Ecuador: An Andean Enigma (Nations of Contemporary Latin America)

216 Pages·1987·19.547 MB·English

by  David W Schodt

FE3c7u3a8dor.S3:4a.1n_?_A87n_d__ean enigma / 23775
Schodt, David W.
NEW COLLEGE OF CALIFORNIA (SF)
F 3738 .S34 1987
Schodt, David W.
Ecuador
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BORROWER'SNAME
DATEDUE
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Schodt David (David Williain)
Ecuadfor—: anIkA. ndean enigaa / David 1<
Schodt* fioulder 2 Vfestview Press t
1987.
xvif 188 p« lllcf aap 24 cm*
: ;
(tfeestvlew proliles* Nations ol
contemporary l.atin America)
Includes hlJbllo^raphical references
(p« 177-178) and index*
i((164ia Gilt ft • *
ISBN 0-813<3-02GO—7 ( alk—* paper)
!• Mi—litary ^overnment Ecuador
fiistory 20th century* —2* Ecuador
Politic—s and government 1S44-1S8—4* 3.
Ecuador Po litics and governjoent 1984-
4* Ecuador——Econoaic conditions—
1872- 1. lltle
22 JUN 96 15082511 NEttCxc 86-33999r294
THE LIBRARY
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ECUADOR
WESTVIEW PROFILES NATIONS OF
•
CONTEMPORARY LATIN AMERICA
Ronald Schneider, Series Editor
Ecuador: An Andean Enigma, David W. Schodt
Uruguay: Democracy at the Crossroads,
Martin Weinstein
Guatemala: A Nation in Turmoil, Peter Calvert
\Mexico: Paradoxes of Stability and Change, Second Edition,
Revised and Updated, Daniel Levy and Gabriel Szekely
\Nicaragua: The Land of Sandino, Second Edition,
Revised and Updated, Thomas W. Walker
\The Dominican Republic: A Caribbean Crucible,
Howard Wiarda and Michael Kryzanek
J. J.
Colombia: Portrait of Unity and Diversity, Harvey F. Kline
Honduras: Caudillo Politics and Military Rulers, James A. Morris
\Cuba: Dilemmas of a Revolution,
Second Edition, Juan M. del Aguila
Belize: A New Nation in Central America, O. Nigel Holland
Bolivia: Land of Struggle, Waltraud Queiser Morales
Puerto Rico, Pamela S. Falk
Paraguay, Riordan Roett
Argentina, Marcelo Cavorozzi
{Available in hardcover and paperback.
—
ABOUT THE BOOK AND AUTHOR
A country often neglected in discussions of Latin America,
Ecuador offers intriguing insights into the interwoven patterns of
continuity and change characteristic of the region. In this introduction
to Ecuador, Dr. Schodt begins with a discussion of culture and
—
geography especially critical for understanding this country, where
the physical partitioning by the Andes has had profound economic
andpolitical consequencesandwhereculturalandlinguisticdifferences
further divide the population. The author then considers Ecuador's
early history, emphasizing the importance of patterns imposed by
regionalism and structured by the nation's colonial heritage. This leads
—
to a discussion of the cacao and banana booms and of the con-
sequences oftheseperiods ofeconomicbonanza fordomesticpolitics
that focuses on the expansion of the electorate and the emergence
of two competing populist movements.
In the final chapters. Dr. Schodt examines the political and
economic implications of the petroleum boom, emphasizing the grow-
ing role of the state in the Ecuadorian economy. This analysis of the
petroleum period concludes with a discussion of Ecuador's prospects
for the future, taking account of the conjuncture of the dramatic
increase in Ecuador's external indebtedness that took place in the late
1970s and early 1980s, the election in 1984 ofa government committed
to reversing the growth of state intervention in the economy, and
the sharp decline in 1986 in the world price of petroleum.
David W. Schodt is associate professor of economics at St. Olaf
College, Northfield, Minnesota. A former Peace Corps volunteer who
served in Ecuador from 1969 to 1972, he has maintained an interest
in the country and is the author of a number of articles on the
Ecuadorian economy.

ECUADOR
An Andean Enigma
David W. Schodt
Westview Press / Boulder and London
Westview Profiles/Nations ofContemporary Latin America
All photographs by the author, except "Drying cacao in a Guayaquil street," originally published
in C. Reginald Enock, Ecuador (T. Fisher Unwin, 1914), and "Texaco oil rig in Lago Agrio in
1970," reprinted by permission of Texaco, Inc.
Cover photos (clockwise): Indian schoolchildren near Ibarra; Texaco oil rig in Lago Agrio in 1970;
Government palace in Quito; The Church of San Francisco in Quito
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
byanymeans,electronicormechanical, includingphotocopy, recording,oranyinformationstorage
and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Copyright © 1987 by Westview Press, Inc.
Published in 1987 in the United States of America by Westview Press, Inc.; Frederick A. Praeger,
Publisher; 5500 Central Avenue, Boulder, Colorado 80301
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schodt, David W. (David William)
Ecuador an Andean enigma.
:
(Westview profiles. Nations of contemporary Latin
America)
Bibliography: p.
Includes in—dex. —
1. Ecuador Politics a—nd gover—nment 19—44-
2. Military—government Ecuador—History 20th century.
3. Ecuador Economic conditions 1972-
I. Title. II. Series.
F3738.S34 1987 986.6'074 86-33999
ISBN 0-8133-0230-7
Printed and bound in the United States of America
©The
paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National
9Stan8dard7for P6erman5ence4of P3aper2for 1Printed Library Materials Z39.48-1984.
10