Ecuador's Victor Tries to Ease Fears

The leftwing former colonel who won the Ecuadorian presidency on Sunday was yesterday in conciliatory mood as he reassured the world's financial markets that he would respect all existing contracts and agreements.

But Lucio Gutierrez's victory, on a platform of fighting corruption and poverty, is being seen as the latest sign that Latin American voters are shifting to the left.

Mr Gutierrez, 45, took the presidency with 54% of valid votes to 46% for his opponent, the banana billionaire Alvaro Noboa.

The victory came despite an intense last-minute advertising campaign in which Mr Noboa warned that a victory for Mr Gutierrez would lead to violence on the streets and economic collapse.

"My government is going to be one of national unity," said Mr Gutierrez on television after his win. "It will include honest businessmen, honest bankers and social movements."

The victory for a candidate from the left, following the success in Brazil of the leftwing populist Lula da Silva is seen as significant.

"This is an extremely authoritative victory," said Larry Birns, of the Washington-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs, yesterday.

"Even although Ecuador is a small country, it's a huge story in terms of the trend. The challenge now for Mr Gutierrez will be whether he cocks his ear too closely to Washington and closes his ears to the voices of the people who elected him."

Mr Birns said that it was also significant that the base of Mr Gutierrez's support was among the country's 40% indigenous population, whose leaders will now play a major part in government.

In the final stages of his campaign, Mr Gutierrez spent three days in the US, seeking to reassure the administration and financial bodies.

"Some people in the US administration were a little worried, but I think they have been reassured by his visit and his promise to fulfil all our export agreements," said a senior Ecuadorian civil servant.

"So far, at least, he has said all the right things to the US and to the IMF."

Mr Gutierrez, a career soldier, came to prominence in 2000 when he was part of a triumvirate that briefly took control in Ecuador following massive protests against making the US dollar the national currency. Its fall saw him jailed in a military prison for six months.

Mr Gutierrez already has links with the US, having a diploma in international relations from the Washington-based Inter-American Defence College. He campaigned in military uniform, proclaiming himself "centre-left" and a devout Christian.