Ecuador
Country in South America, bounded N by Colombia, E and S by Peru, and
W by the Pacific Ocean.
Government
Ecuador is not a fully federal state but has a devolved system of 21
provinces, including the Galápagos Islands, each administered by an
appointed governor. The 1979 constitution provides for a president and
a single-chamber national congress, the 77-member chamber of representatives,
to which 65 representatives are elected on a provincial basis every
two years and 12 nationally for a four-year term. The president is elected
by universal suffrage for a four-year, nonrenewable term.
History
The tribes of N highland Ecuador formed the Kingdom of Quito about
AD 1000, and it was conquered by the Inca in the 15th century.
Ecuador was invaded and colonized by Spain from 1532. It joined
Venezuela, Colombia, and Panama in the confederacy of Gran Colombia
1819. After joining other South American colonies in a revolt
against Spain, Ecuador was liberated 1822 by Antonio José de Sucre
and became fully independent 1830. With the support of the army,
Ecuador was governed by Venezuelan General Juan José Flores 1830-45.
However, his lack of understanding of the country led him to hand
over power to the revolutionary leader Vicente Rocafuerta 1834-39.
Flores was forced into exile 1845. Power passed to a Liberal oligarchy
based in Guayaquil. The next 15 years saw the `nationalization´
of both army and government. During the period 1861- 75, Ecuadorian
political life was dominated by General Gabriel García Moreno,
who promoted education and carried out important public works.
After more than a decade of political instability, the military
victory of Eloy Alfaro saw the beginnings of half a century of
Liberal hegemony 1895-1944, marked by electoral fraud, military
coups, and a lack of respect for basic civil rights. By 1948 some
stability was evident, and eight years of Liberal government ensued.
In 1956, Dr Camilo Ponce became the first Conservative president
for 60 years. Four years later a Liberal, Dr José Maria Velasco
(president 1933 -35, 1944-47, and 1952-56), was re-elected. He
was deposed 1961 by the vice president, who was himself replaced
by a military junta the following year. In 1968 Velasco returned
from exile and took up the presidency again. Another coup 1972
put the military back in power until in 1978 a new, democratic
constitution was adopted. Economic deterioration caused strikes,
demonstrations, and, in 1982, a state of emergency. In the 1984
elections there was no clear majority in the national congress,
and the Conservative León Febres Cordero became president on a
promise of ` bread, roofs, and jobs´. In 1985 he won a majority
in congress when five opposition members shifted their allegiance
to him. In 1988 Rodrigo Borja Cevallos was elected president for
a moderate left- wing coalition government. The United Republican
Party leader Sixto Duran Ballen won the 1992 presidential elections,
and the right- wing Social Christian Party (PSC) became the largest
party in congress, but without an overall majority. In 1994 President
Duran suffered a midterm fall in popularity as opposition to his
privatization and land-development policies grew.
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