Ecuador Government

A joint report on Ecuador by two human rights groups cites a rise in torture, illegal detentions and other abuses, accusing the government of President Leon Febres Cordero of doing little to punish such behavior by police and the military. The report by Americas Watch and the Andean Commission of Jurists also faults U.S. officials for a reluctance to criticize Ecuador's human rights record. It suggests this is due to Febres Cordero's free-market economic policies, support for U.S.

Cindy Espinoza took to the gutted, gravelly streets of this barrio last year to campaign for president. Knocking on the doors of cinder-block shanties and wielding a bullhorn to be heard by voters behind barred windows and doors, she pledged to work for better schools, new community services, paved roads and more parks in the crime-infested slum.

The renegade former general who inspired a 12-hour abduction of President Leon Febres Cordero by air force rebels last week has vowed to keep fighting what he calls a civilian dictator, "if I have to do it from hiding." "He stopped being president when he failed to live up to his oath to respect the constitution," retired air force Gen. Frank Vargas Pazos said in a clandestine meeting with three foreign reporters. "In a practical way, he has shown that he is a dictator."

Sirens blaring, Ecuador's new president arrived 10 minutes before the polls closed Sunday in his hometown to vote in a referendum that symbolizes the deep divisions in this country just beginning to recover from a thwarted military coup. President Gustavo Noboa was one of the last citizens of the prosperous province of Guayas to cast his ballot on the issue of a limited autonomy.

Unions began a 48-hour general strike Wednesday to protest government austerity policies and call for President Abdala Bucaram's resignation as violent clashes injured at least 18 people. At least 10 demonstrators and eight police officers were hurt when an angry crowd of protesters tried to approach the president's palace in Quito, witnesses and police sources said.

The political crisis that gave Ecuador three competing presidents appeared to be nearing an end early today as the vice president, Congress and armed forces reached an agreement for a peaceful transition of power. Details of the agreement were not immediately available. But the consensus appeared to end elected President Abdala Bucaram's bid to stay in power.

In a nation known for the extravagant use of theatrics, slander and sexual innuendo in political campaigns, the presidential race that ends with today's election has set new standards of outrageous behavior and bizarre accusations from the stump. In one of his milder attacks, candidate Abdala Bucaram called his opponent "an alcoholic, drug addict and vulgar servant of European culture."

President Leon Febres Cordero said Saturday that the renegade air force troops who took him captive kicked, punched, insulted and threatened "to take me out and shoot me" until he agreed to free his chief military rival from prison. In a dramatic recounting of his 12-hour captivity Friday, after two of his bodyguards died in a shoot-out, the president said he defied the rebels to kill him, then signed an amnesty for retired air force Gen.

Center-left parties controlling Ecuador's Congress urged President Leon Febres Cordero to resign Tuesday night, saying his conduct while being held captive during a military revolt has destroyed his authority. "His resignation is the only way Ecuador can re-establish peace and assure the survival of democracy," Trajano Andrade, leader of the largest opposition party, said in a speech opening debate on a resolution asking the president to step down.

The Ecuadorean air force Wednesday disbanded the paratroop commando unit that kidnaped President Luis Febres Cordero last week, and the attorney general launched a criminal investigation of the unit's 150 members. The actions were taken despite the president's written pledge, as a condition for his release, that there would be no disciplinary or legal action against the rebels.

In a compromise that avoided a return to military rule, Ecuador's vice president took the helm of this Andean nation Saturday, ending a political crisis sparked by an alliance of indigenous protesters and junior officers. Gustavo Noboa became the troubled country's sixth president in four years after top-ranking officers, facing international pressure, refused to permit a civilian-military triumvirate that had announced it was taking power Friday.

Ecuador's long-simmering political and economic troubles boiled over into crisis Friday as the military demanded the resignation of President Jamil Mahuad and declared a three-person "government junta" in charge. Mahuad vowed that he would remain in office but then took refuge at an air force base with his government apparently having collapsed. Defense Minister Gen.

Ecuador's looming default on $6 billion in foreign debt has so far been shrugged off by neighboring Latin American markets. Unlike the faraway crises in Asia and Russia that caused havoc in Latin America, the placid reaction to Ecuador's likely default shows that investors have become more sophisticated about emerging markets, said Lacey Gallagher, Latin American ratings director at Standard & Poor's. "In and of itself, Ecuador's crisis is not a watershed of any kind," Gallagher said.

Latin Americans who yearn for days gone by would probably be cured by a visit to Ecuador, where the kinds of protectionist policies that its neighbors jettisoned long ago are still in force. What does Ecuador have to show for it? The worst economic crisis in 30 years, a banking system in a shambles and the highest inflation in the region. Its sobriquet--Latin America's economic basket case--seems right on the money for a nation facing overwhelming debts and deficits.

Vice President Rosalia Arteaga became interim president of Ecuador under a compromise reached Sunday to end a political crisis that saw three people claiming the right to lead this Andean nation. Under a formula worked out with Congress and the military, Arteaga will lead the nation for about a week while constitutional reforms are passed to clarify presidential succession. Her successor will serve until new presidential elections are held and the winner begins a four-year term Aug. 10, 1998.

The political crisis that gave Ecuador three competing presidents appeared to be nearing an end early today as the vice president, Congress and armed forces reached an agreement for a peaceful transition of power. Details of the agreement were not immediately available. But the consensus appeared to end elected President Abdala Bucaram's bid to stay in power.

Sirens blaring, Ecuador's new president arrived 10 minutes before the polls closed Sunday in his hometown to vote in a referendum that symbolizes the deep divisions in this country just beginning to recover from a thwarted military coup. President Gustavo Noboa was one of the last citizens of the prosperous province of Guayas to cast his ballot on the issue of a limited autonomy.

The cashiered air force commander who was freed from prison in exchange for Ecuador's kidnaped president has left a military base here and gone into hiding because he fears for his safety, his brothers said Sunday. Retired Gen. Frank Vargas Pazos abandoned the Taura air base in a jeep with an unidentified woman companion and two rebel air force corporals Saturday afternoon, the base commander said.

Unions began a 48-hour general strike Wednesday to protest government austerity policies and call for President Abdala Bucaram's resignation as violent clashes injured at least 18 people. At least 10 demonstrators and eight police officers were hurt when an angry crowd of protesters tried to approach the president's palace in Quito, witnesses and police sources said.

In a nation known for the extravagant use of theatrics, slander and sexual innuendo in political campaigns, the presidential race that ends with today's election has set new standards of outrageous behavior and bizarre accusations from the stump. In one of his milder attacks, candidate Abdala Bucaram called his opponent "an alcoholic, drug addict and vulgar servant of European culture."