security by publicly naming them in the DoS communique. The Progressive International also rejected the measure and expressed solidarity with Correa, theorising that the measure was linked to Correa's October 2 embrace with Julian Assange after the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe approved a resolution recognising Assange as a political prisoner of the US. The PI also speculated that it was meant to influence the outcome of the 2025 elections in Ecuador and that it was not related to the rule of law in Ecuador. <ref>https://progressive.international/observatory/2024-10-10-the-u-s-is-persecuting-rafael-correa--and-his-family/en/</ref>

== Controversy == {{Criticism section|date=July 2025}}

=== Relationship with the media === Correa was highly critical of the Ecuadorian press.{{sfn|Philip|Panizza|2011|p=90}} Accusing the press of lying and slandering him, he proposed a law that would ban those working in the financial sector from financing media outlets. Paraphrasing Tony Blair, he stated that the Ecuadorian press acted as "a group of wild beasts". He has also regularly criticized it as "...mediocre, incompetent, inaccurate, lying and is a part of the structure of corruption and accomplice of the national disaster."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lahora.com.ec/frontEnd/main.php?idSeccion=570956|title=Correa criticó nuevamente a la prensa|date=21 January 2012|publisher=Lahora.com.ec|access-date=5 December 2012|archive-date=10 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810114059/https://www.lahora.com.ec/frontEnd/main.php?idSeccion=570956|url-status=dead}}</ref> The US State Department noted "There is more than a grain of truth in Correa's observation that the Ecuadorian media play a political role, in this case the role of the opposition", further adding that the news outlets are owned by wealthy elites who see his economic reforms as a threat to their own position.<ref>{{Cite book |title=America's Deadliest Export: Democracy The Truth About US Foreign Policy and Everything Else |author=William Blum |publisher=Zed Books |page=141}}</ref> Correa oversaw democratic backsliding in Ecuador.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mayorga |first1=Galo |last2=Thaler |first2=Kai M. |date=2026 |title=Crime, Crackdowns, and Democracy in Ecuador |url=https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2026.a977949 |journal=Journal of Democracy |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=120–133 |doi=10.1353/jod.2026.a977949 |issn=1086-3214|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Moncagatta |first1=Paolo |last2=Pazmiño |first2=Mateo |date=2024 |title=A Tale of a Failed Recovery: Ecuador's Democratic Stagnation |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/00027162241312518 |journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science |language=EN |volume=712 |issue=1 |pages=137–151 |doi=10.1177/00027162241312518 |issn=0002-7162|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

[[File:Presidente Correa constatando catástrofe minera en Portovelo.jpg|thumb|left|The President steps into a Dhruv helicopter]]

Correa has criticized several newspapers as ''El Universo'', ''El Comercio'', ''Diario Hoy'', ''Diario Expreso'', ''La Hora'', calling them "news mafias" for criticising the ruling of the Electoral Tribunal depriving 57 opposition legislators of their seats in Congress. Correa argued that the press had remained silent about the holdups that had occurred in state-owned enterprises like Pacifictel and the Ecuadorian Customs Administration (CAE).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ecuadorinmediato.com/index.php?module=Noticias&func=news_user_view&id=50432&umt=diario_hoy_quito_correa_endurece_criticas_contra_periodicos|title=DIARIO HOY (Quito) Correa endurece críticas contra periódicos :: Ecuadorinmediato :: Frente al tratamiento del comunicado "Intolerable"|date=11 March 2007|publisher=Ecuadorinmediato|access-date=4 December 2011|archive-date=29 June 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629101633/http://www.ecuadorinmediato.com/index.php?module=Noticias&func=news_user_view&id=50432&umt=diario_hoy_quito_correa_endurece_criticas_contra_periodicos|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.diariocritico.com/ecuador/2007/Marzo/opinion/aqui-hay-mafias-informativas-canales-propiedad-de-la-banca-corrupta/15075/aqui-hay-mafias-informativas-canales-propiedad-de-la-banca-corrupta.html|title=Aquí hay mafias informativas, canales propiedad de la banca corrupta|date=26 March 2007|publisher=Diariocritico.com|access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hoy.com.ec/noticias-ecuador/correa-hay-mafia-informativa-261041-261041.html|title=Correa: "Hay mafia informativa" |date=14 October 2011|publisher=Hoy|access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref>

On 10 May 2007, Correa filed a lawsuit against Francisco Vivanco Riofrío of the board of directors of the Quito-based ''La Hora'' newspaper, over an editorial published in the paper on 9 March. The editorial, titled "Official Vandalism", said that Correa intended to rule Ecuador "with turmoil, rocks and sticks". It described the president's behavior as "shameful."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hora |first1=Diario La |url=http://www.lahora.com.ec/frontEnd/main.php?idRegional=1&idSeccion=543753|title=Vandalismo oficial|work=La Hora Noticias de Ecuador, sus provincias y el mundo |publisher=Lahora.com.ec|access-date=14 March 2010}}</ref> Correa's suit is based on Article 230 of the country's penal code that sets prison penalties of up to two years for contempt, expressed in "threats or libel that would offend the president."<ref>[http://www.cpj.org/news/2007/americas/ecuador15may07na.html Committee to Protect Journalists 15 May 2007] ''La Hora'', 18 May 2007</ref>

The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) has declared that it is "a clumsy step on the part of the Ecuadorean president to file a criminal charge against a news outlet, accusing it of contempt, an archaic concept in a modern democracy and outmoded in Latin America and which should be eliminated from penal codes, as the IAPA has been insisting."<ref name="autogenerated2007">[http://www.ifex.org/eng/content/view/full/83340/ 14 May 2007 IAPA press release], IFEX 14 May 2007</ref> The Committee to Protect Journalists has also protested against the lawsuit: "Fear of criminal penalties will inhibit the Ecuadoran press in reporting and commenting on issues of public interest. We call on President Correa to drop the libel suit against Vivanco and repeal defamation laws that contradict international standards on freedom of expression".<ref>[http://www.cpj.org/news/2007/americas/ecuador15may07na.html 15 May 2007 CPJ press release], CPJ 15 May 2007</ref>

