I.

Introduction

Ecuador, country in northwestern South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean. The country also includes the Galápagos Islands (Colón Archipelago) in the Pacific, about 965 km (about 600 mi) west of the mainland. Ecuador straddles the equator (Ecuador is the Spanish word for “equator”). Quito, the country’s capital, is high in the Andes Mountains. Guayaquil, a port along the Pacific coast, is the largest city.

Ecuador has a diverse population composed of people of European, Native American, and African descent. The majority are mestizos, individuals of mixed European and Native American ancestry. Most of the Native Americans live in poverty in the highlands region, where a small elite of European descent controls most of the land and wealth.

Ecuador was a Spanish colony until 1822, when independence forces won a decisive victory over Spain. Since then the government has alternated between civilian rule and military dictatorship. Most of Ecuador’s political conflicts have involved squabbles among groups within the upper classes who control the nation’s wealth.

Agriculture dominated the economy of Ecuador until the 1970s, when the production of petroleum brought added income to the nation. The money generated by the oil industry produced a decade of prosperity and extensive government spending but eventually led to an economic crisis in the 1990s as revenues fell, prices spiraled ever higher, the currency was devalued, and the country’s foreign debt burden grew. Although successive governments have tried to implement economic reforms, Ecuador’s economic footing remains unsteady.