$Unique_ID{COW01176} $Pretitle{252} $Title{Ecuador Chapter 1. General Character of the Society} $Subtitle{} $Author{Thomas E. Weil} $Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army} $Subject{political sierra costa country new century government society indians life} $Date{1973} $Log{} Country: Ecuador Book: Ecuador, A Country Study Author: Thomas E. Weil Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army Date: 1973 Chapter 1. General Character of the Society The Republic of Ecuador, lying across the equator on the northwest coast of South America, is bounded by Colombia on the north and by Peru on the south and east. The history of the country has been profoundly influenced by the existence of three major geographical regions-the Costa, lowlands on the Pacific coast; the Sierra, highlands between two Andean ranges; and the Oriente, jungle lowlands in the Amazon Basin. Although the country lies entirely in the tropical zone, there are striking variations in climate and in plant and animal life. On the coast and in the lowlands east of the Andes, temperatures are high throughout the year, but in the highlands they range from moderate to cold. Even within geographic regions there is a diversity of climate, topography, and vegetation. In its northern half the Costa is covered by dense rain forest-part of a system that runs in an unbroken band northward through Colombia and into Central America. In the southern half of the Costa the landscape changes to semiarid scrubland, merging near the Peruvian border with the great coastal desert that extends the length of Peru and into Chile. In the Sierra the basins between the Andean ranges, most of them containing productive farmlands, range in altitude from less than 6,000 feet to more than 10,000 feet above sea level. For more than four centuries Ecuador's economy has been predominantly agrarian. Virtually any tropical or temperate crop can be grown in one or another of the various regions. Since colonial times the principal products of the Sierra have been grains, livestock, and root crops for domestic consumption; and the planters of the Costa, which became a significant contributor to the economy only in the mid-nineteenth century, have specialized in the cultivation of tropical produce-notably cacao, coffee, and, in the twentieth century, bananas-for export. A major source of foreign exchange during the first half of the twentieth century has derived from the rich offshore fishing grounds. In 1972 potential income from petroleum exports promised an even greater inflow of foreign exchange. Until the first half of the twentieth century communications between the three regions were poorly developed. As late as 1900 the journey between Quito and Guayaquil entailed a two-week trek on muleback across mountains and through thick forests. By the middle of the century, however, railroads connected Quito with Guayaquil and with San Lorenzo on the north coast; roads ran from the Sierra to many points on the coast and to some points in the Oriente; and the Pan American Highway traversed the country. Likewise, domestic air services facilitated travel to points that in the past had been virtually inaccessible. The population of more than 6 million occupies a territory of a little more than 100,000 square miles, constituting one of the smallest countries in Latin America. The great bulk of the population is made up of Indians and mestizos. Whites, most of them descended from Spanish settlers, constitute between 10 and 15 percent of the total and have exercised political and economic power since the conquest of the country by the Spaniards early in the sixteenth century. A relatively small number of Negroes, whose ancestors were brought to the country as slaves, have been largely assimilated into the lower socioeconomic levels. In 1972 the populations of the Sierra and of the Costa were about equal, and the lowlands of the Oriente were sparsely populated, principally by Indians. The population dynamics of the country have been characterized by considerable internal migration and a significant growth rate, which in 1972 was one of the highest in Latin America. Until the early part of the twentieth century most Ecuadorians lived in the Sierra, but as conditions in the Costa improved-largely as a result of the control of tropical diseases-increasing numbers of people migrated to the coastal lowlands. In the 1960s, when exploitation of newly discovered oilfields began, small numbers of people moved into the Oriente. In 1972 approximately half of the country's labor force was employed in agriculture and related occupations, and about half of these people lived in the Sierra. The tendency to migrate to the Costa, however, persisted, and the migrants continued to seek employment in the commercial, industrial, and services sectors. Although the diverse groups making up the population have lived in the same territory under common rule for more than four centuries, they have not formed a single people with a single language and a shared way of life. The dominant tone is set by the Hispanic heritage-the Spanish language, Hispanic cultural traditions, and Roman Catholicism, but large number of Indians still speak their native languages, chiefly Quechua. Roman Catholicism is the religion of the great majority of Ecuadorians, and the influence of the church is especially strong in the Sierra. Religious freedom is guaranteed by the constitution. Shortly before the arrival of the Spaniards a portion of the Costa and all of the Sierra had been conquered by the Incas, who governed a great Indian empire from their capital in southern Peru. The Incas imposed a unified rule over the conquered area and introduced the Inca language-Quechua. When the Spaniards arrived linguistic and cultural differences among the tribal groups persisted. Common to all, however, was the practice of sedentary agriculture. Ecuador's history as a Spanish colony began in 1532. The newly conquered territory was incorporated into the Viceroyalty of Peru as an administrative division called an audiencia (see Glossary). The seat of the new political unit was established as Quito; and although it remained subordinate to the Viceroyalty of Peru, and later to that of New Granada, with its capital at Santa Fe de Bogota (in what is now Colombia), the Audiencia of Quito was sufficiently distant from both Lima and Bogota to develop considerable autonomy. The consequent tradition of autonomy later provided the basis for independent nationhood. Like the Incas before them the Spaniards settled almost exclusively in the temperate basins of the Sierra, where there was a docile population to provide them with