Ecuadorian economist Rafael Correa won the 2006 presidential runoff after a period of political and social instability. With the strategy of disavowing the traditional party system and appealing to the "citizen revolution", the Alianza PAIS movement would go on to govern for a decade. Rafael Correa took office for his first term on January 15, 2007, during which the Ecuadorian Constitution was reformed with the 2008 Constituent Assembly. He was reelected in 2009 and 2013, in one of the longest terms in the country's history. Under the slogan of the "citizens' revolution," Correa improved the country's infrastructure and public services and managed to reduce poverty from 37.6% in 2007 to 22.9% in 2017. This social policy approach was a break with the previous model, focusing on building a welfare state that also cost him criticism for the increase in debt and public spending. Similarly, he was singled out for his attacks on the press, environmentally damaging projects and corruption scandals such as Odebrecht.
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