Untitled Essay Research Paper Briefly democracy is

Untitled Essay, Research Paper

Briefly, democracy is a matter of degree and quality. Confusion often arises

in discussion about democracy. This stems from the different premises people

have in mind when they use the term. In my opinion, most people fail to specify

their underlying premises, and we often incorporate into our sense of democracy

disparate factors that may or may not relate to it. To avoid such confusion,

we must identify the key ideas central to democracy and clarify precisely

how the term will be used. The best way to study democracy is to learn the

other countries, so in this time I choose one of Latin American countries,

Ecuador for well-understanding of the process of democracy.

Ecuador is graphically one of the world’s most varied countries despite its

small size, which at 283520 sq. km is about the size of either New Zealand

or Nevada State. Ecuador staddles the equator on the Pacific coast of South

America and is bordered by only two countries, Colombia to the north and

Peru to the south and east.

The estimated population of Ecuador in 1991 was 10,800,00. This is approximately

10 times the number of Indian estimated to have been living in the area at

the time of the Spanish conquest. The population density of about 38 people

per sq. km is the highest of any South American nation.

Like other Latin American countries, the major religion is Roman Catholicism.

Some of the older cities have splendid 16th and 17th-century Catholic churches.

Although churches of other faiths can found, they form only a very small

minority. The Indians, while outwardly Roman Catholic, tend to blend Catholicism

with their traditional beliefs. In Ecuador, Spanish is the main language.

Most Indians are bilingual, with Quechua being their preferred language and

Spanish their second tongue.

Ecuador, that is the smallest of the Andean countries, is a republic with

a democratic government headed by a president. The first constitution was

written in 1830, but has had several changes since then, the most recent

in 1978. Democratically elected governments have regularly been toppled by

coups, often led by the military. Since 1979, however, all governments have

been freely elected. All literate citizens over 18 have the vote and the

president must receive over 50% of the vote to be elected. With at least

13 different political parties, 50% of the vote is rarely achieved, in which

case there is a second round between the top two contenders. A president

governs for a maximum of five years and cannot be reelected.

The recent elections were in 1988, with 10 candidates running for president.

In the first round, held in January, Rodrigo Borja and Abdala Bucaram achieved

24.1% and 17.6% of the votes. In the August runoff, Borja of the Izquierda

Democratica (Democratic Left) received a 52% majority and was elected.

The president is also the head of the armed forces and appoints his own cabinet

ministers. There are 12 ministries forming the executive branch of the

government. The legislative branch of government consists of a single Chamber

of Representatives (congress) which has 69 members. The congress appoints

the justices of the Supreme Court. There are 21 provinces, each with a governor

appointed by the president and democratically elected prefects. The provinces

are sub-divided into smaller political units called cantones; each canton

has a democratically elected alcalde (mayor).

Most histories of Ecuador begin with the expansion of the Incas from Peru

in the 1400s, although archaeological evidence indicates the presence of

people in Ecuador for many thousands of years before then. The history of

pre-Inca Ecuador is lost in a tangle of time and legend. Generally speaking,

the main populations lived either on the coast or in the highland.

At the time of the Inca expansion the Duchicela descendants still dominated

the north, and the south was in the hands of the Canari people. The Canari

defended themselves against the Inca invaders, and it was some years before

the Inca, TupacYupanqui, was able to subdue them and turn his attention to

the north. During he fathered a son, Huayana Capac, by a Canari princess.

The subjugation of the north took many years and Huayana Capac grew up in

Ecuador. He succeeded his father to the Inca throne and spent years traveling

all over his empire, from Bolivia to Ecuador, constantly putting down uprisings

from all sides.

The year 1526 is a major one in Ecuadorian history. The Inca Huayna Capac

died and left his empire, not to one son as was traditional, but to two,

thus dividing the Inca Empire for the first time. In the same year, on 21

September, the first Spaniards landed near Esmeraldas in northern Ecuador.

They were led south by the pilot, Bartolome Ruiz de Andrade, on an exploratory

mission for Francisco Pizarro, who him

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