Long-form name: Republic of Ecuador

Type: republic

Capital: Quito

Administrative divisions: 20 provinces (provincias, singular--provincia); Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Pastaza, Pichincha, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe

Independence: 24 May 1822 (from Spain; Battle of Pichincha)

Constitution: 10 August 1979

Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 10 August (1809, independence of Quito)

Branches: executive; unicameral legislature (Chamber of Representatives); independent judiciary

Leader: @m5Chief of State and Head of Government--President Rodrigo BORJA Cevallos (since 10 August 1988); Vice President Luis PARODI Valverde (since 10 August 1988)

Suffrage: universal over age 18; compulsory for literate persons

Elections: parliamentary and presidential elections held January 1988; second-stage presidential election held May 1988; government and legislature took office in August 1988; an amendment to the Constitution in August 1983 changed the term of office for the president from five to four years; the 59 deputies elected by the provinces serve for two years; the 12 at-large deputies serve for four years; next presidential election scheduled for 1992

Political parties and leaders: Social Christian Party (PSC, the party of former President Leon Febres-Cordero), center-right; Popular Democracy (DP), Rene Vargas, center-left; Christian Democratic, Julio Cesar Trujillo; Democratic Left (ID), party of President Rodrigo Borja, center-left; Radical Alfarist Front (FRA), Cecilia Calderon de Castro, populist; Democratic Party (PD), Francisco Huerta, center-left; Roldosist Party of Ecuador (PRE), Abdala Bucaram, populist; Radical Liberal Party, Blasco Penaherrera, center-right; Conservative Party, Jose Teran, center-right; Concentration of Popular Forces (CFP), Averroes Bucaram, populist; People, Change, and Democracy (PCD), Aquiles Rigail Santistevan, center-left; Democratic Popular Movement (MPD), Jaime Hurtado, Communist; Revolutionary Nationalist Party (PNR), Carlos Julio Arosemena, center-right; Broad Leftist Front (FADI), Rene Mauge, pro-Moscow Communist; Ecuadorian Socialist Party (PSE), Victor Granda, Communist

Voting strength: results of May 1988 presidential runoff election--Rodrigo Borja of the Democratic Left, 54%; Abdala Bucaram of the Roldosist Party of Ecuador, 46%

Communists: Communist Party of Ecuador (PCE, pro-Moscow, Rene Mauge--secretary general), 6,000 members; Communist Party of Ecuador/Marxist Leninist (PCMLE, Maoist), 6,000 members; Revolutionary Socialist Party of Ecuador (PSRE, pro-Cuba), 100 members plus an estimated 5,000 sympathizers

Member of: Andean Pact, ECOSOC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IRC, ITU, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPEC, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPEB, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jaime MONCAYO; Chancery at 2535 15th Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 234-7200; there are Ecuadorian Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco, and a Consulate in San Diego; US--Ambassador Richard N. HOLWILL; Embassy at Avenida Patria 120, on the corner of Avenida 12 de Octubre, Quito (mailing address is P. O. Box 538, Quito, or APO Miami 34039); telephone Õ593å (2) 562-890; there is a US Consulate General in Guayaquil

Flag: three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; similar to the flag of Colombia which is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms

NOTE: The information regarding Ecuador on this page is re-published from the 1989 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Ecuador Government 1989 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Ecuador Government 1989 should be addressed to the CIA.