History Of Ecuador III

Return to elected government

The regime of General Rodríguez lasted for four years, and then he was ousted on 12 January 1976. A three-member Supreme Council assumed power, promising a return to civilian government within two years. Presidential elections took place in July 1978, but because none of the candidates received the required majority, a runoff election was held in April 1979. The winner was Jaime Roldós Aguilera, a populist running under the banner of the Concentration of Popular Forces. Christian Democrat Osvaldo Hurtado was made vice president. Both were inaugurated on 10 August 1979, the day Ecuador’s current constitution went into effect. Roldós was killed in a plane crash on 24 May 1981, whereupon Hurtado became president until 1984.

Hurtado’s term was marked by modest gains in the economy, but by 1984, a flagging economy, caused in part by widespread flooding, led to calls for change. The 1984 election was won by León Febres Cordero Rivadeneira, a conservative Social Christian who advocated a free-enterprise economic policy. Febres formed a coalition government and pressed his platform of reducing state intervention in the economy and making it more responsive to market forces.

Economic recovery falters

Just as it appeared that Febres’s fiscal policies were about to bring widespread benefits to the populace, Ecuador was dealt two staggering blows: the 1986 plunge in world oil prices cut revenues by 30%, and a devastating earthquake in March 1987 cut off oil exports for four months and caused more than $1 billion in damage. The government had already suspended repayment of the $11 billion foreign debt in January 1987, but after the earthquake repayment was further postponed. Febres’s fortunes took a turn for the worse with the decline in oil prices. His coalition partners were defeated in elections held on 1 June 1986, and the leftist parties opposed to him gained control of parliament.

In presidential elections held 31 January 1988, Rodrigo Borja Cevallos of the Democratic Left (ID) Party and Abdalá Bucaram Ortiz of the Roldista Party (honoring ex-president Jaime Roldós) won the most votes in a field of 10 candidates. Borja won the runoff election, and took office along with a strong contingent in congress. The government made improvements in Ecuador’s human rights record, and reached an accord with the terrorist group Alfaro Vive, Carajo (literally, “Alfaro [Eloy] lives, damn it!”), however, economic troubles, particularly inflation, continued, and the ID lost half its congressional seats in midterm elections in 1990. In 1992, voters elected a conservative government, headed by President Sixto Durán-Ballén of the Republican Unity Party (PUR) and Vice President Alberto Dahik of the Conservative Party (CP). Durán-Ballén imposed severe economic measures to try to improve Ecuador’s situation. These measures proved economically successful, but socially unpopular. Support for Durán-Ballén began to decline.

However, on 26 January 1995, the longstanding border dispute with Peru sprang to life once again when Ecuadorian troops attacked a Peruvian post. A full-fledged war began, which lasted until March 1, causing some 80 casualties and leaving 200 wounded. Although the war created further economic difficulties for Ecuador, it also stirred national pride, and Durán-Ballén’s popularity rose on the tide of fervent patriotism. By the fall of 1995, however, Durán-Ballén had once again fallen from favor due to charges of political corruption against himself and Vice President Alberto Dahik. Dahik fled the country, and Durán-Ballén served the remainder of his presidential term with little support.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!