About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 (January 16, 2008)

handle is hein.crs/crsmthabcfj0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS21687 Updated January 16, 2008 CRS Report for Congress Ecuador: Political and Economic Situation and U.S. Relations Clare Ribando Seelke Analyst in Latin American Affairs Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Summary Ecuador, a small, oil-producing country in the Andean region of South America, has experienced ten years of political and economic instability. On January 15, 2007, Rafael Correa, a left-leaning, U.S.-trained economist, was inaugurated to a four-year presidential term, becoming the country's eighth president in ten years. President Correa has fulfilled his campaign pledge to call a constituent assembly to reform the country's constitution. On April 15, 2007, 82% of Ecuadorians voted in favor of convoking a constituent assembly with the power to dismiss currently elected officials, despite protests from the opposition-led congress. The assembly, which is controlled by representatives from Correa' s party, convened in late November 2007 and now has eight months to draft a new constitution. Ecuador has traditionally had close ties with the United States, although recent trade disputes have strained bilateral relations. U.S. officials have expressed concerns about Correa' s ties with Hugo Chdivez of Venezuela and his stated policies regarding trade, energy, and counternarcotics matters. Despite those concerns, Congress enacted legislation in June 2007 to extend U.S. trade preferences for Ecuador through February 2008. Early in its second session, the 1 10th Congress may consider whether to extend those trade benefits. See CRS Report RS22548, ATPA Renewal: Background and Issues. This report will be updated. Background Slightly smaller than Nevada, Ecuador has a population of 13.8 million people. Since independence from Spain in 1830, Ecuador has lost 61% of its total land area as a result of border conflicts with Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. Despite its small size, Ecuador's location on the Pacific Coast between two major drug- producing countries (Colombia and Peru) increases its strategic importance to the United States. In 2006, Ecuador was the 9th largest oil supplier to the United States, and the 3r largest supplier (behind Mexico and Venezuela) in Latin America. Ecuador is both geographically and ethnically diverse, and has a relatively long (albeit unstable) experience with democratic rule. The population is ethnically mixed: 65% mestizo (mixed Indian and Spanish Congressional Research Service ' The Library of Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most