Ecuador steps closer to constitutional reform

QUITO - Ecuador's second biggest political party bolted from the opposition on Thursday and said it will support leftist President-elect Rafael Correa's plan to rewrite the country's constitution.

The Patriotic Society Party, which is known by its Spanish initials PSP and has 24 seats in Ecuador's 100-member Congress, said it is open to supporting Correa, a friend of anti-U.S. firebrand Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who made headlines earlier this week with his plans for a "socialist republic."

With PSP's votes, Correa will have majority support in Congress. He is set to be sworn in on Monday.

Party leader and former President Lucio Gutierrez told reporters that the PSP "agrees to cast its 24 votes in favor of a constituent assembly, but without violating the constitution."

Correa, who has upset markets by calling for a sovereign debt restructuring, wants to call a referendum aimed at setting up a constituent assembly that would rewrite the constitution to eliminate political influence in courts and force lawmakers to live in the small geographical areas they represent.

Opposition lawmakers say the assembly would illegally limit their powers.

From Reuters