ECUADOR - Social Political Information
- Ecuador
country context
- Where
is Ecuador ?
- What
is Ecuador's climate like ?
- Who
are the people that live in Ecuador ?
- What
languages are spoken in Ecuador ?
- Ecuador's
recent political history
- A
brief description of the ecuadorian economy
The internationalisation of the world's peoples and the globalization of the economy are obliging countries of the Third World, like Ecuador, to insert themselves in a process implemented by neo-liberal policies. Both the external debt problem which provokes reductions in social services, causing suffering to the poorest in society, and the privatisation of public companies are generating unpredictable implications among Ecuadorians. This development model is polarising the rich and the poor as 3% of the population's economically active (PEA) capture 43.7% of the country's gross national production (GNB), while 53.8% of the PEA receives an income which represents 10.5% of the GNB. The neo-liberal plan of the deposed government of former President Abdala Bucaram introduced radical changes in the Ecuadorian economy for which the poorest people in the country were paying a high price for its implementation. The full impact of the plan was to be felt in July, 1997 when the monetary conversion mechanism was to be implemented.
Ecuador is located on the Northwest coast of South America. It is bound by Colombia to the north, Peru to the east and south, as well as the Pacific Ocean to the west. The country can be divided into four topographical regions:
the coastal plain or Coast which descends from the Andes Mountains with rolling hills in the north to a broad lowland basin that reaches the Pacific Ocean. The coastal plain is a also rich agricultural belt
- the Sierra or Andean highlands which is the central plateau between the Cordillera Occidental, Cordillera Central and the Cordillera Oriental ranges. It rises to the snow capped mountain peaks and has 22 massive volcanoes, of the which the highest are the Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, Cayambe, Antisana and Sangay. The Sierra is subject to occasional and severe earthquakes
- the Orient which is flat, consisting of gentle undulating alluvial plains that are covered with tropical rainforest. Rivers dissect the Orient flowing down from the Andes towards the Amazon river basin
- the Galapagos Islands, a barren region, comprising six major islands and many smaller ones. The islands are the volcanic in origin and are chiefly basaltic lava flows.
What is Ecuador's climate like ?
Ecuador has a tropical climate which is hot and humid. The Coast has a heavy wet season from December to April, although rainfall occurs throughout the year. Temperatures are reduced by altitude in the Sierra with warm days and chilly nights as well as frequent heavy rain in the afternoons. The Orient has a wet and hot equatorial climate with rainfall throughout the year. Average temperature ranges in Quito are from 8 degrees Celsius(46 degrees Fahrenheit) to 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit) all year.
Who are the people that live in Ecuador ?
The principal ethnic majority are the Amerindians who account for around 50% of the population, followed by mestizos who are the mixed Amerindians and Spanish descent who account for around 40%, while whites or pure Spanish account for around 9% of the population. Other ethnic minorities include Asians, Black Africans, British, Irish, French, Germans and Lebanese. Around 700 tribes represent the Amerindian population, of which the largest group are the Otavalos, Salasacas, Saraguros, Colorados, Cayapas, Jivaros, Aucas, Yumbos, Zaparos and Cofan. Mostly Christians with a majority of the population Roman Catholic.
What languages are spoken in Ecuador ?
The official language is Spanish which is spoken by around 93% of the population and there are three distinct dialects that follow the topographical divisions of the Costa, the Sierra and the Orient. Nearly 6% of the population speak Quichua, mainly the Amerindians.
Ecuador's recent political history
Between 1931 and 1948 twenty one governments held the temporary office. This period was politically dominated by José María Velasco Ibarra who became President five times. In 1960 Velasco was reelected President and in 1962 was ousted. Carlos Julio Arosemena replaced Velasco, both of which attempted to present themselves as leftwing reformers. In 1963 the military overthrew Arosemena and suspended the constitution. A military Junta embarked on land and tax reforms, and remained in power until 1966 when the people demanded an end to military rule. In 1968 Velasco was again re-elected as president and in 1970 suspended the constitution, dissolved the Congress and began to govern as dictator. Military leaders overthrew Velasco in 1972 and Rodríguez Lara took the power and began to rule as dictator. In 1976 the military removed Rodríguez Lara from the office and took the control of the government. In 1979 elections were held to establish a new civilian government and were won by Jaime Roldós who led a new reformist coalition government. Roldós died in a plane crash in 1981 and Oswaldo Hurtado replaced him. Hurtado introduced an austerity programme to combat high inflation as well as the country's foreign debt, which resulted in a large scale social unrest. In May 1988 Rodrigo Borja Cevallos was elected President, announcing emergency economic measures which led to general strikes organised by trade unions in Nov.1988 and july 1989.
A brief description of the ecuadorian economy
The official currency is the Sucre (S) divided into 100 centavos. Ecuador's main trading partners are the USA, Japan, Latin America, CARICOM countries and Germany. The country produces bananas, cocoa, cassava, coffee, crude oil, natural gas, fish, gold, limestone, livestock, maize, potatoes, rice, sugar cane, timber. Economic activity is centred in agriculture, cement, crude oil production and refining, food processing, petrochemicals, textiles, wood products.
InterConnection
