Ecuador

Ecuadorian Government has been a country that has struggled to control drug trafficking, facilitate trade, and maintain a stable government and economy. Ecuador is located between Colombia and Peru. Its Capital city is Quito with a population of 1.6 million people. Guayaquil (2.4 million) is another major city.
According to the U.S. State Department, The Ecuador government is a republic that declared independence from Spain in 1822. It is formed with an executive branch, congress, and provincial courts. There are over a dozen political parties. Voting is obligatory for citizens 18-65 years of age. [1]

The 1998 constitution provides for 4-year terms of office for the president, vice president, and members of Congress, although none of the last three democratically-elected presidents finished their terms. Presidents may be re-elected after an intervening term; legislators may be re-elected immediately. The executive branch currently includes 24 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. Congress meets throughout the year except for recesses in July and December. Congress is divided into 20 seven-member subject committees. Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the Congress for life; members of the Constitutional Court serve four years. Ecuador Maintains an embassy in the United States with consulates dispersed throughout the U.S. Ecuador has experienced Economic growth at 1.5% per year[2]

There are many political parties in Ecuador.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 more than once through elections since the return to civilian government in 1979. [3]

Ecuador has experienced political instability. From 1997-2006 the Ecuadorian Roldosista Party(PRE), won the Presidency on a platform that promised populist economic and social policies. It challenged what Buckram termed as the power of the nation’s oligarchy. During Buckrams administration there was heavy suspicion of corruption. Buckram was deposed by the congress in February 1997 on grounds of alleged mental incompetence. In his place, congress named Fabian Alarcon interim president. Ecudors fragmented multi party system has cause unrest and contributed to the political instability that it experiences. [4] (Social Christian Party, or PSC), Partido Roldosista Ecuatoriano (Ecuadorian Roldosist Party, or PRE), Izquierda Democrática (Democratic Left,or ID), and Democracia Popular (Popular Democracy, or DP)? have consolidated and together have won about three-fourths of the vote. This has occurred

within the framework of a highly fragmented and atomized system. Just as important,

however, is the increasing share of the vote that these parties have managed

to accumulate over time. One of the prominent characteristics of the

Ecuadorian party system is this apparently contradictory combination of fragmentation

and concentration. The large number of parties that win seats in

Congress and gain access to representational positions in provincial and local assemblies

is offset by the predominance of a relatively small number of parties.

Generally speaking, the parties have demonstrated a greater ability than independents

to secure voters support. William Easterly noted, in Creative destruction, in the 19^th, and 20^th century, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Peru, and Syria all had unpredictable government policies that tended to discourage investment in the future through innovation. [5] Ecuador shares U.S. concerns over narcotics trafficking and international terrorism, and has energetically condemned terrorist actions. The government has maintained Ecuador virtually free of coca production since the mid-1980s, and is working to combat money laundering and the transshipment of drugs and chemicals essential to the processing of cocaine (with U.S. support). It has recently given greater priority to combating child labor and trafficking in persons.[6]

Ecuador has experienced large amounts of growth over time but has also experienced setbacks in relations with its major trading partner (United States). It is structured as a multi party democracy which does not have a majority party. This has proven to discourage investment. Instable government policies and lack of overall government investment in infrastructure has hindered trade. United States was one of Ecuador’s major trading partners and aid givers. Until the Ecuadorian government non compliance with hydro carbon treaty. The Ecuadorian government also showed resistance in anti drug trafficking security that the U.S. implemented, causing stunted relations with the U.S.

Works Cited

Central Intelligence Agency World Fact Book

Office of Public Affairs Washington, D.C. 20505

Easterly, William The elusive Quest for Growth

MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142. 2001.

U.S. State department Note: The Republic of Ecuador U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20520

Mainwaring, Scott(editor). Crisis of Democratic Representation in the Andes.

Palo Alto, CA, USA: Stanford University Press, 2006. p 10-127.

http://site.ebrary.com/lib/sjsu/Doc?id=10156554&ppg=119

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[1] (U.S. State Department)

[2] (World Fact Book)

[3] (U.S. State Department)

[4] (mainwaring pg.101)

[5] (Easterly Ch.9”Creative Destruction)

[6] (World Fact Book-country note)