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126-451: The SUCRE was first used as a virtual currency in 2010 in two transactions between Ecuador and Venezuela . International trade between member states in SUCRE reached its maximum in 2012 with 2,646 transactions worth almost 1,066 million US dollars. In each following year trade in SUCRE shrank. In 2015 there were 752 transactions worth around 345 million dollars. The treaty explicitly limited

252-473: A 2008 referendum , a new constitution implemented leftist reforms. In December 2008, Correa declared Ecuador's national debt illegitimate, based on the argument that it was odious debt contracted by prior corrupt and despotic regimes. He announced that the country would default on over $ 3 billion worth of bonds, and he succeeded in reducing the price of outstanding bonds by more than 60% by fighting creditors in international courts . He brought Ecuador into

378-477: A general election which saw President Daniel Ortega re-elected to a fourth term in office. In a vote by the OAS Permanent Council, 25 member states voted in favour of a resolution condemning the election. Seven countries, including Mexico, Honduras and Bolivia, abstained. The motion stated that the election was "not free, fair or transparent and lack[s] democratic legitimacy" and also instructed

504-488: A sovereign state in 1830. The legacy of both empires is reflected in Ecuador's ethnically diverse population, with most of its 17.8 million people being mestizos , followed by large minorities of Europeans , Native American , African , and Asian descendants. Spanish is the official language spoken by a majority of the population, although 13 native languages are also recognized, including Quechua and Shuar . Ecuador

630-524: A European focus; resulting in the Canadian government seeing little value in pursuing OAS membership. From the 1960s to the 1980s, the Canadian government expressed some interest in joining the OAS, having successfully applied for permanent observer status in 1972 to evaluate potential membership. In the 1980s, the Canadian government incrementally increased its participation in OAS activities. Canada signed

756-507: A Plan to return to the constitutional system through universal elections. This plan enabled the new democratically elected president to assume the duties of the executive office. Elections were held on 29 April 1979, under a new constitution. Jaime Roldós Aguilera was elected president, garnering over one million votes, the most in Ecuadorian history. He took office on 10 August as the first constitutionally elected president, after nearly

882-677: A Style Committee shall be set up with representatives of the four official languages to review the General Assembly resolutions and declarations. Article 53 states that proposals shall be presented in the four official languages. The Rules of Procedure and Statutes of other bodies, such as the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI), the Permanent Executive Committee of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CEPCIDI),

1008-678: A brief war erupted between Colombia and Peru, over Peru's claims to the Caquetá region, which ended with Peru reluctantly signing the Salomon-Lozano Treaty on 24 March 1922. Ecuador protested this secret treaty, since Colombia gave away Ecuadorian claimed land to Peru that Ecuador had given to Colombia in 1916. On 21 July 1924, the Ponce-Castro Oyanguren Protocol was signed between Ecuador and Peru where both agreed to hold direct negotiations and to resolve

1134-408: A civil war. The army stationed north headed by Atahualpa marched south to Cuzco and massacred the royal family associated with his brother. In 1532, a small band of Spaniards headed by Francisco Pizarro reached Cajamarca and lured Atahualpa into a trap ( battle of Cajamarca ). Pizarro promised to release Atahualpa if he made good his promise of filling a room full of gold. But, after a mock trial,

1260-471: A common military, a mutual defense pact, and a supranational parliamentary assembly. The meeting was attended by representatives of Gran Colombia , comprising the present-day countries of Colombia , Ecuador , Panama , and Venezuela , Argentina , Peru , Bolivia , the United Provinces of Central America , and Mexico but the grandly titled "Treaty of Union, League, and Perpetual Confederation"

1386-418: A constitutional monarchy. However, U.S. opposition to Canadian membership prevented their admittance, with the U.S. fearing the admittance of Canada to the OAS would bring with it British influence that could impede its freedom of action within the organization. The U.S. reversed its position on Canadian membership in 1947. However, by that time, Canadian foreign policy had adopted an Atlanticist position with

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1512-642: A coup. On 21 December, the Technical Mission of Electoral Experts sent by the European Union published a 67-page report made similar observations and conclusions to that of the OAS. They noted that "there were minutes with an unusually high number of null votes, blank votes and a hundred percent participation of voters in a series of polling stations" and highlighted the general failure of the TSE to declare these irregularities. Studies commissioned by

1638-538: A decade of civilian and military dictatorships. In 1980, he founded the Partido Pueblo, Cambio y Democracia (People, Change, and Democracy Party) after withdrawing from the Concentración de Fuerzas Populares (Popular Forces Concentration). He governed until 24 May 1981, when he died, along with his wife and the minister of defense Marco Subia Martinez , when his Air Force plane crashed in heavy rain near

1764-769: A full member, Canada was instrumental in the creation of the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy, which provides support for the strengthening and consolidation of democratic processes and institutions in OAS member states. During the 6th Conference of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Costa Rica , from 16 to 20 August 1960, a conviction against the State of the Dominican Republic

1890-493: A rapid succession of rulers. The first president of Ecuador was the Venezuelan-born Juan José Flores , who was ultimately deposed. Leaders who followed him included Vicente Rocafuerte ; José Joaquín de Olmedo ; José María Urbina ; Diego Noboa ; Pedro José de Arteta ; Manuel de Ascásubi ; and Flores's own son, Antonio Flores Jijón , among others. The conservative Gabriel García Moreno unified

2016-545: A series of peaceful treaties, and Peru after a short war in which the Protocol of Rio de Janeiro was signed in 1942. During the struggle for independence , before Peru or Ecuador became independent, areas of the former Vice Royalty of New Granada declared themselves independent from Spain. A few months later, a part of the Peruvian liberation army of San Martín decided to occupy the independent cities of Tumbez and Jaén, with

