Ecuador And Democracy :: essays research papers fc

Ecuador and DemocracyBriefly, state is a matter of level and quality. Confusion oftenarises in discussion about democracy. This stems from the different expound deal permit in mind when they use the term. In my opinion, about people fail tospecify their underlying premises, and we often incorporate into our sense impression ofdemocracy disparate factors that may or may not bushel to it. To avoid suchconfusion, we mustiness identify the key ideas central to democracy and clarifyprecisely how the term will be used. The best mien to study democracy is tolearn the other countries, so in this quantify I choose one of Latin Americancountries, Ecuador for well-understanding of the process of democracy.Ecuador is graphically one of the worlds more or less varied countries despiteits small size, which at 283520 sq. km is about the size of either New Zealandor Nevada State. Ecuador staddles the equator on the pacific coast of SouthAmerica and is bordered by all twain countries, Colombia to the north and Peru tothe south and east.The estimated population of Ecuador in 1991 was 10,800,00. This isapproximately 10 times the number of Indian estimated to have been living in thearea at the time of the Spanish conquest. The population density of about 38people per sq. km is the highest of any South American nation.Like other Latin American countries, the major religion is RomanCatholicism. Some of the older cities have splendid 16th and 17th-centuryCatholic churches. Although churches of other faiths can found, they form onlya very small minority. The Indians, while outwardly Roman Catholic, list toblend Catholicism with their traditional beliefs. In Ecuador, Spanish is themain language. well-nigh Indians are bilingual, with Quechua being their preferredlanguage and Spanish their second tongue.Ecuador, that is the smallest of the Andean countries, is a republicwith a democratic government headed by a president. The first constitution waswritten in 1830, but ha s had several changes since then, the most recent in 1978.Democratically elected governments have regularly been pass alongpled by coups, oftenled by the military. Since 1979, however, all governments have been freelyelected. only literate citizens over 18 have the vote and the president mustreceive over 50% of the vote to be elected. With at to the lowest degree 13 differentpolitical parties, 50% of the vote is rarely achieved, in which case there is asecond round between the top two contenders. A president governs for a maximumof five eld and cannot be reelected.The recent elections were in 1988, with 10 candidates running for