Freedom in the World 1998 - Ecuador

1998 Scores

Status: Free
Freedom Rating: 2.5
Civil Liberties: 3
Political Rights: 2

Ratings Change

Ecuador's political rights rating changed from 3 to 2, and its status changed from Partly Free to Free, due to free and fair elections, ending a period of fragile democratic legitimacy dating to early 1997.

Overview

Hopes for political stability returned to Ecuador in 1998, as the country elected as president the respected mayor of the capital city of Quito, Jamil Mahuad. Mahuad was the candidate of the centrist Democracia Popular Party (DP). Two years earlier, Ecuador's political stability had been in doubt after the election as president of a populist nicknamed "The Crazy Man." The composition of the Harvard graduate's new cabinet, which was heavy on technocrats and short on party regulars, appeared to serve as a first step in his pledge to modernize Ecuador's creaky state apparatus, while cracking down on crime, corruption, and rights abuses.

Established in 1830 after achieving independence from Spain in 1822, the Republic of Ecuador has endured many interrupted presidencies and military governments. The last military regime gave way to civilian rule when a new constitution was approved by referendum in 1978.

The constitution provides for a president elected for four years, with a runoff between two front runners if no candidate wins a majority in the first round. The 77-member unicameral National Chamber of Deputies is composed of 65 members elected on a provincial basis every two years as well as 12 members elected nationally every four years.

The 1992 national elections were won by Sixto Duran Ballen, who won 57 percent of the vote, but whose Republican Union Party garnered only 13 of 77 legislative seats. Duran Ballen's term was marked by general strikes against his economic austerity measures, allegations of corruption, indigenous protests against business-backed land reform, and the impeachment of cabinet ministers by an opposition-controlled congress.

In 1996 elections, Abdala Bucaram Ortiz, a former flamboyant mayor of Guayaquil known as "El Loco," won 54 percent of the vote in runoff elections, carrying 20 of Ecuador's 21 provinces. Once in office, Bucaram, who previously fled the country twice under threat of prosecution for corruption, applied a stringent market-oriented austerity program. The authoritarian flavor and frenetic corruption of his government sparked mass protests.

In February 1997, a 48-hour general strike led by Indians and students prompted Congress to depose Bucaram on grounds of "mental incapacity." Parliamentary Speaker Fabian Alarcon was selected as his replacement after the military high command jettisoned its support for Bucaram's Vice President and constitutionally-mandated successor Rosalia Arteaga.

In July 1997, Alarcon, himself accused of employing more than 1,000 "no-show" employees while Speaker, dismissed the Supreme Court. He justified this action by citing the referendum's mandate to carry out the "depoliticization" of the justice system. The effect, however, was to remove the chief justice while he was pursuing an investigation of the interim president. Alarcon's feverish efforts to seek permission to complete Bucaram's four-year term was met by strong political and civic opposition.

In May 1998, Mahuad posted a first-place finish in presidential elections in which the runner-up was Alvaro Noboa. Despite being the candidate of Bucaram's Partido Roldosista Ecuadtoriano (PRE), Noboa promised neither that the party nor the ex-president would play any part in his campaign. In the July 12 election, Mahuad bested Noboa, a banana tycoon, 51-49 percent. In late 1998, a new leftist rebel group made its debut with a dynamite attack which it said was in protest of the government's economic austerity program.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Citizens can change their government through elections. The 1998 campaign seemed to mark a reversal of a national retreat from electoral means as a way of resolving political differences. Mahuad's victory came after Noboa ran what is believed to be the most expensive national campaign in Ecuadoran history. In 1998, the national Constituent Assembly decided to retain Ecuador's presidential system. It also mandated that in the year 2002, a presidential candidate will need to win 40 percent of valid votes in first round balloting and exceed those received by his nearest rival by ten percent in order to avoid a run-off.

Constitutional guarantees regarding freedom of expression, religion, and the right to organize political parties are generally respected. However, for several years, Ecuador appeared to be virtually ungovernable due to near-constant gridlock among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, particularly as a result of congressional use of easy and sometimes frivolous votes of censure and impeachment used to block executive initiatives.

The judiciary, which is generally undermined by the corruption afflicting the entire political system, is headed by a Supreme Court. Until 1997, the Court was appointed by the legislature and was thus subject to its political influence. In reforms approved by referendum in May 1997, power to appoint judges was given over to the Supreme Court, with congress having a final chance to choose that 31-member body based upon recommendations made by a special selection commission.

Evidence suggests that drug traffickers have penetrated the political system through campaign financing, and that sectors of the police and military have been corrupted through bribery. Ecuador is a money-laundering haven and a transshipment point for cocaine passing from neighboring Colombia to the U.S.

There are numerous human rights organizations, and, despite occasional acts of intimidation, they report on arbitrary arrests and instances of police brutality. The military is responsible for a significant percentage of abuses, particularly when deployed in states of emergency. Since police and military personnel are tried in military rather than civilian courts, abuses, including torture, are committed with relative impunity. Indians are frequent victims of the military who work with large landowners during land disputes. A corollary has emerged to the continuing lack of access of Native Americans to effective systems of justice: In 1998, Ecuadoran Indians held several U.S. oil company employees against their will, in support of a demand that the firm pay royalties and contribute to health care, education, and housing. Gays are also often the victims of police brutality and harassment.

The media are mostly private and outspoken, and the government controls radio frequencies.

Labor unions are well organized and have the right to strike, although the labor code limits public sector strikes. Workers in the country's booming flower industry are routinely exposed to harmful pesticides.