2142-658: A serious possibility while the present government remained in power. Since 1960, the Cuban administration had repeatedly characterized the OAS as the "Ministry of Colonies" of the United States of America. Fidel Castro and his brother Raúl attacked the OAS as a "Yankee bordello" and "instrument of imperialist domination" and vowed that Cuba would never join, although OAS rescinded the nation's expulsion in 2009 and invited it to apply for readmission. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez promised to veto any final declaration of

2268-503: A special envoy as representative to the OAS, lawyer Gustavo Tarre Briceño , who the OAS voted to recognize as Venezuela's delegate in April. In October 2022, a bloc of leftist OAS member states led a motion to remove Tarre's representation in the organization. Out of 35 members, 19 nations voted in favor of the motion and 4 against. The motion fell short of the 24 votes required for a two-thirds majority. On 7 November 2021, Nicaragua held

2394-679: Is a representative democratic presidential republic and a developing country whose economy is highly dependent on exports of commodities, primarily petroleum and agricultural products. The country is a founding member of the United Nations , Organization of American States , Mercosur , PROSUR , and the Non-Aligned Movement . According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research , between 2006 and 2016, poverty decreased from 36.7% to 22.5% and annual per capita GDP growth

2520-667: Is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas . Headquartered in Washington, D.C. , United States, the OAS is a "multilateral regional body focused on human rights, electoral oversight, social and economic development, and security in the Western Hemisphere", according to the Council on Foreign Relations . As of November 2023, 32 states in

2646-592: Is combined with agriculture and arboriculture . Many civilizations arose in Ecuador, such as the Valdivia Culture and Machalilla Culture on the coast, the Quitus (near present-day Quito), and the Cañari (near present-day Cuenca ). In the highland Andes mountains, where life was more sedentary, groups of tribes cooperated and formed villages; thus the first nations based on agricultural resources and

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2772-586: The 20 km walk . Ecuador adopted the United States dollar on 13 April 2000 as its national currency and on 11 September, the country eliminated the Ecuadorian sucre , in order to stabilize the country's economy . The US Dollar has been the only official currency of Ecuador since then. The emergence of the Amerindian population as an active constituency has added to the democratic volatility of

2898-449: The 2019 Bolivian general election , which opposition supporters argued was fraudulent. The OAS report contended that the results were marred by "clear manipulation" and significant irregularities leading to the 2019 Bolivian political crisis . Bolivian president Evo Morales resigned soon after, having lost the confidence of the country's military in what he described as a coup. Some media outlets debated whether it should be referred to as

3024-623: The American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man , the world's first general human rights instrument. The transition from the Pan American Union to OAS would have been smooth if it had not been for the assassination of Colombian leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán . The Director General of the Pan American Union, Alberto Lleras Camargo , became the Organization's first Secretary General . The OAS conducted an audit of

3150-571: The Axis Powers in World War II favoring Peru with the territory they occupied at the time the war came to an end. The 1944 Glorious May Revolution followed a military-civilian rebellion and a subsequent civic strike which successfully removed Carlos Arroyo del Río as a dictator from Ecuador's government. However, a post-Second World War recession and popular unrest led to a return to populist politics and domestic military interventions in

3276-659: The Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas in June 2009. Correa's administration reduced the high levels of poverty and unemployment in Ecuador. Correa's three consecutive terms (from 2007 to 2017) were followed by his former Vice President Lenín Moreno 's four years as president (2017–21). After being elected in 2017, President Moreno's government adopted economically liberal policies, such as reduction of public spending , trade liberalization , and flexibility of

3402-683: The Cayapas of Coastal Ecuador were the only groups to resist both Inca and Spanish domination, maintaining their languages and cultures well into the 21st century. Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the Inca Empire was involved in a civil war . The untimely death of both the heir Ninan Cuyochi and the Emperor Huayna Capac, from a European disease that spread into Ecuador, created a power vacuum between two factions and led to

3528-674: The Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM), the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Inter-American Juridical Committee (CJI), technical bodies of the OAS, also mention the four official languages in which their meetings are to be conducted. Policy is therefore dictated through these instruments that require use of

3654-744: The Spanish Empire and the Portuguese Empire . Moreover, to add legitimacy to his claims, on 16 February 1840, Flores signed a treaty with Spain, whereby Flores convinced Spain to officially recognize Ecuadorian independence and its sole rights to colonial titles over Spain's former colonial territory known anciently to Spain as the Kingdom and Presidency of Quito. Ecuador during its long and turbulent history has lost most of its contested territories to each of its more powerful neighbors, such as Colombia in 1832 and 1916, Brazil in 1904 through

3780-772: The Treaty of Guayaquil (1829) which Peru reluctantly signed, after the overwhelmingly outnumbered Gran Colombian force led by Antonio José de Sucre defeated President and General La Mar's Peruvian invasion force in the Battle of Tarqui . In addition, Ecuador's eastern border with the Portuguese colony of Brazil in the Amazon Basin was modified before the Wars of Independence by the First Treaty of San Ildefonso (1777) between

3906-477: The Viceroyalty of Peru and later the Viceroyalty of New Granada . The 1797 Riobamba earthquake , which caused up to 40,000 casualties, was studied by Alexander von Humboldt , when he visited the area in 1801–1802. After nearly 300 years of Spanish rule, Quito still remained small with a population of 10,000 people. On 10 August 1809, the city's criollos called for independence from Spain (first among

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4032-658: The 1960s, while foreign companies developed oil resources in the Ecuadorian Amazon. In 1972, construction of the Andean pipeline was completed. The pipeline brought oil from the east side of the Andes to the coast, making Ecuador South America's second largest oil exporter. In 1978, the city of Quito and the Galápagos Islands were inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites , making the first two properties in