In August 2007 he signed Ecuador to TeleSUR. Correa decided to create Ecuador TV, the first state-owned channel in the country, with the announced intention of producing television with better quality standards than the private channels. Also, newspaper ''El Telegrafo'' was purchased and became state-owned. Radio Pública, El Ciudadano, ANDES and PP were also created under Correa's presidency and are administered by state agencies.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.eluniverso.com/2011/01/11/1/1355/cuatro-anos-regimen-cuenta-19-medios-comunicacion.html|title=En cuatro años, régimen cuenta con 19 medios de comunicación|newspaper=El Universo|access-date=4 September 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.explored.com.ec/noticias-ecuador/el-gobierno-consolida-su-poder-con-medios-publicos-328785.html|title=El Gobierno consolida su poder con medios públicos|date=15 January 2009|publisher=Explored.com.ec|access-date=4 September 2012|archive-date=20 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320162540/http://www.explored.com.ec/noticias-ecuador/el-gobierno-consolida-su-poder-con-medios-publicos-328785.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Attacks on critics === Correa has revealed the real identities of a number of his social media-based critics, leading to those individuals being harassed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://soundcloud.com/replyall/25-favor-atender|title=Favor Atender|last1=Goldman|first1=Alex|website=Reply All|publisher=Gimlet Media|access-date=21 May 2015|ref=Dox}}</ref> In other instances, like in November 2011, August 2012 and January 2013, he responded to Twitter users who attacked him (once with an alleged threat) by publicly ordering the National Intelligence Secretariat to investigate them. The November 2011 incident resulted in the arrest in flagranto of a 44-year-old citizen in Cuenca who was freed the following day and later publicly apologised for what he posted.<ref>https://fundamedios.org.ec/alertas/presidente-de-la-republica-pide-secretaria-de-inteligencia-investigar-tuitero-y-proceder-judicialmente/#eng</ref><ref>https://www.infobae.com/2013/01/25/1065425-rafael-correa-otra-vez-contra-los-tuiteros/</ref><ref>https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/politica/correa-vez-pide-investigacion-tuitero/</ref>

On 1 May 2015, Correa stopped his motorcade in downtown Quito to berate 17-year-old Luis Carrera, after he spotted Carrera giving the middle finger gesture at Correa. Carrera was later sentenced to 20 hours of community service.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://fusion.net/story/131597/ecuadors-president-stops-motorcade-to-bully-finger-flipping-teen/ | title=Ecuador's president stops motorcade to bully finger-flipping teen | access-date=26 January 2017 | archive-date=2 February 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202041525/http://fusion.net/story/131597/ecuadors-president-stops-motorcade-to-bully-finger-flipping-teen/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> Similar incidents of Correa personally going after people who (he thought) publicly disrespected him were reported throughout his decade in power; in late November 2010 a citizen, Juan Solano, was arrested in Machala for alleged obscene public gestures against Correa's motorcade, even if Correa himself denied having ordered his arrest, and apologized to Solano for the way he was treated. That same month, some 20 electric workers on strike were laid off after insulting Correa during a visit to Guayaquil, even though Correa denied that those gestures were the reason for the layoffs.<ref>https://www.notimerica.com/politica/noticia-ecuador-correa-pide-disculpas-ecuatoriano-fue-reducido-violentamente-policia-insultar-presidente-20100128210024.html</ref>

In his post-presidential exile, Correa has remained an active social media user, notably on X, formerly Twitter. There, he constantly attacks, insults, and mocks critics, incumbent government officials, and anyone he perceives as an enemy or detractor, presuming moral and intellectual superiority, and spending considerable time on social media. One journalist, who has labelled his virtual behaviour as "toxic," has criticised its negative repercussions for Ecuador's national political debate, given his large following (over three million) and social media impact.<ref>https://www.expreso.ec/actualidad/tuitero-toxico-red-129308.html</ref>

=== Edward Snowden === In June 2013, US Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the foreign relations panel, warned Ecuador that accepting PRISM leaker Edward Snowden "would severely jeopardize" preferential trade access the United States provides to Ecuador. "Our government will not reward countries for bad behavior."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hotair.com/headlines/archives/2013/06/27/ecuador-warned-asylum-for-edward-snowden-would-jeopardize-millions-in-trade/|title=Ecuador warned: Asylum for Edward Snowden would jeopardize millions in trade|date=27 June 2013|publisher=Michelle Malkin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130822210655/http://hotair.com/headlines/archives/2013/06/27/ecuador-warned-asylum-for-edward-snowden-would-jeopardize-millions-in-trade/ |archive-date=22 August 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

President Correa responded by offering a multimillion-dollar donation for human rights training in the United States. "Ecuador offers the United States economic aid of US$23 million annually, similar to what we received with the trade benefits, with the intention of providing education about human rights", said a government spokesman. "Ecuador does not accept pressure or threats from anyone, nor does it trade with principles or submit them to mercantile interests, however important those may be."<ref>{{Cite news |author1=Brian Ellsworth |author2=Alexandra Valencia |date=27 June 2013|title=Ecuador offers U.S. rights aid, waives trade benefits|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-security-ecuador-idUSBRE95Q0L820130627|access-date=21 June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1270475/ecuador-waives-us-trade-rights-after-threats-made-over-snowden-case|title=Ecuador waives US trade rights after threats made over Snowden case|date=28 June 2013|newspaper=South China Morning Post}}</ref>

