Untitled Essay Research Paper Briefly democracy is

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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