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an intentional community in south Ecuador |
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Ecuador |
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Ecuador is a republic on the northern Pacific Coast of South America, bordered on the north by Colombia and on the south and east by Peru. It also includes the Galapagos Islands, off the Pacific Coast. Ecuador was a Spanish Colony until 1822. Today it is the South American Nation where traditional Society remains most nearly intact. Since the discovery of petroleum, however, Ecuador's developing economy is bringing increasing modernization to the nation.
LANDEcuador is divided into three distinct physical areas, which also differ culturally and politically from one another. The coastal region, or costa, has a typical climate with an average temperature of 24 deg. C (75 deg. F). Centering on the port city of Guayaquil, the region contains about 35% of the countries total population, Most of the country's tropical export products are grown here, The second area is the mountain region - the high Andes, or sierra - centering on the capital city of, Quito, which is located at an elevation of 2,8034 m (9,222 ft.). The climate here is temperate, moderated by the elevation, with an annual average temperature of 19 deg. C. (66 deg. F.) The region is subject to occasional, moderate earthquakes. The region's agriculture produces mainly grain and meat for domestic consumption.
PEOPLEThe population of Ecuador is ethnically and racially mixed, About 40% of the population is Mestizo (of mixed Indian and European Ancestry) and another 40% is Indian. The remainder of the population is about equally divided between Europeans(whites) and Negroes or mulattoes. The costa has the most heterogeneous population, whereas the population of the oriente (Ecuadorian Amazon Rain Forest) is almost entirely Indian. Spanish is the official language and is spoken by most of the population, Several Indian languages, including Quechua, are also spoken. More than 90% of the population say is Roman Catholic but most do not practice it in actuality. Education is compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 14, with both free public schools and private parochial schools playing a significant role in education. In the late 1970s and into the 1980s literacy made great gains.
ECONOMIC ACTIVITYAbout a third of the labor force is still involved in agriculture. In the mountain areas the peasants continue to work in poor conditions on many large haciendas (estates established during the Spanish period). Grain growing and livestock raising are The principal activities. Along the coast plantations have developed that grow cacao, a traditional export; sugar, used largely for internal consumption; rice; coffee; and bananas. The seafood sector has shown rapid expansion. In the last 10 years Ecuador has shown a large development within the exotic flower industry, becoming one of Latin Americas leading exporters in this field. Ecuador has also experienced the beginnings of an industrial revolution, In the urban centers, especially Cuenca, Quito, and Guayaquil, factories produce textiles, shoes, processed foods and other manufactured goods, principally for the internal consumer market. Plants also process agricultural products for export. During the 1970s, petroleum became an important part of the Ecuadorian economy. Resources in the eastern part of the country were largely developed by U.S. Corporations, and a pipeline was built to bring the petroleum to the coast in the northern part of the country for shipment abroad. In 1977, the government agreed to buy out the U.S. interests, and the first refinery opened. The discovery of petroleum resulted in a rapid and striking increase in the country's national income; Ecuador became the third-largest petroleum exporter in Latin America (after Mexico and Venezuela). Much of the new wealth was used inefficiently, however, the oil boom stimulated considerable inflation. To compound the economic difficulties, the worldwide slump in the oil industry markedly reduced Ecuador's foreign exchange earnings beginning in 1982. Another important discovery of oil announced in 1983 did little to start paying off the sizable foreign debt. Earthquakes and floods in 1987 killed hundreds and damaged the oil pipeline, which was nationalized in 1989 when the government took control of most of the oil industry. In the 1990's, Ecuador has experienced harsh weather conditions due to the "El Niņo" effect. This has caused loss of agricultural products in the coastal region due to flooding and severe rainfall. Additionally, the "El Niņo" effect has caused warming of the ecuatorial deep sea currents in and around the Galapagos Islands, affecting Ecuador's Pacific Coast fishery areas, thus causing dramatic changes in fish migrations. This threatens to drastically limit the production of sea exports.
