According to Countryaah.com, with capital city of Quito, Ecuador is a country located in South America with total population of 17,643,065.
State and politics
GOVERNMENT
Politically and constitutionally, Ecuador is one of the most unstable countries in Latin America. See ABBREVIATIONFINDER for how EC can stand for Ecuador. The country has had no less than 18 different statutes since independence in 1830, and in 1997–2007 the country had eight different presidents. The most recent constitution was approved in a referendum in September 2008. The president has great power and is both head of state and government. The president is elected in general elections in two rounds for a term of four years and can be re-elected once. The constitutional amendment that was implemented in 2015 on the initiative of Rafael Correa (President 2007–17), which allowed the President to be re-elected an unlimited number of times, was abolished following a 2018 referendum.
A single-chamber parliament holds the legislative power. The number of seats in Parliament is adjusted to the population of the different provinces. The sitting parliament, elected in 2017, has 137 members. By law, voting is compulsory for all citizens between the ages of 18 and 65. The country’s large indigenous population gained full voting rights only in 1978.
Policy
The party system in Ecuador has long been fluid and the parties are small. The former leading political forces in the country, the right-wing party Partido Social Cristiano (PSC), the populist party Partido Roldosista Ecuatoriano (PRE) and the left-wing party Izquierda Democrática (ID) have all stepped into the background. In the 2013 congressional elections, President Rafael Correa’s Alianza País (AP) became the largest party with 100 seats.
Correa’s presidency in 2007–17 meant increased political stability and a series of social reforms. He renegotiated the contracts with oil companies operating in Ecuador so that the state got a bigger share of the profits. Thanks to high oil prices, the state was thus able to double public spending. The increased investment went to new schools, hospitals and roads and social programs in the form of support for the poorest groups, including single mothers.
However, his decision to exploit oil deposits in the rich Yasuní National Park, despite previous promises to the contrary, aroused widespread protests among the country’s Indian and environmental movements. Correa was also criticized for imperfection and attempts to limit political opposition and media freedom.
Ahead of the April 2017 presidential election, the government coalition appointed Alianza País the country’s former vice president Lenín Moreno as a candidate. Moreno won the first round of elections but without a sufficient majority to exclude a second round; There he was pitted against Guillermo Lasso (born 1955) of the right-wing liberal CREO and won by a marginal margin (51 percent of the vote against 49 percent for Lasso).
During his election campaign, Lenin Moreno had promised a continuation of Rafael Correa’s “citizen revolution”, but soon he began to criticize his representative who he accused of imperfection and corruption, leading to an open conflict with Correa. See 3rjewelry.com for Ecuador travel guide.
Judiciary
The legal order in Ecuador is predominantly of Spanish origin and is dominated by major codifications of the French-Spanish type, first and foremost the Civil Code, the Civil Procedure Code, the Trade Code, the Penal Code, the Penal Code and the Labor Code.
The judiciary consists primarily of local judges (in disputes) and provincial judges (in criminal cases). In addition, there are appellate courts and a supreme court. The death penalty was abolished in 1906.
Human Rights
Ecuador is characterized by ethnic diversity and great social inequality. Despite the generally elevated standard of living, deep gaps in prosperity and prosperity remain. Indigenous peoples and Afro-Ecuadorians are particularly affected by poverty.
Corruption in the police and judicial system is another difficult challenge for Ecuador. Impunity is widespread for torture, and extrajudicial executions occur. The Ecuadorian prisons are in many ways overcrowded and understaffed. Many inmates suffer from food and water shortages and lack access to adequate care.
In 2013, Parliament passed new media laws, which have been criticized for enabling censorship and arbitrary prosecution of journalists, and empowers the government and judges to decide whether information can be considered truthful. In Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index for 2015, Ecuador is ranked 108 out of 180 countries surveyed.
Women and girls in Ecuador have the right to seek abortion only when their health or life is in danger. Threats of criminal penalties as a prison drive many women and girls to illegal and unsafe abortions. Violence and sexual violence against women are widespread and rarely infiltrated by the justice system. Trafficking in women and children occurs for the purpose of exploiting them sexually or for the purpose of exploiting them for forced labor.
With the 2008 Constitution came free education and social benefits for unpaid domestic workers. Little progress has also been made in making education accessible to disadvantaged classes, indigenous people and women. The constitution also recognizes the right to same-sex marriage, but obstacles still remain for the LGBTQ group in the form of negative attitudes in society. Out of fear of harassment and freezing, many still hide their sexual orientation.
Heads of State
Presidents (in selection)
1830-35 | Juan José Flores |
1835-39 | Vicente Rocafuerte |
1839-45 | Juan José Flores |
1845-50 | Vicente Ramón Roca |
1850-51 | Diego Noboa |
1851-56 | José Urbina |
1856-59 | Francisco Robles |
1859-65 | Gabriel García Moreno |
1865-67 | Gerónimo Carrión |
1868-69 | Javier Espinosa |
1869-75 | Gabriel García Moreno |
1875-77 | Antonio Borrero |
1877-84 | Iqnacio de Veintemilla |
1884-88 | José Plácido Caamaño |
1888-92 | Antonio Flores |
1892-96 | Luis Cordero |
1897-1901 | Eloy Alfaro |
1901-05 | Leónidas Plaza |
1905-06 | Lizardo García |
1906-11 | Eloy Alfaro |
1912-16 | Leónidas Plaza |
1916-20 | Alfredo Baquerizo |
1920-24 | José Tamayo |
1924-25 | Gonzalo Hernandez |
1925-26 | Francisco Gómez |
1926-31 | Isidro Ayora |
1931-32 | Alfredo Baquerizo |
1932-33 | Juan Martínez |
1933-34 | Abelardo Montalva |
1934-35 | José Velasco |
1935-37 | Federico Paez |
1937-38 | Alberto Enríquez |
1938-39 | Aurelio Mosquero |
1939-40 | Andrés Córdova |
1940-44 | Carlos Arroyo del Río |
1944-47 | José Velasco |
1947-48 | Carlos Arosemena Tola |
1948-52 | Galo Plaza |
1952-56 | José Velasco |
1956-60 | Camilo Ponce Enríquez |
1960-61 | José Velasco |
1961-63 | Carlos Arosemena Monroy |
1963-66 | Ramón Castro |
1966-68 | Otto Arosemena Gómez |
1968-72 | José María Velasco Ibarra |
1972-76 | Guillermo Rodriguez |
1976-79 | Alfredo Poveda |
1979-81 | Jaime Roldós |
1981-84 | Osvaldo Hurtado |
1984-88 | Léon Febres Cordero |
1988-92 | Rodrigo Borja |
1992-96 | Sixto Durán Ballén |
1996-97 | Abdalá Bucaram |
1997 | Fabián Alarcón (interim) |
1998-2000 | Jamil Mahuad |
2000-03 | Gustavo Noboa Bejarano |
2003-05 | Lucio Gutiérrez Borboura |
2005-07 | Alfredo Palacio González |
2007-17 | Rafael Correa |
2017- | Lenín Moreno |