4158-484: The 2009 Summit of the Americas due to Cuba's exclusion. On 17 April 2009, after a "trading of warm words" between the administrations of U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban leader Raúl Castro , OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza said he would ask the 2009 General Assembly to annul the 1962 resolution excluding Cuba. On 3 June 2009, foreign ministers assembled in San Pedro Sula , Honduras , for

4284-506: The American left-leaning think tank CEPR argued that the OAS report's statistical analysis was inaccurate and unreliable. The author of the OAS's vote return analysis stated that the CEPR's explanation of the results was implausible. The organization has been criticized by Mexico and the CEPR for their perception of interference into the internal affairs of Bolivia. The OAS observed

4410-405: The Americas are OAS members. Luis Almagro of Uruguay was inaugurated as OAS secretary general in 2015. The notion of an international union in the American continent was first put forward during the liberation of America by José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar who, at the 1826 Congress of Panama , still being part of Colombia , proposed creating a league of American republics, with

4536-455: The Assembly's gesture, in light of the Organization's historical record "Cuba will not return to the OAS." Following the expulsion of its President Manuel Zelaya , Honduras' membership of the Organization was suspended unanimously at midnight on 5 July 2009. The de facto government had already announced it was leaving the OAS hours earlier; this was not, however, taken into account by

4662-688: The Caqueta river and the Marañon-Amazon river. Peru ignored these protests and created the Department of Loreto in 1853 with its capital in Iquitos. Peru briefly occupied Guayaquil again in 1860, since Peru thought that Ecuador was selling some of the disputed land for development to British bond holders, but returned Guayaquil after a few months. The border dispute was then submitted to Spain for arbitration from 1880 to 1910, but to no avail. In

4788-638: The Caquetá river. Later, Ecuador contended that the Republic of Colombia, while reorganizing its government, unlawfully made its eastern border provisional and that Colombia extended its claims south to the Napo River because it said that the Government of Popayán extended its control all the way to the Napo River. When Ecuador seceded from the Gran Colombia, Peru contested Ecuador's claims with

4914-545: The Cedula of 1802 an ecclesiastical instrument, which had nothing to do with political borders. Peru began its de facto occupation of disputed Amazonian territories, after it signed a secret 1851 peace treaty in favor of Brazil. This treaty disregarded Spanish rights that were confirmed during colonial times by a Spanish-Portuguese treaty over the Amazon regarding territories held by illegal Portuguese settlers. Peru began occupying

5040-557: The Charter of the Organization of American States in 1989. Canada's membership in the OAS was formalized when the decision was ratified in 1990. In 2004 and 2005, Canada was the second largest contributor to the OAS, with an annual assessed contribution representing 12.36 percent of the OAS Regular Budget (US$ 9.2 million) and an additional C$ 9 million in voluntary contributions to specific projects. Shortly after joining as

5166-851: The Colombian government's representatives an agreement was reached and the Muñoz Vernaza-Suarez Treaty was signed 15 July 1916, in which Colombian rights to the Putumayo river were recognized as well as Ecuador's rights to the Napo river and the new border was a line that ran midpoint between those two rivers. In this way, Ecuador gave up the claims it had to the Amazonian territories between the Caquetá River and Napo River to Colombia, thus cutting itself off from Brazil. Later,

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5292-574: The Cuban nation was still technically a member state, but that the current government was denied the right of representation and attendance at meetings and of participation in activities. The OAS's position was that although Cuba's participation was suspended, its obligations under the Charter, the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man , etc. still hold: for instance, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights continues to publish reports on Cuba's human rights situation and to hear individual cases involving Cuban nationals. However, this stance

5418-648: The District of the South as far back as April 1830. Moreover, the Cauca region, throughout its long history, had very strong economic and cultural ties with the people of Ecuador. Also, the Cauca region, which included such cities as Pasto , Popayán , and Buenaventura , had always been dependent on the Presidencia or Audiencia of Quito. Fruitless negotiations continued between the governments of Bogotá and Quito, where

5544-578: The Ecuadorian border troops. Finally, on 23 July 1941, the Peruvians launched a major invasion, crossing the Zarumilla river in force and advancing into the Ecuadorian province of El Oro . During the course of the Ecuadorian–Peruvian War , Peru gained control over part of the disputed territory and some parts of the province of El Oro, and some parts of the province of Loja , demanding that

5670-426: The Ecuadorian government give up its territorial claims. The Peruvian Navy blocked the port of Guayaquil , almost cutting all supplies to the Ecuadorian troops. After a few weeks of war and under pressure by the United States and several Latin American nations, all fighting came to a stop. Ecuador and Peru came to an accord formalized in the Rio Protocol , signed on 29 January 1942, in favor of hemispheric unity against

5796-432: The Ecuadorian military shot down Peruvian aircraft and helicopters and Peruvian infantry marched into southern Ecuador. Each country blamed the other for the onset of hostilities, known as the Cenepa War . Sixto Durán Ballén , the Ecuadorian president, famously declared that he would not give up a single centimeter of Ecuador. Popular sentiment in Ecuador became strongly nationalistic against Peru: graffiti could be seen on

5922-441: The General Assembly on a rotating basis. The states are represented at its sessions by their chosen delegates: generally, their ministers of foreign affairs, or their appointed deputies. Each state has one vote, and most matters are settled by a majority vote, except for those for which the Charter or the General Assembly's own rules of procedure specifically require a two-thirds majority. The General Assembly's powers include setting

6048-432: The Gran Colombian federation on 13 May 1830. After Ecuador's separation, the Department of Cauca voluntarily decided to unite itself with Ecuador due to instability in the central government of Bogota. The Venezuelan born President of Ecuador, the general Juan José Flores , with the approval of the Ecuadorian congress annexed the Department of Cauca on 20 December 1830, since the government of Cauca had called for union with