labor. At the end of the colonial period less than 10 percent of the population lived in the Costa. Except for converting the native peoples to Christianity, the Spaniards did little to change the old ways of life. Indian life remained essentially the same, and the Spaniards were careful to preserve the essentials of their own way of life. At the apex of the social structure was a small elite, composed of descendants of the conquerors, which controlled the government, owned most of the wealth, and constituted the educated class. A large Spanish-speaking lower class consisted of mestizos, descendants of Spaniards and Indians, who had moved to cities and towns and worked as artisans, domestics, petty merchants, minor functionaries, and overseers. At the bottom of the social structure were the Indians, who existed mainly as a source of tribute and enforced labor. The Indians were joined at the lower level of society by a small number of Negro slaves brought in to work in the few areas of the Costa that had been settled by the Spaniards. Liberation from Spanish rule was won in 1822, in the Battle of Pichincha, by armed forces under the command of Antonio Jose de Sucre, chief lieutenant of the Venezuelan liberator, Simon Bolivar. For eight years thereafter Ecuador formed a part of the Republic of Gran Colombia together with present-day Colombia and Venezuela. Then, following the example of Venezuela, Ecuador declared its independence. Although the colonial administration had disappeared and independence had brought with it a republican constitution and a formal commitment to a democratic political order, little had changed functionally in the society. Caudillos-political strong men-and their followers continued to compete for power; the old rigidities of the social structure persisted; and regardless of the incumbent heads of government, the balance of economic power continued to reside in the predominantly white elite. The Indians remained a subject labor force, and the mestizo lower class, poor and unlettered, had little opportunity to gain power and influence. Through the years framers of various constitutions experimented with anticlericalism, but the church remained as strong as it had been under Spanish rule, and the principle of hereditary privilege continued to enjoy tacit acceptance from the majority, even at the more humble levels. By the middle of the nineteenth century, however, a new element in national life appeared with the development of an economically powerful regional society in the Costa, based on the export of tropical agricultural produce. With few roots in the past, the society of the Costa was less tradition bound than that of the Sierra; and its structure, though marked by disparities in wealth and privilege, was somewhat more flexible. The new elite of coastal planters, bankers, and merchants organized the Liberal Party, later known as the Radical Liberal Party, and began to challenge the political dominance of the Sierra aristocracy, represented by the Conservative Party. The resulting regional contention was to become a major factor in political life-directly or indirectly leading to several armed conflicts. Out of this dual cleavage there emerged two of the country's most prominent historic figures-Gabriel Garcia Moreno, the Sierra Conservative, and Eloy Alfaro, the Liberal from the Costa. While transcending the narrower focus of sectionalism to provide leadership of the nation as a whole, they epitomized the ideological terms of the interregional rivalry. Garcia Moreno, who dominated the political scene in the 1960s and 1870s, endeavored to unite the country by building the railroad between Quito and Guayaquil and by expanding the educational system. Eloy Alfaro, who dominated politics at the turn of the century, completed the railroad and also undertook to expand the educational system. The two men, however, held diametrically opposing points of view on the role of the church. Garcia Moreno's goal was to make Ecuador an exclusively Catholic nation. Eloy Alfaro favored a completely secular country. It was not until the early decades of the twentieth century that the church-state controversy moved toward resolution, largely through a series of compromises. By the middle of the century new issues had emerged, reflected in a steady expansion of the base of political participation. During the first half of the twentieth century, modest economic growth helped to bring into existence a small middle class which, as an articulate and educated segment of society not directly bound to the interests of the elite, added a new political voice. New communications and transport facilities began to bring the rural population into contact with urban society, and increased educational opportunities raised the literacy rate. By mid-century larger numbers of people were becoming increasingly aware of their national society and were beginning to aspire to greater material well-being. Beginning in 1940 voter registration increased substantially, and the politicians addressed themselves more and more to questions of reform. Nevertheless, obstacles to stable popular government have remained: the opposition of powerful interest groups to reform, the lack of stable broad-based parties to articulate popular wishes, and the singularly personalist tone of electoral politics. A notable example of personalism in politics has been the career of Jose Maria Velasco Ibarra, five times president and four times deposed between 1935 and 1972. Carried to office by strong popular acclaim, Velasco Ibarra, once in office, fell victim to his inability to unite the masses and the various special interest groups behind his programs. It was the military establishment, by long tradition the self-appointed guardian of internal peace, that was involved in removing Velasco Ibarra from office on four different occasions. In 1972 the structure of Ecuadorian society continued to reflect much of the pattern established in colonial times. Language, religion, intellectual life, landownership, and domination of political and economic power by a largely white minority were elements of the Spanish heritage, but political leaders were promising the people a more equitable distribution of wealth and land; and some churchmen, whose predecessors had been closely allied with the landed oligarchy, were taking up the cause of the economically underprivileged. Turbulence in politics has continued; and the nationalist Revolutionary Government, which deposed Velasco Ibarra and assumed power in February 1972, was a government of the armed forces, which ruled by decree. In 1972 the military government had the support of parties at the two extremes