Leftist Assumes Presidency of Ecuador

Rafael Correa speaks after swearing as new president of Ecuador at the Congress in Quito, Monday, Jan. 15, 2007.(AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - Nationalist Rafael Correa denounced Ecuador's political system as ``perverse'' as he was sworn in as president on Monday, and then raised a sword given to him by Venezuela's Hugo Chavez amid applause from a growing club of leftist Latin American leaders.

The charismatic political outsider said he would immediately push for a national referendum on rewriting Ecuador's constitution, a measure opposed by much of the nation's political establishment.

Strapping on the red, yellow and blue presidential sash and smiling broadly as he waved to cheering supporters in the galleries of Congress, Correa complained that Ecuador has ``a perverse system that has destroyed our democracy, our economy and our society.''

Also applauding were a host of U.S. foes, from Chavez to Bolivian President Evo Morales and Iran's hardline leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Correa, 43, won a November election runoff pledging to lead a ``citizens' revolution'' to make the country's democracy responsive to its poor majority.

Correa says a new constitution is vital to limiting the power of the traditional parties that he blames for the country's problems.

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