6174-439: The Grenadines , and Antigua and Barbuda , the new currency posed a dilemma as they are already a member of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union and use the East Caribbean dollar , although none of them had agreed to the treaty establishing the SUCRE and the regional payments clearinghouse. The SUCRE is named after Antonio José de Sucre , a leading figure in Latin America 's independence struggle. Agreement in general terms for

6300-526: The OAS included Canada and the newly independent nations of the Caribbean . Members with later admission dates (sorted chronologically): Although admission into OAS's predecessor, the Pan American Union, was initially restricted to republics, several overtures were still made for Canada to join the organization in 1928, 1933, 1936, and 1938. During the 1936 Pan American Union Conference, the organization extended its membership from only "American republics" to "American states" to accommodate Canada's admission as

6426-425: The OAS made major efforts to reinvent itself to fit the new context. Its stated priorities now include the following: The Organization of American States is composed of a General Secretariat, the Permanent Council , the Inter-American Council for Integral Development, and a number of committees. The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States consists of six secretariats . The various committees of

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6552-514: The OAS on 19 November that year. As of 31 January 2014, there are 69 permanent observer countries including the four countries with territory or territories in the Americas—Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom; as well as the European Union and India . In March 2022, the OAS voted to suspend Russia as a permanent observer due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine . The Organization's official languages are Spanish , Portuguese , French , and English . The Charter,

6678-435: The OAS on 29 July 1960. The current government of Cuba was excluded from participation in the Organization under a decision adopted by the Eighth Meeting of Consultation in Punta del Este , Uruguay , on 31 January 1962. The vote was passed by 14 in favor, with one against (Cuba) and six abstentions (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, and Mexico). The operative part of the resolution reads as follows: This meant that

6804-420: The OAS's 39th General Assembly , passed a vote to lift Cuba's suspension from the OAS. The United States had been pressuring the OAS for weeks to condition Cuba's readmission to the group on democratic principles and commitment to human rights. Ecuador's Foreign Minister Fander Falconí said there will be no such conditions. "This is a new proposal, it has no conditions—of any kind," Falconí said. "That suspension

6930-411: The OAS's general course and policies by means of resolutions and declarations; approving its budget and determining the contributions payable by the member states; approving the reports and previous year's actions of the OAS's specialized agencies; and electing members to serve on those agencies. Upon its foundation in 1948, the OAS had 21 members, most of them in Latin America : The later expansion of

7056-403: The OAS, which did not recognize that government as legitimate. An extraordinary meeting had been conducted by the OAS in Washington, D.C., with Zelaya in attendance. The suspension of Honduras was approved unanimously with 33 votes (Honduras did not vote). This was the first suspension carried out by the OAS since that of Cuba in 1962. After Zelaya's return to Honduras in 2011, the country

7182-405: The OAS. During the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis , the President of the National Assembly of Venezuela Juan Guaidó , who was recognized by the National Assembly as the acting president, sent a letter to the OAS Secretary General annulling the previous denunciation of the OAS Charter, and expressing his desire for Venezuela to remain a member of the OAS. The National Assembly designated

7308-429: The Organization of American States include: The various commissions of the Organization of American States include: The OAS has two funds, one for the General Secretariat, and one for specific programs and initiatives. The General Assembly asks for contributions from each member country based on its capacity to pay. In 2018 the General Secretariat's budget was $ 85 million of which the US contributed $ 50 million. In 2017

7434-412: The Pacific Ocean coastline. Even though their languages were unrelated, these groups developed similar groups of cultures, each based in different environments. The people of the coast combined agriculture with fishing, hunting, and gathering; the people of the highland Andes developed a sedentary agricultural way of life; and peoples of the Amazon basin relied on hunting and gathering; in some cases, this

7560-572: The Pacific Ocean known as Tumbes . In Ecuador's southern Andes Mountain region where the Marañon cuts across, Ecuador had claims to an area it called Jaén de Bracamoros . These areas were included as part of the territory of Gran Colombia by Bolivar on 17 December 1819, during the Congress of Angostura when the Republic of Gran Colombia was created. Tumbes declared itself independent from Spain on 17 January 1821, and Jaén de Bracamoros on 17 June 1821, without any outside help from revolutionary armies. However, that same year, Peruvian forces participating in

7686-427: The Permanent Council to undertake an assessment of the situation and "take appropriate action". In response to this statement, Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Denis Moncada  [ es ] announced on 19 November that Nicaragua would leave the OAS. Moncada called the bloc "an instrument of interference and intervention" and accused it of "facilitating the hegemony of the United States with its interventionism over

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7812-427: The Peruvian border. Many people believe that he was assassinated by the CIA, given the multiple death threats against him because of his reformist agenda, the deaths in automobile crashes of two key witnesses before they could testify during the investigation, and the sometimes contradictory accounts of the incident. Roldos was immediately succeeded by Vice President Osvaldo Hurtado. In 1984, León Febres Cordero from

7938-403: The Putomayo and Marañon Rivers. In July 1941, troops were mobilized in both countries. Peru had an army of 11,681 troops who faced a poorly supplied and inadequately armed Ecuadorian force of 2,300, of which only 1,300 were deployed in the southern provinces. Hostilities erupted on 5 July 1941, when Peruvian forces crossed the Zarumilla river at several locations, testing the strength and resolve of

8064-473: The Social Christian Party was elected president. Rodrigo Borja Cevallos of the Democratic Left (Izquierda Democrática, or ID) party won the presidency in 1988, winning the runoff election against Abdalá Bucaram (brother in law of Jaime Roldos and founder of the Ecuadorian Roldosist Party). His government was committed to improving human rights protection and carried out some reforms, notably an opening of Ecuador to foreign trade. The Borja government negotiated

