Table Of ContentST ANTONY'S/MACMILLAN SERIES
General Editors: Archie Brown ( 1978-85) and Rosemary Thorp ( 1985- ) ,
both Fellows of St Antony's College, Oxford
Recent titles include:
Christopher Abel and Colin M. Lewis (editors) WELFARE, POVERTY AND
DEVELOPMENT IN LA TIN AMERICA
Jeremy Adelman (editor) ESSAYS IN ARGENTINE LABOUR HISTORY, 187(}-1930
Orlando Albornoz EDUCATION AND SOCIETY IN LA TIN AMERICA
Amatzia Baram CULTURE, HISTORY AND IDEOLOGY IN THE FORMATION
OF BA'THIST IRAQ, 1968-89
Gail Lee Bernstein and Haruhiro Fukui (editors) JAPAN AND THE WORLD
Archie Brown (editor) NEW THINKING IN SOVIET POLITICS
Archie Brown (editor) POLITICAL LEADERSHIP IN THE SOVIET UNION
Deborah Fahy Bryceson FOOD INSECURITY AND THE SOCIAL DIVISION OF
LABOUR IN TANZANIA, 1919--85
Victor Bulmer-Thomas STUDIES IN THE ECONOMICS OF CENTRAL AMERICA
Sir Alec Cairncross PLANNING IN WARTIME
Helen Callaway GENDER, CULTURE AND EMPIRE
Rodolfo Cerdas-Cruz THE COMMUNIST INTERNATIONAL IN CENTRAL
AMERICA, 192(}-36
Anuson Chinvanno THAILAND'S POLICIES TOWARDS CHINA, 1949-54
Colin Clarke (editor) SOCIETY AND POLIDCS IN THE CARIBBEAN
David Cleary ANATOMY OF THE AMAZON GOLD RUSH
John Crabtree PERU UNDER GARCiA
Alex Danchev (editor) INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE FALKLANDS
CONFLICT
Joao de Pina-Cabral and John Campbell (editors) EUROPE OBSERVED
Robert Desjardins THE SOVIET UNION THROUGH FRENCH EYES
Guido di Tella and Carlos Rodriguez Braun (editors) ARGENTINA, 1946--83: THE
ECONOMIC MINISTERS SPEAK
Guido di Tella and D. Cameron Watt (editors) ARGENTINA BETWEEN THE
GREAT POWERS, 1939-46
Guido di Tella and Rudiger Dornbusch (editors) THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF
ARGENTINA, 1946--83
D. R. Dorondo BAVARIA AND GERMAN FEDERALISM
Saul Dubow RACIAL SEGREGATION AND THE ORIGINS OF APARTHEID IN
SOUTH AFRICA, 1919-36
Anne Lincoln Fitzpatrick THE GREAT RUSSIAN FAIR
Michael B. Froman THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE IDEA OF DETENTE
Haruhiro Fukui, Peter H. Merkt, Hubertus Miiller-Groeling and Akio Watanabe
(editors) THE POLITICS OF ECONOMIC CHANGE IN POSTWAR JAPAN AND
WEST GERMANY
Heather D. Gibson THE EUROCURRENCY MARKETS, DOMESTIC FINANCIAL
POLICY AND INTERNATIONAL INSTABILITY
Heather D. Gibson and Euclid Tsakalotos (editors) ECONOMIC INTEGRATION
AND FINANCIAL LIBERALIZATION
Avner Gil'adi CHILDREN OF ISLAM
David Hall-Cathala THE PEACE MOVEMENT IN ISRAEL, 1967-87
John B. Hattendorf and Robert S. Jordan (editors) MARITIME STRATEGY AND
THE BALANCE OF POWER
Beatrice Heuser and Robert O'Neill (editors) SECURING PEACE IN EUROPE,
1945-62
Linda Hitchcox VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN SOUTHEAST ASIAN CAMPS
Derek Hopwood HABIB BOURGUIBA OF TUNISIA
Derek Hopwood (editor) STUDIES IN ARAB HISTORY
Amitzur Ilan BERNADOTTE IN PALESTINE, 1948
Anita Isaacs MILITARY RULE AND TRANSITION IN ECUADOR, 1972-92
Hiroshi Ishida SOCIAL MOBILITY IN CONTEMPORARY JAPAN
Jeremy Jennings (editor) INTELLECTUALS IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY FRANCE
A. Kemp-Welch THE BIRTH OF SOLIDARITY
Leslie McLoughlin IBN SAUD: FOUNDER OF A KINGDOM
Robert H. McNeal STALIN: MAN AND RULER
Iftikhar H. Malik Us-SOUTH ASIAN RELATIONS, 1940-47
Ziba Moshaver NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROLIFERATION IN THE INDIAN
SUBCONTINENT
Jonathan Osmond RURAL PROTEST IN THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC
Leslie Palmier (editor) DETENTE IN ASIA?