Ecuador, which had originally issued Snowden a temporary travel document through its embassy in London, withdrew it because it did not meet the requirements of being in an Ecuadorian Embassy at that time.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/28/edward-snowden-ecuador-julian-assange|title=Ecuador cools on Edward Snowden asylum as Assange frustration grows|last=Carroll|first=Rory|date=28 June 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London}}</ref> Snowden said that having the document gave him "the confidence, the courage to get on that plane to begin the journey" and that "there are few world leaders who would risk standing for the human rights of an individual against the most powerful government on earth, and the bravery of Ecuador and its people is an example to the world".<ref name="guardian030713"/><ref name="dm300919">{{cite web |title=Whistleblower Edward Snowden on Trump, Obama & How He Ended Up in Russia to Avoid U.S. Extradition |url=https://www.democracynow.org/2019/9/30/how_edward_snowden_avoided_extradition_to |website=Democracy Now! |access-date=29 August 2020 |language=en |date=30 September 2019}}</ref> President Correa said that, although he respected the decision of the London consul Fidel Narváez to issue it, the document was invalid.<ref name="guardian030713">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/02/ecuador-rafael-correa-snowden-mistake|title=Ecuador says it blundered over Snowden travel document|last=Carroll|first=Rory|date=3 July 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London}}</ref>

=== Odebrecht scandal === {{Further|Odebrecht scandal}} The Ecuadorean government continues to investigate the allegations of corruption in the country by Brazil's largest construction company. Ecuadorean officials announced that the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht will not be able to sign any future contracts with public institutions in Ecuador, as authorities continue to investigate alleged corruption in its operations. According to Geovanny Vicente Romero, a political analyst, "Ecuador is in the midst of presidential elections and its lame-duck president Rafael Correa wants to leave the house in order for his successor by taking a position in favor of investigating the Odebrecht case. Correa recently complained that though there were $33.5 million in bribes paid in Ecuador, the individuals involved in the case remain unknown". Some Ecuadorians had grown disenchanted with corruption, as well as Correa's confrontational and polarizing behavior towards media organizations.<ref name="BBCfeb2017" /><ref name="STfeb2017" /> However, according to Transparency International, corruption decreased under Correa's government.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://datosmacro.expansion.com/estado/indice-percepcion-corrupcion/ecuador|title=Ecuador - Índice de Percepción de la Corrupción 2018|website=datosmacro.com}}</ref>

=== Response to the drop in oil prices === In 2014, the price for crude oil, which was Ecuador's main export, began moving downward, from $111 per barrel in June 2014, to $50 per barrel in March 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.macrotrends.net/1369/crude-oil-price-history-chart|title=Crude Oil Prices - 70 Year Historical Chart|website=www.macrotrends.net|access-date=16 January 2019}}</ref> To replace the lost revenue, Correa proposed raising taxes, including an increase of up to 75% in capital gain (Ley de Plusvalia),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/rafaelcorrea-envio-ley-pluvalia-asambleanacional.html|title=Presidente Rafael Correa envió Ley de Plusvalía a la Asamblea|website=El Comercio|date=December 2016 |access-date=16 January 2019}}</ref> and a tax on inheritances from 2.5% up to 77.5% (the highest for inheritances of over $849,600).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/impuesto-herencia-correa-tasas-donaciones.html|title=Impuesto a la herencia irá del 2,5% al 77,5% y será por heredero|website=El Comercio|date=30 May 2015 |access-date=16 January 2019}}</ref>

=== Claims of collaboration with drug traffickers === A former cellmate of dead drug trafficker Leandro Norero claimed in 2024 that he had witnessed Correa speaking on a video call with Norero on two occasions while Correa was still the President of Ecuador.<ref name="ecuadortimes.net">{{Cite web |title=EcuadorTimes.net {{!}} Breaking News, Ecuador News, World, Sports, Entertainment » Witness says he heard Leandro Norero speak with Rafael Correa by video call |url=https://www.ecuadortimes.net/witness-says-he-heard-leandro-norero-speak-with-rafael-correa-by-video-call/ |access-date=2025-03-04 |website=www.ecuadortimes.net |language=en-US}}</ref> According to the witness, the discussions involved the freeing of Jorge Glas.<ref name="ecuadortimes.net"/>

== Public image and personal life == {{see also|List of heads of the executive by approval rating}} thumb|Rafael Correa in Otavalo

