QUITO, June 23 (Reuters) - Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said on Saturday he has changed his mind and wants the widely unpopular Congress to be dissolved by an assembly with powers to rewrite the volatile nation's constitution.
Correa, a leftist ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, had previously said he did not favor the dismissal of Congress, even as most Ecuadoreans blame it for helping oust three presidents in a decade.
Since he took office in January, Correa has maneuvered to control Congress, but lawmakers have watered down or rejected some of the government's key legislation.
"Given the quality of this Congress ... I think the assembly will have to dissolve it," Correa said during his weekly radio broadcast. "With this kind of Congress you can't do anything."
Opposition politicians and Correa's party supporters are preparing for the Sept. 30 election that will choose the 130-members of the constitutional assembly.
Correa has said the assembly is needed to put an end to political instability and slash the influence of traditional parties in the judiciary and state-run companies.
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