QUITO (Reuters) – Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa  said yesterday he plans to defend his socialist government  with a network of citizen committees, a move that suggests he  is radicalizing his “revolution”.

Correa, who took office for a second term on Monday vowing  to deepen socialist reforms in the Andean OPEC nation, said his  government is under threat from wealthy elites and needs to  mobilize its supporters.

“We need to organize committees for the defense of the  revolution in every neighbourhood,” said Correa, an ally of  Cuba’s President Raul Castro and Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, both  leftists who have similar groups in their countries.

The plan is likely to draw criticism from his opponents who  say Correa is too close to communist Cuba, where neighbourhood  watch groups called Committees for the Defence of the  Revolution report activities considered counter-revolutionary.