8190-445: The Spaniards executed Atahualpa by strangulation. New infectious diseases such as smallpox , endemic to the Europeans, caused high fatalities among the Amerindian population during the first decades of Spanish rule, as they had no immunity . At the same time, the natives were forced into the encomienda labor system for the Spanish. In 1563, Quito became the seat of a real audiencia (administrative district) of Spain and part of

8316-418: The Spanish Royalist forces at the Battle of Pichincha , near Quito . Following the battle, Ecuador joined Simón Bolívar 's Republic of Gran Colombia , also including modern-day Colombia , Venezuela , and Panama . In 1830, Ecuador separated from Gran Colombia and became an independent republic. Two years later, it annexed the Galapagos Islands . The 19th century was marked by instability for Ecuador with

8442-450: The Trujillo revolution occupied both Jaén and Tumbes. Peruvian generals, without any legal titles backing them up and with Ecuador still federated with the Gran Colombia, had the desire to annex Ecuador to the Republic of Peru at the expense of the Gran Colombia, feeling that Ecuador was once part of the Inca Empire. On 28 July 1821, Peruvian independence was proclaimed in Lima by San Martín, and Tumbes and Jaén, which were included as part of

8568-443: The US contributed $ 17 million to the fund for specific programs which was almost a third of the total contributions for that year. The General Assembly is the supreme decision-making body of OAS. It convenes once every year in a regular session. In special circumstances, and with the approval of two-thirds of the member states, the Permanent Council can convene special sessions. The Organization's member states take turns hosting

8694-437: The United States of America) ruled that the border of the undelineated zone was to be set at the line of the Cordillera del Cóndor . While Ecuador had to give up its decades-old territorial claims to the eastern slopes of the Cordillera, as well as to the entire western area of Cenepa headwaters, Peru was compelled to give to Ecuador, in perpetual lease but without sovereignty, 1 km (0.39 sq mi) of its territory, in

8820-399: The Zarumilla River, war broke out with Peru. Peru claimed that Ecuador's military presence in Peruvian-claimed territory was an invasion; Ecuador, for its part, claimed that Peru had recently invaded Ecuador around the Zarumilla River and that Peru since Ecuador's independence from Spain has systematically occupied Tumbez, Jaén, and most of the disputed territories in the Amazonian Basin between

8946-422: The area where the Ecuadorian base of Tiwinza – focal point of the war – had been located within Peruvian soil and which the Ecuadorian Army held during the conflict. The final border demarcation came into effect on 13 May 1999, and the multi-national MOMEP (Military Observer Mission for Ecuador and Peru) troop deployment withdrew on 17 June 1999. In 1972, a "revolutionary and nationalist" military junta overthrew

9072-452: The backing assets of the basket of currencies to financial securities denominated in the respective currencies of the member states. Prohibition of alternative forms of currency backing (such as commodity backing) presented an inequity for Ecuador that, alone in the group, does not have its own national currency (it uses the US dollar ). In the case of ALBA members Dominica , Saint Vincent and

9198-463: The basic instrument governing OAS, makes no reference to the use of official languages. These references are to be found in the Rules of Procedure governing the various OAS bodies. Article 51 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly, the supreme body of the OAS, which meets once a year, states that English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish are the four official languages. Article 28 stipulates that

9324-455: The completion of its withdrawal process from the OAS initiated in November 2021. The OAS stated that, due to the terms of treaty, the withdrawal would not take effect until 2023. The move was completed on 19 November that year. Significant milestones in the history of the OAS since the signing of the Charter have included the following: In the words of Article 1 of the Charter, the goal of

9450-702: The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean." According to Article 143 of the OAS Charter, the process to withdraw from the organization takes two years after its announcement. In April 2022, Nicaragua announced that it had completed its withdrawal from the OAS. It said the OAS offices in Managua had been closed. The OAS stated that, due to the terms of treaty, the withdrawal would not take effect until 2023. Nicaragua eventually completed its withdrawal from

9576-410: The country in recent years. The population has been motivated by government failures to deliver on promises of land reform, lower unemployment and provision of social services, and the historical exploitation by the land-holding elite. Their movement, along with the continuing destabilizing efforts by both the elite and leftist movements, has led to a deterioration of the executive office. The populace and

9702-508: The country in the 1860s with the support of the Roman Catholic Church. In the late 19th century, world demand for cocoa tied the economy to commodity exports and led to migrations from the highlands to the agricultural frontier on the coast. Ecuador abolished slavery in 1851. The descendants of enslaved Ecuadorians are among today's Afro-Ecuadorian population. The Liberal Revolution of 1895 under Eloy Alfaro reduced

9828-655: The currency was declared in 2009. The formal treaty establishing the regional payments clearinghouse was signed by the six Latin American presidents in Cochabamba , Bolivia , on October 17, 2009. (The former currency of Ecuador , one of the SUCRE's users, was also called the sucre , but was abandoned and replaced by the US dollar after the economic crisis in 1999). This currency has code XSU in ISO 4217 standard currency list. ISO 4217 Standard definition: In 2013 Uruguay joined

9954-712: The currency. In 2018, the government of Venezuela proposed using the Petro , instead, for trade within ALBA. Ecuador Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador , is a country in northwestern South America , bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about 1,000 kilometers (621 mi) west of

10080-634: The department and republic, is located only about 40 kilometers (25 mi), 1 ⁄ 4 of a degree , south of the equator. Various peoples had settled in the area of future Ecuador before the arrival of the Incas . The archeological evidence suggests that the Paleo-Indians ' first dispersal into the Americas occurred near the end of the last glacial period , around 16,500–13,000 years ago. The first people who reached Ecuador may have journeyed by land from North and Central America or by boat down

