Reuters/Quito

Ecuadoreans yesterday voted in an election expected to hand incumbent Rafael Correa a new term to advance his socialist agenda of heavy government spending and expansion of state power that critics slam as creeping authoritarianism.

Generous state outlays to expand access to healthcare, pave decrepit roads and build schools have given the combative economist a strong base among the South American nation’s poor.

Victory for Correa would cheer the leftist ALBA bloc of Latin American and Caribbean nations at a time when the group’s indisputable leader, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, is struggling to recover from cancer.

Polls show Correa leading his closest rival by more than 35 percentage points. “The beauty of an electoral democracy is that citizens have their future in their hands. So it’s time to vote,” he said after voting in northern Quito soon after polls opened at 7am (1200 GMT).

Critics say Correa is a despot who tolerates no dissent and is intent on amassing power.

But the opposition’s inability to unite behind a single candidate - seven opposition candidates are running - has helped give Correa a comfortable lead.

Former banker Guillermo Lasso is Correa’s nearest rival in the polls, but surveys show him with only between 9% and 15% of the vote.

Correa has built an image of nationalist man-of-the-people through theatrical confrontation with oil companies and Wall Street investors.

The only Ecuadorean president in the past 20 years to complete a full term in office, he is admired for bringing political stability to a nation where leaders had been frequently toppled by violent street protests or military coups.

“Correa has done lots of good things, like improving the roads, education and the health system. If he wins he has to tackle crime,” said Victor Jimenez, 55, an auto mechanic, outside a voting station in the coastal city of Guayaquil.

Local media and government officials said there had been no incidents during the first few hours of voting.

The Perfiles de Opinion polling firm recently showed Correa with 62% support.

To avoid a second round, he needs to win at least 50% of the vote or 40% with a lead of 10 percentage points over the runner-up.

“I’ve voted for Lasso because he’s offered to create jobs, lower taxes and (better) security, and that’s what people need,” said Marco Apolo, 58, outside a voting station in Quito.

Correa, 49, has ruled since 2007.

In a new four-year term, he would face the challenge of securing financing after a 2008 debt default and wooing investors to boost oil output and kick-start the mining industry.

Opposition leaders call Correa a dictator in the making who is quashing free speech through hostile confrontation with media and squelching free enterprise through heavy taxation and constant regulatory changes.