According to the Cedatos, Correa began his presidency with a 73% approval rating.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cedatos.com.ec/detalles_noticia.php?Id=27 |title=Aprobación Presidentes del Ecuador desde 1979 |publisher=Cedatos |date=1 September 2008 |access-date=4 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140927202915/http://www.cedatos.com.ec/detalles_noticia.php?Id=27 |archive-date=27 September 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> An opinion poll carried out by Profiles of Opinion in the cities of Quito and Guayaquil, in March 2012 indicates that 80.5% of those interviewed categorize President Correa's administration as positive.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://perfilesdeopinion.com/images/pdf/marzo%202012%20gestin%20presidente.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=23 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130817172454/http://perfilesdeopinion.com/images/pdf/marzo%202012%20gestin%20presidente.pdf |archive-date=17 August 2013}}</ref> According to the Mitofsky of April 2012, as regards the "approval of leaders in America and the world", President Correa possesses an excellent evaluation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elciudadano.gob.ec/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32030:presidente-r-correa-incrementa-aprobacion-ciudadana-del-75-al-81-segun-encuesta-internacional&catid=40:actualidad&Itemid=63 |title=Presidente R. Correa incrementa aprobaciĂłn ciudadana, del 75% al 81%, segĂşn encuesta in |publisher=ElCiudadano.gob.ec |access-date=4 September 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120730053105/http://www.elciudadano.gob.ec/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32030:presidente-r-correa-incrementa-aprobacion-ciudadana-del-75-al-81-segun-encuesta-internacional&catid=40:actualidad&Itemid=63 |archive-date=30 July 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> His popularity even increased from 75% to 81% from August 2011 to January 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://consulta.mx/web/index.php/estudios/57-ultimas-noticias/473-evaluacion-de-mandatarios-abr-12 |title=Informe Sobre Desarrollo Mundial 2012: Banco Mundial |publisher=Consulta.mx |access-date=4 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724072244/http://consulta.mx/web/index.php/estudios/57-ultimas-noticias/473-evaluacion-de-mandatarios-abr-12 |archive-date=24 July 2012}}</ref> According to the Mitofsky of April 2013, as regards the "approval of leaders in America and the world", President Correa possessed a positive evaluation of 90%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ecuadorinmediato.com/index.php?module=Noticias&func=news_user_view&id=195194&umt=presidente_rafael_correa_lidera_nivel_aceptacion_entre_mandatarios_del_mundo_segun_encuestadora_mexicana|title=Presidente Rafael Correa lidera nivel de aceptación entre mandatarios del mundo, según encuestadora mexicana|access-date=18 April 2013|archive-date=22 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222234141/http://www.ecuadorinmediato.com/index.php?module=Noticias&func=news_user_view&id=195194&umt=presidente_rafael_correa_lidera_nivel_aceptacion_entre_mandatarios_del_mundo_segun_encuestadora_mexicana|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, his public image in Ecuador was heavily deteriorated after several controversial regulations<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/10-leyes-polemicas-asambleanacional-rafaelcorrea.html|title=10 leyes polémicas que aprobó la Asamblea Nacional del 2013-2017|website=El Comercio|date=13 May 2017 |access-date=16 January 2019}}</ref> during his later years as president. Approval ratings for Rafael Correa slipped from 60% in January 2015 to 45% in July 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://country.eiu.com/article.aspx?articleid=443401428&Country=Ecuador&topic=Politics&subtopic=Forecast&subsubtopic=Political+stability&u=1&pid=1233717707&oid=1233717707&uid=1|title=Correa's approval rating slips|website=country.eiu.com|access-date=16 January 2019}}</ref> Correa leaves office with a rate of 46%, according to a latest survey by the firm Cedatos.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2019/12/27/nota/7666941/expresidentes-jaime-roldos-rafael-correa-aprobacion-encuestas/|title=Jaime Roldós y Rafael Correa registraron mayor índice de aprobación de sus gestiones, según Cedatos.|website=www.eluniverso.com|date=27 December 2019|access-date=24 May 2021}}</ref>

[[File:Rafael Correa at Camilo Ponce Enríquez Airport 1.JPG|thumb|Presidential aircraft Embraer Legacy 600 arriving at Camilo Ponce Enríquez Airport in Loja, Ecuador in September 2013.]] thumb|left|President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa signs the guestbook at the Tomb of Monsignor Óscar A. Romero. During Beatification of Archbishop Romero San Salvador El Salvador Correa is Catholic, and while President, kept a photograph of the Pope on his desk.<ref name="OpenDemocracy" />

== Political ideology ==

Correa describes himself as an advocate of "socialism of the 21st century". ''The Economist'' described Correa as "a left-wing populist",<ref>{{cite news |title=If you can't beat 'em, referendum |newspaper=The Economist |date=15 November 2014 |url=https://www.economist.com/news/americas/21632575-vote-could-cost-president-correa-his-jobin-2017-if-you-cant-beat-em-referendum?zid=309&ah=80dcf288b8561b012f603b9fd9577f0e }}</ref> while ''The Washington Post'' has characterized Correa's ideological approach as being "economically populist, socially conservative, [and] quasi-authoritarian".<ref>{{cite news |title=Ecuador's popular, powerful president Rafael Correa is a study in contradictions |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/ecuadors-popular-powerful-president-rafael-correa-is-a-study-in-contradictions/2014/03/15/452111fc-3eaa-401b-b2c8-cc4e85fccb40_story.html |author=Nick Miroff |date=15 March 2014 |newspaper=The Washington Post }}</ref> The scholars of political science George Philip and Francisco Panizza claimed that like his allies Morales and Chávez, Correa should be categorized as a populist,{{sfn|Philip|Panizza|2011|p=68}} because he appealed "directly to the people against their countries' political and economic order, divided the social field into antagonistic camps and promised redistribution and recognition in a newly founded political order."{{sfn|Philip|Panizza|2011|p=73}}

Correa's actions vis-a-vis indigenous communities, however, were described as not populist. To protect Chinese mining interests, "Shuar lands are now under occupation by 8,000 military personnel — marine, air and land troops — equipped with four war-tanks, surveillance drones, aerostatic balloons, mobile satellites and helicopter gunships."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_round_up/2988565/blood_and_fire_mining_and_militarization_in_the_ecuadorian_amazon.html|title=Blood and fire: mining and militarization in the Ecuadorian Amazon|newspaper=The Ecologist|access-date=5 February 2017}}</ref>

On 23 May 2013, Correa reiterated his opposition to same-sex marriage.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/CMS-12818745|title=Correa descarta impulsar matrimonio gay en Ecuador en nuevo mandato|date=23 May 2013|website=El Tiempo}}</ref>