10206-619: The disbanding of the small terrorist group, " ¡Alfaro Vive, Carajo! " ("Alfaro Lives, Dammit!"), named after Eloy Alfaro . However, continuing economic problems undermined the popularity of the ID party, and opposition parties gained control of Congress in 1999. A notable event was the Cenepa War fought between Ecuador and Peru in 1995. Ecuador won its first Olympic medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta when Jefferson Pérez won gold in

10332-528: The dispute in an equitable manner and to submit the differing points of the dispute to the United States for arbitration. Negotiations between the Ecuadorian and Peruvian representatives began in Washington on 30 September 1935. The negotiations turned into arguments during the next 7 months and finally on 29 September 1937, the Peruvian representatives decided to break off the negotiations. In 1941, amid fast-growing tensions within disputed territories around

10458-521: The domestication of animals formed. Eventually, through wars and marriage alliances of their leaders , groups of nations formed confederations. When the Incas arrived, they found that these confederations were so developed that it took the Incas two generations of rulers— Topa Inca Yupanqui and Huayna Capac —to absorb them into the Inca Empire . People belonging to the confederations that gave them

10584-488: The early part of the 20th century, Ecuador made an effort to peacefully define its eastern Amazonian borders with its neighbours through negotiation. On 6 May 1904, Ecuador signed the Tobar-Rio Branco Treaty recognizing Brazil's claims to the Amazon in recognition of Ecuador's claim to be an Amazonian country to counter Peru's earlier Treaty with Brazil back on 23 October 1851. Then after a few meetings with

10710-517: The environment and indigenous people more hostile. Moreover, when the Incas tried to subdue them, these indigenous people withdrew to the interior and resorted to guerrilla tactics. As a result, Inca expansion into the Amazon Basin and the Pacific coast of Ecuador was hampered. The indigenous people of the Amazon jungle and coastal Ecuador remained relatively autonomous until the Spanish soldiers and missionaries arrived in force. The Amazonian people and

10836-919: The forefront in 1889–1890, at the First International Conference of American States . Gathered together in Washington, D.C., 18 nations resolved to found the International Union of American Republics, served by a permanent secretariat called the Commercial Bureau of the American Republics (renamed the International Commercial Bureau at the Second International Conference in 1901–1902). These two bodies, in existence as of 14 April 1890, represent

10962-693: The government of Bogotá did not recognize the separation of Ecuador or that of Cauca from the Gran Colombia until war broke out in May 1832. In five months, New Granada defeated Ecuador due to the fact that the majority of the Ecuadorian Armed Forces were composed of rebellious angry unpaid veterans from Venezuela and Colombia that did not want to fight against their fellow countrymen. Seeing that his officers were rebelling, mutinying, and changing sides, President Flores had no option but to reluctantly make peace with New Granada. The Treaty of Pasto of 1832

11088-717: The government of Velasco Ibarra. The coup d'état was led by General Guillermo Rodríguez and executed by navy commander Jorge Queirolo G. The new president exiled José María Velasco to Argentina. He remained in power until 1976, when he was removed by another military government. That military junta was led by Admiral Alfredo Poveda , who was declared chairman of the Supreme Council. The Supreme Council included two other members: General Guillermo Durán Arcentales and General Luis Pintado. The civil society more and more insistently called for democratic elections. Colonel Richelieu Levoyer , Government Minister, proposed and implemented

11214-425: The government restored fuel subsidies and withdrew an austerity package, which ended nearly two weeks of protests. In the 11 April 2021 election , conservative former banker Guillermo Lasso took 52.4% of the vote, compared to 47.6% for left-wing economist Andrés Aráuz , who was supported by exiled former president Correa. Lasso had finished second in the 2013 and 2017 presidential elections. On 24 May 2021, Lasso

11340-576: The government waived the right to tax increases in raw material prices and foreign exchange repatriations. In October 2018, Moreno cut diplomatic relations with the Maduro administration of Venezuela, a close ally of Correa. The relations with the United States improved significantly under Moreno. In June 2019, Ecuador agreed to allow US military planes to operate from an airport on the Galapagos Islands. In February 2020, his visit to Washington

11466-506: The intention of using them as springboards to occupy the independent city of Guayaquil and then liberate the rest of the Audiencia de Quito (Ecuador). It was common knowledge among officers of the liberation army from the south that their leader San Martín wished to liberate present-day Ecuador and add it to the future republic of Peru, since it had been part of the Inca Empire before the Spaniards conquered it. However, Bolívar 's intention

11592-531: The inter-American system. All countries, including the United States and Haiti , broke off diplomatic relations with the Dominican Republic. Additionally an economic blockade that affected the exports of sugar was applied, which at that time was the pillar of the Dominican economy. It was the first application of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance , which had been adopted at

11718-484: The labour code. Ecuador also left the left-wing Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (Alba) in August 2018. The Productive Development Act introduced an austerity policy, and reduced the previous development and redistribution policies. Regarding taxes, the authorities aimed to "encourage the return of investors" by granting amnesty to fraudsters and proposing measures to reduce tax rates for large companies . In addition,

11844-416: The mainland. The country's capital is Quito and its largest city is Guayaquil . The territories of modern-day Ecuador were once home to a variety of indigenous peoples that were gradually incorporated into the Inca Empire during the 15th century. The territory was colonized by Spanish Empire during the 16th century, achieving independence in 1820 as part of Gran Colombia , from which it emerged as

11970-549: The member nations in creating the OAS was "to achieve an order of peace and justice, to promote their solidarity, to strengthen their collaboration, and to defend their sovereignty, their territorial integrity, and their independence." Article 2 then defines eight essential purposes: Over the course of the 1990s, with the end of the Cold War , the return to democracy in Latin America , and the thrust toward globalization ,

