Ex-Ecuador leader Rafael Correa leaves leftist ruling party

QUITO, Ecuador – Former President Rafael Correa on Tuesday left the political party that helped cement his rise to power in Ecuador, the latest step in a fight with the man he chose to succeed him and continue his “Citizens’ Revolution.”

Correa announced he is removing himself from Alianza Pais, the leftist movement he founded in 2006. More than two dozen other leaders and lawmakers are also quitting.

The departing faction intends to start a new party called Citizens’ Revolution, the phrase Correa often uses to describe his socialist movement aimed at reducing the nation’s inequality.

President Lenin Moreno has fallen out of favour with Correa since his election last year. Moreno pushed through a national referendum next month in which Ecuadoreans will vote on a proposed constitutional amendment that would make it impossible for Correa to run again for president.