UPDATE 3-After vote, Ecuador's Correa pushes leftist reforms

(Recasts with Correa comments; adds details, background)

By Patrick Markey

QUITO, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said on Monday he would seek to dissolve Congress and bolster the state's role in the economy after claiming a majority in a weekend vote for an assembly to rewrite the constitution.

A leftist who often attacks free-market policies, Correa joins allies Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Bolivia's Evo Morales in setting up an assembly to push through reforms.

His Alianza Pais party won a clear majority in the election on Sunday, a victory that will allow Correa to sidestep opponents in Congress who have tried to block his plans for a "21st Century socialism".

"It is difficult to act with this Congress ... this Congress must be tossed back onto the street," Correa told reporters.

He called for his delegates to press for early presidential and congressional elections after the assembly finishes its work as well as end the central bank's autonomy and abolish special oil saving funds that restrict government spending.

But he struck a more moderate tone in dismissing opposition concerns that he wants to expand his presidential powers. He also said his renegotiation of oil contracts would be "friendly" with no deep reforms in the energy and mining sectors.

"We are not a fundamentalist government. We are pragmatic, we recognize there has to be free competition in some sectors to improve their efficiency," he said.