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENTEcuador was part of the INCA Empire at the time of the Spanish conquest in the 153Os. The last Inca King, ATAHUALPA, was of part Ecuadorian origin. Under the Spaniards, Ecuador was part of the viceroyalty of Peru (except for a brief period) until 1739, when it joined the new viceroyalty of New Granada. Immediately after liberation in 1822, Ecuador was a province of the new republic of Gran Colombia (consisting of the present-day nations of Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela), of which Simon Bolivar was President. With the dissolution of the federation in 1830, Ecuador became an independent republic. During most of the 19th century, it was dominated by a series of caudillos (dictators), including Gabriel Garcia Moreno, who dominated national politics between 1860 and 1875 and attempted to establish a theocratic regime. Eloy Alfaro (1864-1912) led the liberal revolution of 1895, which carried out anticlerical reforms and stressed economic expansion; Alfaro was assassinated, but the liberals remained in power until 1944. During the 2Oth century, commercial agriculture has expanded along the coast, and there has been a concomitant increase in the political power of that part of the country. However, the nature of national politics has not varied substantially. Military regimes have tended to alternate with civilian governments chosen by an electorate, which was limited to the literate until 1884, when the voting age was lowered to 18 and illiterates were franchised. There were 14 presidents between 1931 and 1940s and the 1950s. The instability abated only briefly in the late 1940s and the 1950s. The outstanding civilian leader during these decades was Jose Maria Velasco Ibarra. Through all these political changes, the social and economic system altered little. In the Andean valleys and plateaus, large landowners continued to maintain control, and were the single most powerful element in national politics apart from the military. A modest manufacturing sector grew up in the latter half of the 20th century, but until the advent of the oil industry in the early 1970s, Ecuador economy remained overwhelmingly agricultural. Military regimes in the 1960s and the `70s made tentative efforts to launch land redistribution programs, but the results were modest. In 1979 a new constitution took effect, and the ruling junta permitted national elections to take place for the first time in 11 years; a civilian government was elected, headed by President Jaime Roldos Aguilera He died in a plane crash in 1981 and was succeeded by his vice president, Osvaldo Hurtado Lanea. The Presidential elections of 1984 was won by Leon Febres Cordero, the candidate of the conservative coalition who promised to use free-market principles to alleviate Ecuador's economic crisis. His successors, Rodrigo Borja Cevallos (elected l988) and Sixto Duran Ballen (elected 1992), were faced with the continuing problems of an oil slump, mounting foreign debt, and a severely stressed economy. In 1998 new changes have been made to the constitution.
ECONOMYEcuador has a free market economy. ECONOMIC BASIC INDICATORS: CURRENCY: The US Dollar GDP 1996: 18,777,000.00 (forecast) GDP GROWTH: 2.9 (1996) (forecast) PER CAPITA GDP: 1,605(1996) (forecast) TRADE BALANCE (1995): Exports: $4,362 (million dollars FOB) Imports: $4,095 (million dollars FOB) PRINCIPAL EXPORT PRODUCTS 1995 (in million dollars FOB): Petroleum 1395.5 Bananas 845.1 Shrimp 672.9 Coffee 185.3 Cocoa 8l.9 Flowers 78.0
FOREIGN DEBT 1995: US$ 14,479,000.00 (august 1996) GDP RATE BY ECONOMIC ACTIVITY:
Agriculture 17.5% Business 13.3% Construction 3.5% Government Services 8.2% Industry 16.8% Oil 12.5% Private Services 24.6%
Destination of Exports (percentage)
USA 42% Colombia 6% Germany 4% Italy 4% Chile 5% Japan 3% Others 33%
Origin of Imports
USA 31.8% Colombia 10% Japan 9% Venezuela 6% Germany 5% Brazil 4% Spain 2.2% Others 49.3% INFLATION RATE: 22.8% (1995) |