George Philip THE PRESIDENCY IN MEXICAN POLITICS
Riitta H. Pittman THE WRITER'S DIVIDED SELF IN BULGAKOV'S THE
MASTER AND MARGARITA
J. L. Porket WORK, EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE SOVIET
UNION
Brian Powell KABUKI IN MODERN JAPAN
Alfonso W. Quiroz DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN FINANCE IN MODERN PERU,
1850-1950
Laurie P. Salitan POLITICS AND NATIONALITY IN CONTEMPORARY SOVIET
JEWISH EMIGRATION, 1968-89
Gregor Schollgen A CONSERVATIVE AGAINST HITLER (translated by Louise
Willmot)
Wenguang Shao CHINA, BRITAIN AND BUSINESSMEN
Sebastian Siebel-Achenbach LOWER SILESIA FROM NAZI GERMANY TO
COMMUNIST POLAND, 1942--49
Pierre L. Siklos WAR FINANCE, RECONSTRUCTION, HYPERINFLATION AND
STABILIZATION IN HUNGARY, 1938--48
:I. Gordon Skilling (editor) CZECHOSLOVAKIA, 1918-88
H. Gordon Skilling (editor) SAMIZDAT AND AN INDEPENDENT SOCIETY IN
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
Barbara Stallings and Gabriel Szekely (editors) JAPAN, THE UNITED STATES, AND
LA TIN AMERICA
Verena Stokke COFFEE PLANTERS, WORKERS AND WIVES
Joseph S. Szyliowicz POLITICS, TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT
Haris Vlavianos GREECE, 1941--49: FROM RESISTANCE TO CIVIL WAR
Jane Watts BLACK WRITERS FROM SOUTH AFRICA
Phillip J. Williams THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND POLITICS IN NICARAGUA
AND COSTA RICA
Military Rule and
Transition in Ecuador,
1972-92
Anita Isaacs
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science
Haverford College, Pennsylvania
150th YEAR
M
in association with
MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan
© Anita Isaacs 1993
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1993
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of
this publication may be made without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or
transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with
the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988,
or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying
issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court
Road, London WIP 9HE.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this
publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil
claims for damages.
First published 1993 by
THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS
and London
Companies and representatives
throughout the world
ISBN 978-l-349-08924-6 ISBN 978-l-349-08922-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007 /978-l-349-08922-2
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library.
Copy-edited and typeset by Povey-Edmondson
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For Alex and Natalie
Contents
List of Tables ix
Acknowledgements xi
1 Introduction 1
2 Military Intervention 11
The Context 13
The Motivation 22
Facilitating Factors 27
Conclusions 32
3 Development and Reform under Military Rule 35
Development and Reform under Military Rule 37
The Ecuadorian Regime in Perspective 55
The Ecuadorian Military in a Comparative Context 57
The Military as Moderniser and Reformer 61
4 Civilian Opposition 67
Entrepreneurial Sectors 69
Popular Sectors 84
The Politics of Military Rule 88
Conclusions 95
5 Military Factionalism and Politicisation 97
Establishing Personalist Rule 100
The Personalist Dictatorship 105
Regime Extrication 113
6 Democratic Transition and Consolidation 117
The Crafted Transition 119
The Weakness of Political Institutions 124
The Problem of Leadership 129
Popular Commitment to the Democratic Process 132
vii
viii Contents
The Armed Forces and Democracy 137
Conclusions 142
Notes 145
Bibliography 161
Index 171
List of Tables
3.1 Contribution of petroleum to the economy, 1973-77 43
3.2 Gross domestic product (GDP) of the agricultural sector,
1970 and 1978 48
3.3 Agricultural Family Units (AFUs), size and distribution,
1977 52
3.4 Employment by economic sectors and branches of
activity 54
5.1 Defence spending in Ecuador and Peru, military
expenditures and arms imports, 1970-79 110
6.1 Public opinion concerning political parties, 1989 133
6.2 Public opinion concerning democracy and dictatorship,
1988-89 134
ix
Acknowledgements
The support of a number of individuals and institutions has been
critical in the making of this book. First and foremost I owe a special
debt of gratitude to the many military and civilian officers who agreed
to be interviewed for this study. Although many will disagree with
aspects of my argument, I appreciate the thoughtfulness and the
sincerity with which they answered my countless questions. Without
their assistance this project would never have existed.
I would also like to thank the many institutions who provided the
funding and the setting that enabled me to undertake the research and
writing. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of
Canada and the International Development Research Centre funded
my doctoral studies and fieldwork. I am also grateful to the Ford
Foundation for allowing me to add Ecuadorian stops onto my Latin
American itineraries, while I served as a program officer at the
Foundation, and to FLACSO-Quito for hosting me on my many
visits to Ecuador. Haverford College has provided me with the
support needed for research and travel as well as with a year of leave
during which I was able to revise the manuscript. More importantly,
my colleagues in the political science department at Haverford and my
students have provided me with an intellectual environment in which I
was able to reflect analytically on my research.
A number of friends and colleagues have provided enormous
intellectual stimulation and encouragement over the years. A very
partial list includes Enrique Ayala, Bill Carmichael, Malcolm Deas,
Jaime Duran, Laurie Hart, Maria d'Alva Kinzo, Audie Klotz,
Guillermo O'Donnell, Lars Schoultz and Margarita Vallejo. I appreci
ate the time that many took to thrash out ideas and to read and
comment on chapters of the manuscript. Many of their suggestions
have been incorporated into the final product. Of course, the usual
disclaimer applies.
Finally I owe special thanks to several individuals. Alan Angell, my
dissertation supervisor, has been an important source of inspiration
over the years. Long after the dissertation was complete, Alan
painstakingly read and re-read chapters, offering insightful comments
and encouragement at every step along the way. On a more personal
level, I am grateful to the Andrade family who, since my first trip to
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