== Honours and awards ==

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left;" |- ! colspan=2 | Award or decoration ! Country ! Date ! Place ! Note ! Ref |- | style="width:80px;"| 80px | style="font-size:90%;"|Grand Collar of the Order of the Liberator | style="width:8em; font-size:90%;"|{{flagu|Venezuela}} | style="text-align:center; width:10em; font-size:90%;"|11 October 2007 | style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;"|Caracas | style="font-size:90%;"|Former Venezuelan highest distinction. | style="font-size:90%;"|<ref>{{cite news|title=(VIDEO) Presidente de Ecuador condecorado con el "Collar de la Orden del Libertador"|url=http://www.aporrea.org/actualidad/n102928.html|publisher=:es:Aporrea (Venezolana de Televisión)|date=12 October 2007|access-date=15 June 2013|language=es}}</ref> |- | style="width:80px;"| 80px | style="font-size:90%;"|Collar of the Order of the Liberator General San Martín | style="width:8em; font-size:90%;"|{{flagu|Argentina}} | style="text-align:center; width:10em; font-size:90%;"|21 April 2008 | style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;"|Quito | style="font-size:90%;"|Argentinian highest decoration. | style="font-size:90%;"|<ref>{{cite news|title=Cristina cambia de aire y viaja a Ecuador|url=http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/ultimas/20-102791-2008-04-20.html|newspaper=Página/12|date=20 April 2008|access-date=15 June 2013|language=es}}</ref> |- | style="width:80px;"| 80px | style="font-size:90%;"|Grand Cross of the Order of Francisco Morazán | style="font-size:90%;"|{{flagu|Honduras}} | style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;"|31 May 2009 | style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;"|Tegucigalpa | style="font-size:90%;"| | style="font-size:90%;"|<ref>{{cite news|title=Correa recibió la Orden Francisco Morazán en el Grado de Gran Cruz|url=http://www.elciudadano.gob.ec/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2768:correa-recibio-la-orden-francisco-morazan-en-el-grado-de-gran-cruz-&catid=2:politica&Itemid=43|publisher=Elciudadano.gob.ec|date=31 May 2009|access-date=15 June 2013|language=es|archive-date=18 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318135830/http://www.elciudadano.gob.ec/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2768:correa-recibio-la-orden-francisco-morazan-en-el-grado-de-gran-cruz-&catid=2:politica&Itemid=43|url-status=dead}}</ref> |- | 80px | style="font-size:90%;"|Grand Collar of the Order of the Sun | style="font-size:90%;"|{{flagu|Peru}} | style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;"|9 June 2010 | style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;"|Lima | style="font-size:90%;"|Peruvian highest award. | style="font-size:90%;"|<ref>{{cite news|title=Paz entre Ecuador y Perú "es irreversible", recalca presidente Rafael Correa|url=http://www.andina.com.pe/Espanol/Noticia.aspx?id=fGpewNQ5e2s=#.Ubx8MpxjFnA|publisher=Andina.com.pe|date=9 June 2010|access-date=15 June 2013|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728225856/http://www.andina.com.pe/Espanol/Noticia.aspx?id=fGpewNQ5e2s=#.Ubx8MpxjFnA|archive-date=28 July 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> |- | style="width:80px;"| 80px | style="font-size:90%;"|Order of Augusto César Sandino | style="font-size:90%;"|{{flagu|Nicaragua}} | style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;"|15 November 2010 | style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;"|Quito | style="font-size:90%;"|Highest honour of the Republic of Nicaragua. | style="font-size:90%;"|<ref>{{cite news|title=Orden Sandino a Correa|url=http://www.elnuevodiario.com.ni/politica/88036|newspaper=El Nuevo Diario|date=15 November 2010|access-date=15 June 2013|language=es|archive-date=12 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112134631/http://www.elnuevodiario.com.ni/politica/88036|url-status=dead}}</ref> |- | style="width:80px;"| 80px | style="font-size:90%;"|Order of José Martí | style="font-size:90%;"|{{flagu|Cuba}} | style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;"|5 May 2017 | style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;"|Havana | style="font-size:90%;"|Highest distinction of the Republic of Cuba. | style="font-size:90%;"|{{citation needed|date=November 2020}} |}

=== Recognition === Rafael Correa has been also awarded with: * Conquering Insignia of Tarqui, Grand Cross of the Armed forces of Ecuador – in gratitude for the administration carried out for the benefit of the soldiers of the Homeland.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/presidenciaecuador/2296133507/ |title=Conmemoración del CLXXIX Aniversario de la Batalla de Tarqui y Día Clásico del Ejército Ecuatoriano |publisher=Flickr.com |date=27 February 2008 |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref> * Order Great Marshal of Ayacucho of Venezuela – for the Bolivarian character of his administration in Ecuador, February 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eluniverso.com/2009/02/03/1/1361/E22961CCCCDE40399619D2BBE9151D21.html |title=Correa condecorado en Venezuela |publisher=Eluniverso.com |date=3 February 2009 |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref> * Medal of Honor in the Grade of Grand Cross –highest honour of the Congress of Peru, 12 June 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.losandes.com.pe/Nacional/20100612/37128.html |title=Congreso condecora al presidente ecuatoriano Rafael Correa |publisher=Losandes|access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref> * Great Necklace of the Ecuadorian Federation of Soccer – in November 2010 in gratitude for the expedition of the Law of the Sport.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.deporte.gob.ec/?option=com_content&view=article&id=427:federacion-ecuatoriana-de-futbol-condecoro-a-Presidente-rafael-correa&catid=362:noticias&Itemid=14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725190831/http://www.deporte.gob.ec/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=427%3Afederacion-ecuatoriana-de-futbol-condecoro-a-Presidente-rafael-correa&catid=362%3Anoticias&Itemid=14|url-status=dead|title=Secretaría del Deporte – Institucíon encargada del bienestar del deporte ecuatoriano. Ente rector del Deporte, la Actividad Física y Recreaciónes la cartera de Estado encargada del deporte del Ecuador.|archive-date=25 July 2012|website=www.deporte.gob.ec}}</ref> * Medal of "Distinguished Visitor" – awarded by the UCSG in the inauguration of the III International University Congress, Development and Cooperation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ediciones.expreso.ec/ediciones/2011/05/12/nacional/actualidad/catolica-condecora-a-correa/ |title=Expreso – Ediciones20110512nacionalactualidadcatolica-condecora-a-correa |publisher=Ediciones.expreso.ec |access-date=4 December 2011 }}{{dead link|date=August 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> * Highest honour of the Association of retired Generals of the National Police – for having brought about the approval of pensions to almost 20,000 former uniformed officers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hoy.com.ec/noticias-ecuador/correa-recibe-condecoracion-de-policias-en-servicio-pasivo-486453.html |title=Correa recibe condecoración de policías en servicio pasivo |publisher=Hoy |date=14 October 2011 |access-date=4 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111215031114/http://www.hoy.com.ec/noticias-ecuador/correa-recibe-condecoracion-de-policias-en-servicio-pasivo-486453.html |archive-date=15 December 2011}}</ref>

