República del ECUADOR

Ecuador is a country in South America between Columbia and Peru. Its capital is Quito on the Andes but the biggest city is Guayaquil in the Pacific coast. It has approximately 14 million inhabitants of which 95% are catholic. The predominant climate in Ecuador is tropical and the Equator meridian runs through the country.

Geography

Ecuador lands is mainly divided into 3 distinct regions

1. The Costal Region
2. The Andes (Sierra) &
3. Amazon
   

   1.      Costa - coastal lowlands: Mostly inhabited by mestizos families and the wealthiest region of Ecuador.

   2.      Sierra - highlands or Andes: Mostly inhabited by indigenous people.

   3.      Oriente - upper Amazon basin: Mostly inhabited by indigenous people.

   4.      Galapagos: The famous Galapagos Islands are part of Ecuador which is a major touristic attraction to millions across the developed world.

    

   Short History

   Ecuador was part of the Inca Empire that had one of its capitals in Quito. In 1532 the Spanish defeated the Incas at the Battle of Cajamarca starting the colonization period.

   After years of building up resistance against the Spanish rule, Ecuador finally gained independence on May 24 1822, after the defeat of the Spanish forces at the battle of Pichincha. Following the battle, Ecuador joined Simón Bolívar's Republic of Gran Colombia.

   1830 Ecuador becomes a Republic after breaking up with Gran Colombia.

   Between 1904 and 1942 Ecuador lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors, notably Peru.

   Although Ecuador marked 25 years of civilian governance in 2004 the period has been marked by political instability, in the last 10 years there were 7 presidents. Since 1979, all presidents in Ecuador have been overthrown except three.

   Political Structure

   Politics of Ecuador takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the president of Ecuador is both head of state and head of government and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Congress. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The Constitution of Ecuador provides for concurrent four-year terms of office for the president, vice president, and members of Congress. Presidents may be re-elected after an intervening term, while legislators may be re-elected immediately. Citizens must be at least 18 years of age to vote. Suffrage is universal and compulsory for literate persons ages 18–65 and optional for other eligible voters.

   The present president is Rafael Correa; he was elected in 2006 and took office in January 2007.  He is an economist and a close friend to Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chavez.

   The People

   -        60% are mestizos.

   -        30% are indigenous people.

   -        7% are Spanish.

   -        3% are black.

   60% live in urban areas and 40% in rural areas.

   Life expectancy: 76.6 years

   Literacy rate: 91%

   HIV/AIDS prevalence: 0.3%

   Language: Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua).

   Per capita income: $ 4.500 (the official currency is the US$).

    

     Indigenous Tribes:

   Quichua - 3,000,000

   Shuar - 40,000

   Chachi - 4,000

   Huaorani - 2,000

   Tsachila - 2,000

   Awa - 1,600

   Siona Secoya - 1,000

   Cofán - 800

   Achuar - 500

   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 non-traditional products such as flowers ($469 million), canned fish ($671 million) and automobiles ($383 million) have grown in recent years (all trade data from 2007).

   Poverty: 65% of the population live below the poverty line, of these 35% in absolute poverty.

   Living Conditions

   A typical rural community in the Sierra:

   Water supply is cashment of rainwater with typically one tap per household.

   Most children only attend primary school though it’s slightly improving today.

   Families live on small plots of land and supplement their income with e.g. Handicraft and 55% migrate for seasonal work outside the communities.

    

    

     Most families live in so-called chozas – dirt floors, adobe walls and straw roofs.
   

   Social Changes

   Raphael Correa is the country's eighth president in the last decade including three previous ones driven from office by mass street protest opposition against their misrule and public neglect. Correa must now deliver and just got a boost from his governing ‘Movimiento Alianza Pais’ landslide Constituent Assembly election victory to rewrite the nation's constitution for the 177th time in Ecuador's history hoping to get it right this time. Awaiting a final tabulation of results, it appears Correa supporters got around 70% of the vote winning 80 of the 130 Assembly seats. That's a comfortable majority to push through change, but doing it won't be easy, and Correa's commitment has yet to be tested.

   However, there’s been a tremendous boost in almost all sectors of social life.

   a)      Free Education: Since the change of the new constitution, the number of students has tripled in enrolment in both tertiary & higher education. Schools, more schools are being built & old ones renovated.

   b)      Infrastructure: Major roads of the country are under reconstruction.

   c)       Health Service: More health centres are being built even in the most remote communities of Ecuador & more health personnel being trained to run the centres with special assistance from Cuba.

   Many other social services are booming & since the constitutional reform, many sectors of the economy have been benefiting from the system such as tourism which was once ran by an elite of travel agencies. Today many more grassroots firms are booming especially with the new trend of Eco-Tourism which Ecuador boast of due to it bio diversified landscape.

   Other Social issues:

   - Too little land.

   - Too few animals.

   - No credit available.

   - Debt, a viscious circle.

   - Widows and old people without help.

   - Inadequate skills training courses.

   - Destiny/born poor (low self esteem).

   Drugs:

   Ecuador is increasingly being affected by the drugs trade both within its borders and in neighbouring countries. A dollarized economy is also considered to be attractive for money laundering activities. The Financial Action Task Force recently put Ecuador on a watch list because of a lack of high level political support in the fight against drugs and the financing of terrorism. Chronic corruption in all sectors of Ecuadorian society continues. Whilst Transparency International’s corruption perceptions index (CPI), continues to classify Ecuador as one of the most corrupt countries in Latin America, it also acknowledges that public opinion in Ecuador recognises the government’s efforts to combat corruption are more consistent than in the past.

   Environmental issues

   Ecuador has frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity, floods, and periodic droughts. Deforestation, soil erosion, desertification, water pollution are some of the important issues faced by the country.

   Oil Pollution: Other environment hazard in Ecuador is the current oil pollution which was created 3 decades ago by Chevron. The indigenous communities of Amazon basin are requesting 27 billion on a claim of damage from Chevron to clean up its mess which has caused severe health problems ever since they stopped drilling in the zone.   Follow up more on http://www.chevroninecuador.com/