The domes of La Compania de Jesus Church, Quito, Ecuador, September 13, 2008. [© AP Images] |
PROFILE
OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of Ecuador
Geography
Area: 276,840 sq. km; about the size of Colorado.
Cities: Capital--Quito (pop. 2 million). Other major cities--Guayaquil (2.28 million).
Terrain: Jungle east of the Andes, a rich agricultural coastal plain west of the Andes, high-elevation valleys through the mountainous center of the country and an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean.
Climate: Varied, mild year-round in the mountain valleys; hot and humid in coastal and Amazonian jungle lowlands.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Ecuadorian(s).
Population (Jan. 2009): 13,923,375.
Annual population growth rate (July 2007 est.): 1.55%.
Ethnic groups: Indigenous 6.8%, mestizo (mixed Indian and Spanish) 77.4%, Caucasian and others 10.8%, African 4.9%.
Religion: Predominantly Roman Catholic (95%), but religious freedom recognized.
Languages: Spanish (official), indigenous languages, especially Quichua, the Ecuadorian dialect of Quechua. Quichua and Shuar are official languages of intercultural communication.
Education: Years compulsory--ages 6-14, but enforcement varies. Attendance (through 6th grade)--76% urban, 33% rural. Literacy--92%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--22.1/1,000. Life expectancy--76.62 yrs.
Government
Type: Republic.
Independence: May 24, 1822 (from Spain).
Constitution: October 20, 2008.
Branches: Executive--President and 28 cabinet ministers. Legislative--unicameral Congress. Judicial--Supreme Court, Constitutional Court, Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Provincial Courts, and ordinary civil and criminal judges.
Administrative subdivisions: 24 provinces.
Major political parties: Over a dozen political parties; President Correa's Proud and Sovereign Fatherland (PAIS) movement is predominant.
Suffrage: Obligatory for literate citizens 18-65 yrs. of age; optional for other eligible voters.
Economy
GDP: (2008 preliminary) $52.6 billion; (2007 preliminary) $45.8 billion; (2006) $41.8 billion.
Real annual growth rate: (2008 preliminary) 2.3%; (2007) 2.5%; (2006) 3.9%.
Per capita GDP: (2008) $3,670; (2007) $3,366; (2006) $3,115.
Natural resources: Petroleum, fish, shrimp, timber, gold.
Agriculture, including seafood (6% of GDP in 2008): Products--bananas, seafood, flowers, coffee, cacao, sugar, tropical fruits, palm oil, palm hearts, rice, corn, and livestock.
Oil and mining (26% of GDP in 2008); industry (9% of GDP in 2008): Types--petroleum extraction, food processing, wood products, textiles, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals.
Other major contributors to GDP: Commercial trade (wholesale and retail)--12% (2008); transportation/warehousing-- 7% (2008); construction--10% (2008).
Trade: Exports--$17.6 billion (Jan.-Nov. 2008); $14.3 billion (2007). Types--petroleum, bananas, shrimp, coffee, cut flowers cacao, hemp, wood, fish. Major markets (Jan.-Nov. 2008)--U.S. 46%, Latin America 27%, Andean Community 17%, European Union (EU) 11%, and Asia 3%. Imports--$17.2 billion (Jan.-Nov. 2008); $13.9 billion (2007). Types--industrial materials, fuels and lubricants, nondurable consumer goods, industrial capital goods. Major suppliers (Jan.-Nov. 2008)--Latin America 42%, Andean Community 27%, U.S. 19%, Asia 23%, and EU 8%.
Currency: U.S. dollar.
PEOPLE
Ecuador's population is ethnically mixed. A large majority of the population is mestizo (mixed Indian-Caucasian), followed by smaller percentages of indigenous, Afro-Ecuadorian, and European descendent criollos. Although Ecuadorians were heavily concentrated in the mountainous central highland region a few decades ago, today's population is divided about equally between that area and the coastal lowlands. Migration toward cities--particularly larger cities--in all regions has increased the urban population to over 60%. The tropical forest region (or Amazon region) to the east of the mountains remains sparsely populated and contains only about 3% of the population. Due to an economic crisis in the late 1990s, more than 600,000 Ecuadorians emigrated to the U.S. and Europe from 2000 to 2001. According to the 2000 U.S. census there were 323,000 persons who claimed Ecuadorian ancestry. Including undocumented migrants, it is unofficially estimated that there are approximately one to two million Ecuadorians currently residing in the U.S.