=== Honorary degrees === *{{flagu|Chile}}: University of Chile Honorary doctorate, 11 March 2008.<ref>{{cite web|title=Discurso de concesión Doctorado Honoris Causa Universidad de Chile al Presidente de la República del Ecuador Don Rafael Correa Delgado|url=http://www.uchile.cl/portal/presentacion/rectoria/discursos/44809/entrega-doctorado-honoris-causa-al-presidente-de-ecuador-rafael-correa|publisher=University of Chile|access-date=15 June 2013|language=es}}</ref> *{{flagu|Paraguay}}: Universidad Nacional de Asunción Honorary doctorate, 24 March 2009.<ref name="AndesCorreaHonorisCausa">{{cite news|title=Presidente Correa recibirá doctorado Honoris Causa de universidad peruana|url=http://www.andes.info.ec/actualidad/323.html|author=Luis Padilla|publisher=Andes|date=28 February 2012|access-date=15 June 2013|language=es}}</ref> *{{flagu|Russia}}: Moscow State Institute of International Relations Honorary doctorate, 30 October 2009.<ref name="AndesCorreaHonorisCausa" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Presidente Rafael Correa es nombrado Doctor Honoris Causa en Rusia|url=http://www.elciudadano.gob.ec/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7148:presidente-rafael-correa-es-nombrado-doctor-honoris-causa-en-rusia&catid=1:actualidad&Itemid=34|publisher=Elciudadano.gob.ec|access-date=15 June 2013|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130816115747/http://www.elciudadano.gob.ec/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7148:presidente-rafael-correa-es-nombrado-doctor-honoris-causa-en-rusia&catid=1:actualidad&Itemid=34|archive-date=16 August 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> *{{flagu|Russia}}: Ural State University Honorary doctorate, 30 October 2009.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.ecuadorinmediato.com/index.php?module=Noticias&func=news_user_view&id=2818750206&umt=universidad_rusa_entrega_doctorado_honoris_causa_al_presidente_correa| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140924092942/http://www.ecuadorinmediato.com/index.php?module=Noticias&func=news_user_view&id=2818750206&umt=universidad_rusa_entrega_doctorado_honoris_causa_al_presidente_correa| archive-date = 24 September 2014| title = Universidad rusa entrega Doctorado Honoris Causa al Presidente Correa :: Ecuadorinmediato}}</ref> *{{flagu|Argentina}}: University of Buenos Aires Honorary doctorate, 3 December 2010.<ref name="AndesCorreaHonorisCausa" /><ref>{{cite news|title=La UBA distingue a Rafael Correa con el título de Doctor Honoris Causa|url=http://www.uba.ar/comunicacion/noticia.php?id=2763|publisher=University of Buenos Aires|date=30 November 2010|access-date=15 June 2013|language=es|archive-date=13 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513144947/http://www.uba.ar/comunicacion/noticia.php?id=2763|url-status=dead}}</ref> *{{flagu|Dominican Republic}}: Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo Honorary doctorate in Economic and Social Sciences, 23 April 2010.<ref name="AndesCorreaHonorisCausa" /><ref>{{cite web|title=La UASD otorga a Correa Doctorado Honoris Causa|url=http://www.ladc-instituto.com/2013/04/24/la-uasd-otorga-a-correa-doctorado-honoris-causa/|publisher=LAdc-instituto.com|date=24 April 2010|access-date=15 June 2013|language=es|archive-date=27 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927105538/http://www.ladc-instituto.com/2013/04/24/la-uasd-otorga-a-correa-doctorado-honoris-causa/|url-status=dead}}</ref> *{{flagu|Peru}}: University of Chiclayo Honorary doctorate, 28 February 2012.<ref name="AndesCorreaHonorisCausa" /> *{{flagu|Turkey}}: Bahçeşehir University Honorary doctorate, 16 March 2012.<ref>{{cite news|title=Correa ataca a la prensa mientras recibe doctorado honoris causa|url=http://www.larepublica.ec/blog/politica/2012/03/16/correa-ataca-a-la-prensa-mientras-recibe-doctorado-honoris-causa/|publisher=La Republica|date=16 March 2012|access-date=15 June 2013|language=es}}</ref> *{{flagu|Russia}}: People's Friendship University of Russia Honorary doctorate, 30 October 2013.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Fesyuk |first1=Mariana |last2=Kocherova |first2=Darya |journal=Druzhba|title=За единство государств и народов |language=ru |url=https://www.rudn.ru/storage/media/corporate-publications/bc6534a3-ee8c-4d15-8630-d0d510afd21e/TLiR4aKdfEPuJGx3Rt0C0S4sB90lylL5jqVMbMcc.pdf|date=2013-11-25 |access-date=2024-11-05 |issue=18 (1456)}}</ref> *{{flagu|Spain}}: Universitat de Barcelona Honorary doctorate, 23 April 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.plenglish.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2605591&Itemid=1 |title=Prensa Latina News Agency |publisher=Plenglish.com |date=1 January 1970 |access-date=24 December 2015}}</ref> *{{flagu|Chile}}: University of Santiago, Chile Honorary doctorate, 2014. *{{flagu|Argentina}}: National University of Córdoba Honorary doctorate, 2015.<ref>{{cite web|date=2020|title=Rafael Correa recibió el título Doctor Honoris Causa de la UNC|url=https://artes.unc.edu.ar/rafael-correa-recibio-el-titulo-doctor-honoris-causa-de-la-unc/|work=Facultad de Artes, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba}}</ref> *{{flagu|France}}: Claude Bernard University Lyon 1 Honorary doctorate, 2 December 2015.<ref>{{cite news|title=Le président équatorien Rafael Correa reçoit les insignes de docteur Honoris Causa de l'université Claude-Bernard Lyon 1|url=http://www.leprogres.fr/rhone/2015/12/09/le-president-equatorien-rafael-correa-recoit-les-insignes-de-docteur-honoris-causa-de-l-universite-claude-bernard-lyon-1|work=leprogres.fr|date=9 December 2015}}</ref> *{{flagu|Cuba}}: University of Havana Honorary doctorate, May 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2017/05/05/condecora-este-viernes-a-rafael-correa-con-la-orden-jose-marti/#.WRkGMty1uM8|title=Rafael Correa recibe título Doctor Honoris Causa de la Universidad de La Habana (+ Fotos y Video) |work=Cubadebate |date=5 May 2017 }}</ref> *{{flagu|Argentina}}: National University of Quilmes Honorary doctorate, May 2017 *{{flagu|France}}: Université Grenoble Alpes Honorary doctorate, 7 December 2017<ref>{{cite web|url=https://newsroom.univ-grenoble-alpes.fr/campus/rafael-correa-docteur-honoris-causa-de-l-universite-grenoble-alpes-272672.kjsp?RH=1475049142843|title=Rafael Correa, Docteur Honoris Causa de l'Université Grenoble Alpes|first=Frederic|last=Lambert|work=Université Grenoble Alpes}}</ref> *{{flagu|Argentina}}: Universidad Nacional de Rosario Honorary doctorate, March 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.clarin.com/sociedad/rafael-correa-declarado-doctor-honoris-causa-universidad-nacional-rosario_0_Hy2Y6H1qM.html|title=Rafael Correa fue declarado doctor honoris causa en la Universidad Nacional de Rosario|first=Mauro|last=Aguilar|date=21 March 2018|website=Clarin}}</ref>

