In 2015, the population of Ecuador was estimated to be around 16 million people. The majority of the population is ethnically Mestizo with a small percentage of other ethnicities such as Indigenous, Afro-Ecuadorian, and European. The economy of Ecuador is primarily based on petroleum production and exports, followed by agriculture and services. In terms of foreign relations, Ecuador is a member of several international organizations including the United Nations, Organization of American States (OAS) and World Trade Organization (WTO). See ehealthfacts for Ecuador in the year of 2005.
In 2015, politics in Ecuador were dominated by President Rafael Correa who had been in office since 2007. He was re-elected in 2013 with an administration that focused on reducing inequality through social welfare programs and economic reforms. Opposition to Correa’s government came from both civil society groups who wanted more democratic reforms and opposition parties who wanted less government intervention in economic affairs. In addition, there were tensions between Ecuador and its neighbors over border disputes which led to disputes over access to regional waters.
Yearbook 2015
Ecuador. On December 4, Ecuador’s Congress approved a constitutional amendment that allows a president to be re-elected an unlimited number of times. The opposition boycotted the vote, but President Rafael Correa’s government coalition had enough votes to get through the proposal. The decision was preceded and followed by protests and clashes between police and protesters outside the congress building. Already in March, nearly 10,000 people in 14 cities around the country demonstrated against the government. At the forefront was the trade union organization FUT and the indigenous people’s umbrella organization Conaie, but it was a fragmented movement with widely differing requirements; a stop for planned restrictions in the strike right and a planned land reform and for higher wages.
On 13 August, the FUT also carried out a general strike. The protesters claimed that the constitutional amendment was created solely to allow incumbent President Rafael Correa to be re-elected at the next presidential election in 2017, while Correa replied that the protesters went to the reactionary right’s affairs. A similar change has been made in Nicaragua under Daniel Ortega and was implemented in Venezuela under Hugo Chávez, both of whom were Correa’s close allies. However, the constitutional change will not apply until after the 2017 election, in which Correa has also stated that he does not intend to stand.
According to COUNTRYAAH, Quito is the capital of Ecuador which is located in South America. The congressional decision was made during the period when President Correa declared a state of emergency in 17 of Ecuador’s 24 provinces as a preventive measure against the adverse effects expected by the El Niño weather phenomenon. The opposition put the state of emergency in conjunction with the congressional vote and organized ongoing demonstrations, including from the organized indigenous people, especially Conaie, who in August organized an eleven-day protest march to Quito. But natural disasters were at the same time a reality and linked to the El Niño phenomenon. In September, for example, 250 forest fires raged in eight of the country’s 24 provinces. Among the worst affected was the province of Pichincha, where the capital Quito is located, which was swept into smoke with mass evacuations and power outages as a result.
- Also see AbbreviationFinder.org for Ecuador country abbreviations, including geography, history, economy and politics.
President Correa also did not escape charges of corruption, even though they were directed at people in his immediate vicinity rather than himself. His cousin Pedro Delgado was the head of a state fund that manages money from bankrupt banks, but was forced to resign in March after a court ruled that he embezzled $ 800,000 of the fund’s funds.
Elephant tortoise – a snack for a voyage
Volcanic eruptions more than three million years ago brought up an archipelago off the Pacific coast off the coast of Ecuador (970 km from the mainland) which the Spaniards began to call Islas Galápagos, or Elephant Turtle Islands, according to the island’s most notable inhabitants. The ships sailing past and whaling loaded the holds full of these giants of more than two hundred kilograms, nearly two meters long: when the food store survived for a year and a half without water and food, it could rely on long sailings. The multi-thousand-headed turtle population declined at a tremendous rate.
Winged specialties
In addition to finches, the birds of the Galápagos Islands include albatrosses, captive birds, pelicans, seagulls and their own species of penguin, as well as an airless group of cormorants whose members swim and dive brilliantly. They have not had to maintain their airworthiness because there are no natural enemies on the islands. Blue and red-footed boobies are also colorful specialties of the bird world.
Turtles and iguanas…
In addition to the unique elephant turtles, Galápagos has many other turtle breeds. Scientists are able to tell as soon as a turtle’s shield sees which island the animal comes from – they are like accurate maps for those familiar with the nature of the islands. Of the reptiles, two species of iguanas (also called iguanas) are worth mentioning: terrestrial and marine iguanas. The largest ground geese grow to 1.2 meters in length and eat cacti. Marine iguanas thrive in the water unlike their relatives. With their sharp claws, they cling to rocks at depths of up to nine meters and eat algae and other marine vegetation. They can also drink seawater. Salt is eliminated from the body through the nostrils by coughing.
… sea lions, whales, porpoises…
The black, volcanic sand of the island also attracts other people living in the sea. Sea lions and seals rise to the shore to breed. The cool ocean currents of the Pacific, on the other hand, thrive on a variety of whales, porpoises, and sharks, including the hammerhead shark. Crabs and countless other crustaceans swarm along the sandbox.
Nature tourist pilgrimage
The animals of the islands have no natural enemies, but for 400 years man has threatened the unique animal population of the islands in many different ways: by hunting, bringing his own animals from the mainland, polluting and littering. Today, almost the entire area of the islands is a national park, and it is clear to travelers coming to the island the routes and ways in which the area can be navigated. Usually shuttle by small boat from one island to another and move along marked routes under the guidance of local naturalists.