QUITO (Ecuador): A leftist ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who promises to break the grip of Ecuador’s political elite is the front-runner in a tight race ahead of Sunday’s presidential election.

Rafael Correa has investors worried over his plans to renegotiate Ecuador’s $10 billion foreign debt but his anti-establishment message has appealed to many Ecuadoreans disenchanted with poverty and political instability.

Lashing his belt in the air on the campaign trial to emphasize the electoral beating he wants to give politicians, Correa climbed the polls as an outsider with his vows to fight for the poor and curb lawmakers who many see as corrupt.

Polls show Correa near to securing a first round victory on Oct. 15, but many voters are still undecided. Rivals, centre-leftist Leon Roldos and banana magnate Alvaro Noboa are tussling for second place to force a run-off in late November.

If no candidate wins more than 50 per cent of the vote, or at least 40 per cent with a 10 percentage point advantage over his nearest rival, then a run-off between the two top candidates will be held on Nov. 26.

“They (the political elite) realize the party is over, they know the privileges of the political mafia are finished,” Correa, a former economy minister, told local television this week.

A win by Correa would follow the rise of other Andean leaders who like Chavez advocate a strong stance against Washington and the tightening of state control over the economy and natural resources, especially energy reserves.

Correa says he will not imitate US foe Chavez, but parallels between the two leaders are clear. Like the Venezuelan leader, he calls for a rewriting of the constitution, limits to free-market policies and more state funds for poor.

“As Correa says, this a corrupt, outdated political elite that has never come up with any new policies. The average Ecuadorean is saying enough,” Riordan Roett, director of Latin American studies at Johns Hopkins University. “He speaks their language. For the downtrodden, this is a breath of fresh air.”

Ecuador, the world’s No. 1 banana exporter and a top oil producer in South America, has struggled to overcome recent turmoil.

Three presidents have been ousted in the last decade by civil unrest, Indian blockades and an unruly Congress.

Outgoing President Alfredo Palacio came to office last year after middle-class protesters armed just with radio broadcasts, mobile phones and email messages managed to mobilize protests that pressured Congress to sack President Lucio Gutierrez for abusing his power. —Reuters