Also, in April 2010 he received the Prize for Exceptional Academic Achievement 2009 of the University of Illinois.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eltiempo.com.ec/noticias-cuenca/38535-correa-recibe-galarda-n-en-illinois/ |title=Correa recibe galardón en Illinois |publisher=Eltiempo.com.ec |date=9 April 2010 |access-date=4 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101231903/http://www.eltiempo.com.ec/noticias-cuenca/38535-correa-recibe-galarda-n-en-illinois/ |archive-date=1 November 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On 3 December 2010, the UBA Cultural Center of Buenos Aires gave him the Faces and Masks Democracy Prize.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.diarioz.com.ar/nota-caras-y-caretas-distinguio-al-Presidente-de-ecuador-rafael-correa.html |title=Caras y Caretas distinguió al Presidente de Ecuador, Rafael Correa |publisher=Diarioz.com.ar |access-date=4 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316120311/http://www.diarioz.com.ar/nota-caras-y-caretas-distinguio-al-Presidente-de-ecuador-rafael-correa.html |archive-date=16 March 2012}}</ref>

== Work published ==

=== Books === * ''Ecuador: From Banana Republic to Non Republic'', Random House, Quito, 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eltiempo.com.ec/noticias-cuenca/30105-rafael-correa-presenta-su-libro-una-cra-tica-al-paradigma-neoliberal/ |title=Rafael Correa presenta su libro, una crítica al paradigma neoliberal |publisher=Eltiempo.com.ec |access-date=4 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419005527/http://www.eltiempo.com.ec/noticias-cuenca/30105-rafael-correa-presenta-su-libro-una-cra-tica-al-paradigma-neoliberal |archive-date=19 April 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Rafael Correa|title=Ecuador: De Banana Republic a la No República|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LzzPQu4McZcC|date=1 February 2012|publisher=Penguin Random House: Grupo Editorial Colombia|isbn=978-958-8613-37-6}}</ref> * "The Vulnerability of the Ecuadorian Economy: Toward better Economic Politics for Employment Generation, Reduction of poverty and Inequality," Program of the United Nations for Development (UNDP), Quito, 2004.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pnud.org.ec/Publicaciones/VulnerabilidadEcuatoriana.html |title=UNDP Ecuador |publisher=Pnud.org.ec |date=26 October 2004 |access-date=4 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325235606/http://www.pnud.org.ec/Publicaciones/VulnerabilidadEcuatoriana.html |archive-date=25 March 2012}}</ref> * "The Challenge of Development: Are We Prepared for the Future?," Publications of the San Francisco de Quito University, Quito, 1996.<ref name="ecuaworld.com">{{cite web|author=mquito |url=http://ecuaworld.com/ecuablog/index.php?itemid=35 |title=Rafael Correa – Lenín Moreno Garcés " " La Hueca |publisher=Ecuaworld |date=14 August 2006 |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref>

=== Academic articles === * "The Washington Consensus in Latin America: to a Quantitative Evaluation", working paper, San Francisco de Quito University, Quito, April 2002. * "Structural Reform and Growth in Latin America: a sensitivity analysis", CEPAL Magazine, number 76, April 2002, Santiago de Chile. * "One Market, One Currency: the Economic Desirability of Monetary Union for the CAN", working paper, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, May 2001. * "Destabilizing Speculation in the Exchange Market: the Ecuadorian Marries", working paper. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, January 2000. * "Endogenous Institutional Change? To a Critical View of the Political Economy of the Reforms: the Ecuadorian Marries", working paper. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, August 1999. * "The Ecuadorian ISI Revisited", working paper, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, May 1999.