HISTORY, GOVERNMENT, AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
The Inca Empire and Spanish Conquest
Advanced indigenous cultures flourished in Ecuador long before the area was conquered by the Inca Empire in the 15th century. In 1534, the Spanish arrived and defeated the Inca armies, and Spanish colonists became the new elite. The indigenous population was decimated by disease in the first decades of Spanish rule--a time when the natives also were forced into the "encomienda" labor system for Spanish landlords. In 1563, Quito became the seat of a royal "audiencia" (administrative district) of Spain.
Independence and Historical Developments
After independence forces defeated the royalist army in 1822, Ecuador joined Simon Bolivar's Republic of Gran Colombia, only to become a separate republic in 1830. The 19th century was marked by instability, with a rapid succession of rulers. The conservative Gabriel Garcia Moreno unified the country in the 1860s with the support of the Catholic Church. In the late 1800s, world demand for cocoa tied the economy to commodity exports and led to migrations from the highlands to the agricultural frontier on the coast.
A coastal-based liberal revolution in 1895 under Eloy Alfaro reduced the power of the clergy and opened the way for capitalist development. The end of the cocoa boom produced renewed political instability and a military coup in 1925. The 1930s and 1940s were marked by populist politicians, such as five-time President Jose Velasco Ibarra. In January 1942, Ecuador signed the Rio Protocol to end a brief war with Peru the year before. Ecuador agreed to a border that conceded to Peru much territory Ecuador had previously claimed in the Amazon region. After World War II, a recovery in the market for agricultural commodities and the growth of the banana industry helped restore prosperity and political peace. From 1948-60, three presidents--beginning with Galo Plaza--were freely elected and completed their terms. Political turbulence returned in the 1960s, followed by a period of military dictatorship between 1972 and 1979. The 1980s and beginning of the 1990s saw a return to democracy, but instability returned by the middle of the decade.
Political Instability (1997-2006)
Abdala Bucaram, from the Guayaquil-based Ecuadorian Roldosista Party (PRE), won the presidency in 1996 on a platform that promised populist economic and social policies, and challenged what Bucaram termed as the power of the nation's oligarchy. During his short term of office, Bucaram's administration was severely criticized for corruption. Bucaram was deposed by the Congress in February 1997 on grounds of alleged mental incompetence. In his place, Congress named Fabian Alarcon interim president. Alarcon's presidency was endorsed by a May 1997 popular referendum.
Quito Mayor Jamil Mahuad of the Popular Democracy party was elected president by a narrow margin In July 1998. Mahuad concluded an historic peace agreement with Peru on October 26, 1998, but increasing economic, fiscal, and financial difficulties drove his popularity steadily lower. On January 21, 2000, during demonstrations in Quito by indigenous groups, the military and police refused to enforce public order. Demonstrators entered the National Assembly building and declared a three-person "junta" in charge of the country. Field-grade military officers declared their support for the concept. During a night of confusion and negotiations, President Mahuad fled the presidential palace. Vice President Gustavo Noboa took charge and Mahuad went on national television to endorse Noboa as his successor. Congress met in emergency session in Guayaquil the same day, January 22, and ratified Noboa as President of the Republic.
Completing Mahuad's term, Noboa restored some stability to Ecuador. He implemented the dollarization of the economy that Mahuad had announced and obtained congressional authorization for the construction of Ecuador's second major oil pipeline, this one financed by a private consortium. Noboa turned over the government on January 15, 2003, to his successor, Lucio Gutierrez, a former army colonel who first came to public attention as a member of the short-lived "junta" of January 21, 2000. Gutierrez' campaign featured an anti-corruption and leftist, populist platform. After taking office, however, Gutierrez adopted relatively conservative fiscal policies and defensive tactics, including replacing the Supreme Court and declaring a state of emergency in the capital to combat mounting opposition. The situation came to a head on April 20, 2005, when political opponents and popular uprisings in Quito prompted Congress to strip Gutierrez of the presidency for allegedly "abandoning his post." When the military withdrew its support, Gutierrez went into temporary exile. Congress declared Vice President Alfredo Palacio the new president. A semblance of stability returned, but the Palacio administration failed to achieve congressional support for major reforms.
