Overview
Few countries have seen its Presidential Palace turn
over as many times in recent years as Ecuador. It has
had seven Presidents since 1988.
Still, sandwiched between Colombia and Peru, Ecuador
has seen its economy grow steadily for the past four
years, and inflation has slowed since the government
adopted the U.S. dollar as its currency.
With about a third of its economy based on oil, Ecuador
is the world’s largest exporter of bananas and
a significant exporter of shrimp.
While the economy suggests forward movement for the
Andean country, its relations with neighbors Colombia
and Peru are constantly tested. The drug economy and
culture of Colombia frequently spills across borders
into Ecuadorian small communities, presenting security
problems. On its southern border, territorial disputes
with Peru have festered since 1942, erupting into armed
hostility as recently as 1995. Intervention of four
outside parties (Argentina, Brazil, Chile and the U.S.)
in 1998 eventually led to a peace accord.
For President Lucio Gutierrez the coming year means
much to his administration’s plans for trade and
development. Elected in 2002, President Gutierrez was
a former Army general who led a coup to topple the former
President Jamil Mahuad in 2000.
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