Via the BBC: Ecuador election: President Rafael Correa wins new term
First elected in 2007, the socialist leader is widely credited with bringing political stability to a nation that suffered decades of protests and coups.
But critics accuse Mr Correa of being a dictator in the making.
In broad brushstrokes, I suppose that gives one a general feel for the situation. There is little doubt that Ecuador has been far more stable since Correa was elected, although the methods through which he was able to get the constitution re-written in 2009 were dubious, from a legal standpoint.
The basic contrast:
During his six years in power, Mr Correa has expanded access to healthcare and education and improved thousands of miles of highways, creating many jobs in the process. Poverty rates have dropped significantly.
[…]
But critics say that, since coming to office, he has filled the courts and government positions with allies and stifled free speech by taking on the media.
They also complain he has restricted free enterprise with heavy taxation and regulatory changes and taken government spending to an unsustainable level.
The test, of course, of his long-term aspirations will come at the end of the current term in office.