The Correa Administration (2007-present)
In presidential elections in October 2006, third-time candidate Alvaro Noboa won the first round. However, Rafael Correa, Palacio's former finance minister, running on an anti-establishment reform platform, bested Noboa in the second round presidential runoff in November 2006. Election observers characterized the elections as generally free, fair, and transparent. Noboa's National Institutional Renovation and Action Party won the largest bloc in Congress in 2006 elections, followed by Gutierrez's Patriotic Society Party; Correa's Proud and Sovereign Fatherland (PAIS) movement did not field any congressional candidates. Traditional parties saw their congressional representation cut in half.
The new Congress took office January 5, 2007 and Correa was sworn in as President on January 15, 2007. In March 2007, 57 members of Congress were dismissed on the grounds that they violated campaign laws. Following that, the Congress was largely deadlocked and later effectively replaced by a constituent assembly that was voted into power on September 30, 2007. The assembly, which was inaugurated on November 29, 2007, drafted a new constitution that voters approved on September 28, 2008. The government is currently in a transitional phase between the institutions of the old and new constitutions. Under the new constitution, elections for the president, vice president, members of the National Assembly, and provincial and local offices are scheduled for April and July 2009.
Government
The 2008 constitution provides for 4-year terms of office for the president, vice president, and members of the National Assembly. Presidents may be consecutively re-elected for an additional term. The executive branch currently includes 28 ministries, (including coordinating ministries with inter-governmental responsibility). Provincial leaders (called prefects) and councilors, like mayors, city councilors, and rural parish boards, are directly elected. A newly elected National Assembly will replace the interim Legislative Commission after the April 2009 elections. Justices of the National Court of Justice will be selected by a Judicial Council through a merit-based process to a nine-year term with no immediate reappointment. A special committee, composed of members selected by all branches of government, will appoint the members of the Constitutional Court to serve a nine-year term, with no reappointment.
Principal Government Officials
President--Rafael CORREA
Vice President--Lenin MORENO
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Fander FALCONI
Minister of Defense--Javier PONCE
Ambassador to the United States--Luis GALLEGOS Chiriboga
Ambassador to the Organization of American States--Efren A. COCIO
Ambassador to the United Nations--Maria Fernanda ESPINOSA
Ecuador maintains an embassy in the United States at 2535 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 (tel. 202-234-7200). Consulates are located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Jersey City, Los Angeles, Miami, New Haven, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Political Conditions
Ecuador's political parties have historically been small, loose organizations that depend more on populist, often charismatic, leaders to retain support than on programs or ideology. Frequent internal splits have produced great factionalism. No party has won the presidency for two consecutive terms since the return to civilian government in 1979.
Beginning with the 1996 election, the indigenous population abandoned its traditional policy of shunning the official political system and participated actively. The indigenous population established itself as a force in Ecuadorian politics, and participated in the Gutierrez administration before joining the opposition.
The 2007-2008 constituent assembly approved a constitutional text on July 29, 2008, which was subsequently approved by voters on September 28, 2008. This new constitution is Ecuador's 20th since independence.
As of the end of 2008, President Correa's PAIS movement was the predominant political force. President Correa has criticized the traditional political parties. As a result of this criticism and their weak showings in the 2007-2008 elections, opposition parties are weakened and seeking ways to revive themselves.
ECONOMY
The Ecuadorian economy is based on petroleum production, manufacturing primarily for the domestic market, and agricultural production for domestic consumption and export. Principal exports are petroleum, bananas, shrimp, flowers, and other primary agricultural products. In 2007, crude and refined petroleum products accounted for 58% of total export earnings. Ecuador is the world's largest exporter of bananas and plantains (about $1.3 billion) and a major exporter of shrimp ($613 million). Exports of nontraditional products such as flowers ($469 million), canned fish ($671 million) and automobiles ($383 million) have grown in recent years (all trade data from 2007).
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