Ecuador lawmakers vote to end presidential term limit
The National Assembly passed a constitutional amendment Thursday to lift Ecuador's presidential term limits as violent street protests escalated against what many demonstrators deemed a power grab by President Rafael Correa.
Part of a package of amendments, the measure will permit the leftist Correa to run for the office indefinitely beginning in 2021. His current term ends in 2017 and he has said he does not intend to run at that time.
Analysts have called Correa's decision a shrewd political move considering Ecuador's current economic woes.
Outside the cordoned-off assembly, protesters who had been blocking major intersections with burning tires grew in number. Armed with sticks and rocks, some battled riot police, who responded with tear gas and batons. There were no official numbers on injuries, but local media reported some police and protesters had been bloodied.
http://news.yahoo.com/protesters-clash-ecuador-cops-ahead-term-limit-vote-222416395.html
Looks like political gamesmanship on Correa's part. Ecuador's economy is suffering from the lack of oil revenues, so he'll sit out the next election cycle to let someone else step up and take the political heat for confronting the problem.