12096-722: The mid-1930s, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt organized an inter-American conference in Buenos Aires. One of the items at the conference was a " League of Nations of the Americas", an idea proposed by Colombia, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic. At the subsequent Inter-American Conference for the Maintenance of Peace, 21 nations pledged to remain neutral in the event of a conflict between any two members. The experience of World War II convinced hemispheric governments that unilateral action could not ensure

12222-588: The missionary villages in the Mainas or Maynas region, which it began calling Loreto, with its capital in Iquitos . During its negotiations with Brazil, Peru claimed Amazonian Basin territories up to Caqueta River in the north and toward the Andes Mountain range. Colombia protested stating that its claims extended south toward the Napo and Amazon Rivers. Ecuador protested that it claimed the Amazon Basin between

12348-430: The most problems were deported to distant areas of Peru, Bolivia, and north Argentina. Similarly, a number of loyal Inca subjects from Peru and Bolivia were brought to Ecuador to prevent rebellion. Thus, the region of highland Ecuador became part of the Inca Empire in 1463 sharing the same language. In contrast, when the Incas made incursions into coastal Ecuador and the eastern Amazon jungles of Ecuador, they found both

12474-541: The newly discovered Real Cedula of 1802, by which Peru claims the King of Spain had transferred these lands from the Viceroyalty of New Granada to the Viceroyalty of Peru. During colonial times this was to halt the ever-expanding Portuguese settlements into Spanish domains, which were left vacant and in disorder after the expulsion of Jesuit missionaries from their bases along the Amazon Basin. Ecuador countered by labeling

12600-451: The other branches of government give the president very little political capital, as illustrated by the most recent removal of President Lucio Gutiérrez from office by Congress in April 2005. Vice President Alfredo Palacio took his place In the election of 2006 , Rafael Correa gained the presidency. In January 2007, several left-wing political leaders of Latin America, his future allies, attended his swearing-in ceremony. Endorsed in

12726-458: The peoples of Latin America). They were led by Juan Pío Montúfar, Quiroga, Salinas, and Bishop Cuero y Caicedo. Quito's nickname, " Luz de América " ("Light of America"), is based on its leading role in trying to secure an independent, local government. Although the new government lasted no more than two months, it had important repercussions and was an inspiration for the independence movement of

12852-523: The point of inception to which the OAS and its General Secretariat trace their origins. At the fourth International Conference of American States ( Buenos Aires , 1910), the name of the organization was changed to the Union of American Republics and the Bureau became the Pan American Union. The Pan American Union Building was constructed in 1910, on Constitution Avenue , Northwest, Washington, D.C. In

12978-433: The power of the clergy and the conservative land owners. This liberal wing retained power until the military "Julian Revolution" of 1925. The 1930s and 1940s were marked by instability and emergence of populist politicians, such as five-time President José María Velasco Ibarra . Brasilia Presidential Act After Ecuador's separation from Colombia on 13 May 1830, its first President, General Juan José Flores , laid claim to

13104-505: The rest of Spanish America. Today, 10 August is celebrated as Independence Day, a national holiday . On 9 October 1820, the Department of Guayaquil became the first territory in Ecuador to gain its independence from Spain, and it spawned most of the Ecuadorian coastal provinces, establishing itself as an independent state. Its inhabitants celebrated what is now Ecuador's official Independence Day on 24 May 1822. The rest of Ecuador gained its independence after Antonio José de Sucre defeated

13230-417: The revolution of Trujillo by the Peruvian occupying force, had the whole region swear allegiance to the new Peruvian flag and incorporated itself into Peru. Gran Colombia had always protested Peru for the return of Jaén and Tumbes for almost a decade, then finally Bolivar after long and futile discussion over the return of Jaén, Tumbes, and part of Mainas, declared war. President and General José de La Mar , who

13356-717: The signing of the Treaty of Guayaquil in September 1829, whereby Peru and its Congress recognized Gran Colombian rights over Tumbes, Jaén, and Maynas. Through meetings between Peru and Gran Colombia, the border was set as Tumbes river in the west, and in the east, the Maranon and Amazon rivers were to be followed toward Brazil as the most natural borders between them. According to the peace negotiations Peru agreed to return Guayaquil, Tumbez, and Jaén; despite this, Peru returned Guayaquil, but failed to return Tumbes and Jaén, alleging that it

13482-479: The subsequent 2020 Bolivian general election stating there was no evidence of fraud. The New York Times concluded that there was some fraud, but that it was unclear how much or if it was sufficient to change the result of the election, and suggested the initial analysis by the OAS was flawed. In November 2021, OAS condemned the outcome of the Nicaraguan general election . In April 2022, Nicaragua reported

13608-452: The territorial integrity of the American nations in the event of external aggression. To meet the challenges of global conflict in the postwar world and to contain conflicts within the hemisphere, they adopted a system of collective security , the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Rio Treaty) signed in 1947 in Rio de Janeiro . The ninth International Conference of American States

13734-570: The territory that had belonged to the Real Audiencia of Quito , also referred to as the Presidencia of Quito. He supported his claims with Spanish Royal decrees, or real cedulas , that delineated the borders of Spain's former overseas colonies. In the case of Ecuador, Flores based Ecuador's de jure claims on the Real Cedulas of 1563, 1739, and 1740; with modifications in the Amazon Basin and Andes Mountains that were introduced through

13860-623: The walls of Quito referring to Peru as the " Cain de Latinoamérica ", a reference to the murder of Abel by his brother Cain in the Book of Genesis . Ecuador and Peru signed the Brasilia Presidential Act peace agreement on 26 October 1998, which ended hostilities, and effectively put an end to the Western Hemisphere's longest running territorial dispute. The Guarantors of the Rio Protocol (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and

13986-623: The world to become listed sites. The Rio Protocol failed to precisely resolve the border along a little river in the remote Cordillera del Cóndor region in southern Ecuador. This caused a long-simmering dispute between Ecuador and Peru, which ultimately led to fighting between the two countries; first a border skirmish in January–February 1981 known as the Paquisha Incident , and ultimately full-scale warfare in January 1995 where

