after the junta accepted this, "Mendoza hijacked the coup and put an end to it by handing power over to the vice president of the country." Aftermath Gutiérrez was imprisoned for four months, and then expelled from the army. He ran for president in the 2002 general elections and was elected, taking office in January 2003, but his support collapsed and he was himself ousted after a popular revolt in April 2005, which saw the third and final overthrow (to date) of a democratically elected government. This recently turbulent period of Ecuadorian history ended with the 2006 election of Rafael Correa, an academic outsider who opposed and condemned the practices of traditional parties, political and economical elites, while moving a leftist, anti-neoliberal and populist agenda which since 2007 has seen an increase in public spending, a new Constitution, social programs and an anti-imperialist foreign policy aligned with the socialism of the 21st century, despite accusations of curtailing freedoms, particularly speech and press. References Ecuadorian Coup d'etat Coup d'etat Military coups in Ecuador Ecuador Ecuadorian Coup d'etat Military history of Ecuador Political history of Ecuador January 2000 events in South America