== References == {{reflist}}

=== Sources === {{Refbegin|indent=yes}} * {{cite journal |last=Becker |first=Marc |title=The Stormy Relations between Rafael Correa and Social Movements in Ecuador |journal=Latin American Perspectives |volume=40 |number=3 |pages=43–62 |year=2013 |doi=10.1177/0094582X13479305 |s2cid=143904063 }} * {{cite journal |last1=Colloredo-Mansfeld |first1=Rudi |last2=Mantilla |first2=Paola |last3=Antrosio |first3=Jason |year=2012 |title=Rafael Correa's Multicolored Dream Shirt: Commerce, Creativity, and National Identity in Post-Neoliberal Ecuador |journal=Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies |volume=7 |number=3 |pages=275–294 |doi=10.1080/17442222.2012.723907 |s2cid=144834979 }} * {{cite journal |last1=Conaghan |first1=Catherine |last2=De La Torre |first2=Carlos |title=The Permanent Campaign of Rafael Correa: Making Ecuador's Plebiscitary Presidency |year=2008 |journal=Press/Politics |volume=13 |number=3 |pages=267–284 |doi=10.1177/1940161208319464 |s2cid=145252379 }} * {{cite book|title=Revolution!: South America and the Rise of the New Left |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3cU5ELUxXAEC&q=Revolution!:+South+America+and+the+Rise+of+the+New+Left |last=Kozloff |first=Nicholas |year=2008 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=New York |isbn=978-0-230-61754-4}} * {{cite book |last1=Philip |first1=George |last2=Panizza |first2=Francisco |title=The Triumph of Politics: The Return of the Left in Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador |year=2011 |publisher=Polity Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-7456-4749-4 }} {{refend}}

== External links == {{Wikiquote}} '''Official''' * [https://web.archive.org/web/20140213120221/http://rafaelcorrea.net/, el Blog económico del Presidente de la República, Rafael Correa Delgado] Economics blog of the President of Ecuador * [http://www.presidencia./index option=com_content&view=article&id=44&Itemid=78 President Rafael Correa]{{Dead link|date=July 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Official website of the Presidency of Ecuador * {{Twitter}}

'''Other''' *[https://www.cidob.org/lider-politico/rafael-correa-delgado Biography by CIDOB] (in Spanish) * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060205023723/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10927120 MSNBC, "Leftward Tilt: Political Shift in Latin America"] * [http://www.economist.com/world/americas/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13527399 Ecuador's Election: Revolution! Please Give Generously] ''The Economist'', 23 April 2009 * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060908070227/http://ifis.choike.org/informes/123.html "The resignation of Rafael Correa, Ecuador's Economy Minister: an example of IFI's influence?"] * [http://i3.democracynow.org/2009/6/29/ecuadorian_president_rafael_correa_on_global Rafael Correa on Global Capitalism, Why He Won't Renew the US Base in Manta, Chevron in the Amazon]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} – video by ''Democracy Now!'' * [https://web.archive.org/web/20140209065609/http://www.consultapopular2011.org/ "Ecuadorian constitutional referendum, 2011"] (in Spanish). * [http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/ecuador-2012-05.pdf "Ecuador's Economy Since 2007"], May 2012, report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research * [http://quitoecuador.net/quito/info/180-paises-en-el-mundo-quieren-que-lenin-moreno-sea-premio-nobel-de-la-paz "El Vice Presidente Lenin Moreno es nominado a Premio Nobel de la Paz"]. * [http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=9704 "Ecuador Chooses Stimulus over Austerity"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102190838/http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=9704 |date=2 January 2014 }}. ''The Real News.'' 17 February 2013. * [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/07/ecuador-begins-to-roar "Ecuador begins to roar"]. ''The Guardian.'' 7 April 2013.

{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=Mauricio Yépez}} {{s-ttl|title=Minister of Economy and Finance|years=2005}} {{s-aft|after=Magdalena Barreiro}} |- {{s-bef|before=Alfredo Palacio}} {{s-ttl|title=President of Ecuador|years=2007–2017}} {{s-aft|after=Lenín Moreno}} |- {{s-ppo}} {{s-new|office}} {{s-ttl|title=President of the PAIS Alliance|years=2006–2017}} {{s-aft|after=Lenín Moreno}} |- {{s-dip}} {{s-bef|before=Michelle Bachelet}} {{s-ttl|title=President pro tempore of the Union of South American Nations|years=2009–2010}} {{s-aft|after=Bharrat Jagdeo}} |- {{s-bef|before=Luis Guillermo Solís}} {{s-ttl|title=President pro tempore of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States|years=2015–2016}} {{s-aft|after=Danilo Medina}} {{s-end}}

{{Ecuadorian Presidents}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Correa, Rafael}} Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century Ecuadorian economists Category:20th-century Roman Catholics Category:21st-century Roman Catholics Category:Anti-American sentiment in South America Category:Anti-imperialism in South America Category:Catholic socialists Category:Collars of the Order of the Liberator General San Martin Category:Ecuadorian Christian socialists Category:Ecuadorian male writers Category:Exiled politicians Category:Ministers of finance of Ecuador Category:Ecuadorian revolutionaries Category:Ecuadorian Roman Catholic writers Category:Ecuadorian socialists Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of the Sun of Peru Category:Leaders of political parties in Ecuador Category:PAIS Alliance politicians Category:People convicted in absentia Category:Politicians from Guayaquil Category:Presidents of Ecuador Category:Presidents pro tempore of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States Category:Presidents pro tempore of the Union of South American Nations Category:Socialism of the 21st century Category:Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil alumni Category:Université catholique de Louvain alumni Category:University of Illinois College of Liberal Arts and Sciences alumni Category:Ecuadorian expatriates in Belgium