14112-529: The world to recognize legally enforceable rights of nature . The country's name means " Equator " in Spanish, truncated from the Spanish official name, República del Ecuador ( lit. "Republic of the Equator"), derived from the former Ecuador Department of Gran Colombia established in 1824 as a division of the former territory of the Royal Audience of Quito . Quito, which remained the capital of

14238-407: Was 1.5 percent (as compared to 0.6 percent over the prior two decades). At the same time, the country's Gini index of economic inequality improved from 0.55 to 0.47. One of 17 megadiverse countries in the world, Ecuador hosts many endemic plants and animals, such as those of the Galápagos Islands . In recognition of its unique ecological heritage, the new constitution of 2008 is the first in

14364-463: Was agreed to unanimously. The penalty was motivated because the foreign ministers checked the veracity of the claim that the Rafael Trujillo regime had sponsored an attack against Rómulo Betancourt , at that time the constitutional president of Venezuela. The meeting was attended by foreign ministers from 21 American nations, including Cuba , which at that time had not yet been expelled from

14490-449: Was arbitrarily excluded ... The Organization of American States has no juridical, factual, or moral jurisdiction, nor competence, over a state which it has illegally deprived of its rights." The reincorporation of Cuba as an active member regularly arose as a topic within the inter-American system – for instance, it was intimated by the outgoing ambassador of Mexico in 1998  – but most observers did not see it as

14616-512: Was born in Ecuador, believing his opportunity had come to annex the District of Ecuador to Peru, personally, with a Peruvian force, invaded and occupied Guayaquil and a few cities in the Loja region of southern Ecuador on 28 November 1828. The war ended when an outnumbered southern Gran Colombian army at Battle of Tarqui on 27 February 1829, led by Antonio José de Sucre , defeated the Peruvian invasion force led by President La Mar. This defeat led to

14742-553: Was held in Bogotá between March and May 1948 and led by United States Secretary of State George Marshall , a meeting which led to a pledge by members to fight communism in the western hemisphere . This was the event that saw the birth of the OAS as it stands today, with the signature by 21 American countries of the Charter of the Organization of American States on 30 April 1948 (in effect since December 1951). The meeting also adopted

14868-649: Was made in the Cold War , in the language of the Cold War. What we have done here is fix a historic error." The suspension was lifted at the end of the General Assembly, but, to be readmitted to the Organization, Cuba will need to comply with all the treaties signed by the Member States, including the Inter-American Democratic Charter of 2001. A statement issued by the Cuban government on 8 June 2009 stated that while Cuba welcomed

14994-584: Was not obligated to follow the agreements, since the Gran Colombia ceased to exist when it divided itself into three different nations – Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela. The Central District of the Gran Colombia, known as Cundinamarca or New Granada (modern Colombia) with its capital in Bogota, did not recognize the separation of the Southern District of the Gran Colombia, with its capital in Quito, from

15120-518: Was occasionally questioned by other individual member states. The resolution to exclude Cuba was controversial when it was adopted, and the reintegration of Cuba into the Inter-American system has remained a frequent source of contention among the countries of the hemisphere ever since. Cuba's position was stated in an official note sent to the Organization "merely as a courtesy" by Minister of Foreign Affairs Raúl Roa on 4 November 1964: "Cuba

15246-430: Was re-admitted to the Organization on 1 June 2011 with 32 votes in favor and 1 (Ecuador) against. Venezuela expressed some reservations. On 28 April 2017, Venezuela notified the OAS of its denunciation of the Charter of the OAS, which as per Article 143 would lead to the withdrawal of Venezuela from the OAS effective two years from the date of notification. During this period, the country did not plan on participating in

15372-595: Was signed by which the Department of Cauca was turned over to New Granada (modern Colombia), the government of Bogotá recognized Ecuador as an independent country and the border was to follow the Ley de División Territorial de la República de Colombia (Law of the Division of Territory of the Gran Colombia) passed on 25 June 1824. This law set the border at the river Carchi and the eastern border that stretched to Brazil at

15498-797: Was sworn in, becoming the country's first right-wing leader in 14 years. Lasso's party CREO Movement, and its ally the Social Christian Party (PSC) won only 31 parliamentary seats out of 137, while Aráuz's Union for Hope (UNES) won 49 seats, which meant Lasso needed support from the Izquierda Democrática and the indigenist Pachakutik parties to push through his legislative agenda. Organization of American States The Organization of American States ( OAS or OEA ; Spanish : Organización de los Estados Americanos ; Portuguese : Organização dos Estados Americanos ; French : Organisation des États américains )

15624-408: Was the first meeting between an Ecuadorian and U.S. president in 17 years. A series of protests began on 3 October 2019 against the end of fuel subsidies and austerity measures adopted by Moreno. On 10 October, protesters overran Quito, the capital, causing the Government of Ecuador to relocate temporarily to Guayaquil . The government eventually returned to Quito in 2019. On 14 October 2019,

15750-489: Was to form a new republic known as the Gran Colombia , out of the liberated Spanish territory of New Granada which consisted of Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. San Martín's plans were thwarted when Bolívar, descended from the Andes mountains and occupied Guayaquil; they also annexed the newly liberated Audiencia de Quito to the Republic of Gran Colombia. In the south, Ecuador had claims to a small piece of land beside

15876-435: Was ultimately ratified only by Gran Colombia. Bolívar's dream soon floundered with civil war in Gran Colombia, the disintegration of Central America, and the emergence of national rather than New World outlooks in the newly independent American republics. Bolívar's dream of inter-American unity was meant to unify Hispanic American nations against external powers. The pursuit of regional solidarity and cooperation again came to

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