of the political spectrum. Most of the political parties appeared to be waiting to see how the new government would carry out its promises to change socioeconomic conditions. The large landowners and the Catholic church continued to exercise substantial power, but various elements within these institutions had adopted differing positions on the distribution of wealth and the welfare of the lower classes. The rest of the power structure was made up of commercial, industrial, and financial elements. A relatively small proportion of the total population took part in the political process at the national level. Many illiterate mestizos and unassimilated Indians appeared to be barely aware of national politics. In 1972 the organic law of the country was the Constitution of 1945. The president, General Guillermo Rodriguez Lara, announced that this constitution would be in effect to the extent that it did not conflict with the objectives of the new government. In mid-1972 the congress, which had been dissolved by President Velasco Ibarra, had not been reconvened, and elections for a new congress had not been held. One of the first acts of the government was to reorganize the court system. The nature of the coalition of interest groups that had supported the military coup in February 1972 and General Rodriguez Lara's reputation for conservatism raised questions as to how revolutionary the government's proposed programs would be. In May the president assured representatives of vested interests that the government would not move hastily in carrying out reforms. There were indications that disagreements within the military establishment would interfere with implementation of new policies, and the one issue on which the officer corps seemed to agree wholly was that civilian politicians were incapable of governing the country. Meanwhile, activities of most political parties were at a low ebb. Influenced by papal encyclicals, members of the church hierarchy were advocating land and tax reform, better treatment of laborers and, in some cases, rejection of the capitalist system. Strong differences of opinion were apparent within the hierarchy, however, and in matters of political significance the church did not present a united front. Different approaches were traceable in large measure of the historic cleavage between the Sierra and the Costa. More than half the labor force, including those in forestry and fishing, was employed in agriculture and related pursuits, and less than 20 percent was employed in industry-most of these as artisans in small shops or in their homes. Since agricultural production was not keeping pace with population growth, the need for costly food imports was increasing. An agrarian reform program, instituted in 1964, had not shown steady progress, but the nationalist Revolutionary Government was promising more vigorous enforcement of reforms in this field. In 1972 the availability of petroleum from the Oriente was expected to stimulate new industries, such as petrochemical production and generation of power. Industry, however, was still in the early stages of development, largely dependent on food processing, beverages, and textile manufactures. The country's economy leaned heavily on the export of primary agricultural products-notably bananas, cacao, and coffee-with the result that it was vulnerable to price fluctuations in the world market. With a view to overcoming this problem, the government was attempting to stimulate a wider range of exports. It was also taking steps to regulate imports in an effort to protect domestic manufacturing and to move the economy toward regional integration within the Andean Common Market. After experiencing fiscal, economic, and balance-of-payments problems in the 1960s and in 1971, many Ecuadorians viewed the future with optimism, basing their confidence on the new government's efforts to control budgetary deficits; on the country's prospective position as a major petroleum producer and exporter; and on anticipated benefits from membership in the Andean Common Market. Living conditions varied greatly, influenced not only by regional differences but also by the fact that large numbers of Indians, particularly in the Sierra and the Oriente, existed to all intents and purposes outside the mainstream of national life. Diets, judged by world standards, tended to show some deficiencies in caloric and protein content; readymade clothing or garments made at home from factory-produced textiles were being worn to an increasing degree; and the people faced a severe shortage of housing-particularly in the large cities. As in the past, the most stable and enduring element in the social structure was the family, with its broader kin grouping. At all levels of society mutual trust and responsibility were based on a network of kinship, and the continuing importance of the family, stemming from both Hispanic and Indian traditions, probably reflected the absence of strong alternative institutions. The ideal of machismo (see Glossary) was still respected and, in general, women were expected to play a subordinate role. The people were enjoying the benefits of educational facilities, which had been substantially expanded during the 1960s. Crowding of classrooms, however, tended to reduce the effectiveness of teaching; and there were indications that the rapidly growing number of young people entering the job market from institutions of secondary or higher education was beginning to exceed the number of new jobs available. Increased education was raising the literacy rate and presaged a growing interest in literature and in the cultural life of the country. Although the most common theme in Ecuadorian literature was social protest, there were signs of increasing interest in poetry, influenced to a considerable degree by the Chilean Marxist Pablo Neruda. Freedom of expression was guaranteed by the Constitution of 1945, and there was no clear evidence of prior censorship or suppression of mass media, the most effective of which were radio broadcasts reaching all parts of the country. Although many Ecuadorians entertained irredentist sentiments resulting from the loss of territory to Peru in past conflicts, the country enjoyed friendly relations with all Latin American nations in 1972. Relations with the United States had been affected for nearly twenty years by seizures by Ecuador of United States fishing vessels inside the 200-mile maritime jurisdiction claimed by Ecuador. There were indications, however, that a mutual interest in petroleum development and in other matters affecting both countries was beginning to reduce the relative importance of the fisheries dispute.