QUITO, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Ecuador's Congress on Thursday named an ally of leftist President Rafael Correa to the central bank's board, boosting his influence over an institution he has vowed to strip of its autonomy.
Sixty-three of the 80 lawmakers present in the session voted to name Miguel Ruiz, a 36-year-old economist who works in the country's Internal Revenue Service, to the bank's five-member board. Correa proposed Ruiz to the job whose term expires in September of 2010.
The bank has little say in the oil-producing country's monetary policy after it adopted the U.S. dollar as its official currency in 2000 during a crippling financial crisis. However, it has sway in banking policy.
The bank's chief, Jorge Davalos, who was appointed in June, has publicly backed Correa's economic views and it's related to a government top minister.
Correa, a leftist former economy minister, has worried investors with pledges to eliminate the autonomy of the central bank and limit foreign debt payments.
Correa has said the bank is a burden to the Andean country's coffers.
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