The country of Ecuador is small, only about the size of Arizona (actually a bit smaller) with a population of 15 million or so. It is located on the Pacific coast of South America, squeezed in between its larger neighbors of Colombia in the north and east, and Peru in the South. It is best known for Galapagos Islands, which brings tourists from all over the world annually.
Despite its small size, it has diverse climate regions, everything from alpine to tropical rain forests, savannas, and deserts. Its population is primarily composed of mestizo, with Indians in the Amazonian jungles and high Andes. In the northern part, especially around the port city of Esmeraldas, there is a significant African population as well. In towns, like in its largest city of Guayaquil, there is a cosmopolitan mixture of European, and small Chinese as well as Middle Eastern population. However, all of these different ethnic groups are generally at least second generation, and for all practical purposes, completely Hispanic in speech, manner, and thought. Ecuadorians are wonderful people, warm and friendly. Their politicians, on the other-hand, are something else!
Ecuador is a country where the United States had established its first diplomatic mission in South America. A United States Consulate was opened in the small seaport of Bahia de Caraquez in 1823. The consulate was moved to Guayaquil after a few years. The first U.S. Consul to Ecuador remained in that country after his service, married an Ecuadorian woman, and eventually died there of yellow fever. So, we have had a long standing relationship with the country of Ecuador.
In Snap Shots, there are seven stories set in Ecuador, ranging in time from about 1984 to present. The last story, called "Manabí in the New Century" discusses some of the current problems with Ecuador and some of the political problems that Ecuador has had in the past.
For the most part, our bilateral relations with Ecuador had been good, but lately, since about the late 1980s, it seems the relationship had deteriorated considerably. Back in the mid 1980s, when Leon Febres-Cordero was elected president in 1984, our relations with Ecuador were at its best. Leon was U.S. educated (attended high school and college in the U.S.), received an engineering degree from Stevens College in New Jersey. He was pro-American and had very friendly relations with George H.W. Bush. Bush (as a vice-President) even came out to Ecuador for Leon's inauguration in 1984. In short, he was pro American. However, it seems he was the only one in the Ecuadorian government who was pro-American, of which he was constantly accused by his opponents. The Ecuadorian Congress had a mural painted on the wall depicting various historical events and figures, one of which is a menacing looking "Darth Vader-like" figure with the letters "CIA" on the front of the helmet. The U.S. government protested, but to no avail. The Ecuadorian Congress refused to have the figure removed from the mural, and even Leon couldn't do anything about it. The artist, Oswaldo Guayasamin, incidentally, loves to spend time in Miami.
During the time of Leon Febres-Cordero's presidency in Ecuador, the Mayor of Guayaquil was a somewhat whacky and controversial figure by the name of Abdala Bucaram. Bucaram family originally came from Lebanon and his name "Abdala" was simply a Hispanic version of Islamic name of Abdullah. He was physically a big man, stood well over six feet and sported a "Hitler-like" tight little moustache. He often stated that his favorite book was Hitler's Mein Kampf!
When I arrived in Guayaquil for my first tour in 1984, as a matter of routine, I went around and made courtesy calls on various offices in Guayaquil with whom I knew I would be having a lot of contact. I paid a call on the Mayor of Guayaquil, who was Abdala Bucaram at that time.
Abdala had been elected into office rather under suspicious and controversial circumstances. He supposedly won the mayoral elections by a landslide, but there were all sorts of accusations of fraud. He primarily won the election through the support of poor people, those living in neighborhoods that were made up of shanties, neighborhoods such as El Guasmo and Mapasinge. These neighborhoods were illegally constructed by poor people who could not afford regular housing. Electricity, water, and other services were simply "pirated" by tapping into existing nearby electrical lines and water pipes. They even tapped into cable TV! Abdala was, in short, a champion of the poor, sort of.
When I was escorted into his office and seated in front of his large desk, after the usual greetings and handshakes, Bucaram proceeded to tell me what was wrong with the U.S. He was of course a member of the leftist Roldosist Party (PRE). He said that he was for the people, and that he was going to clean up Guayaquil of corruption by any means necessary. Then he reached down under his desk and produced a UZI sub-machinegun which he slammed on his desk and announced, "soy un hombre de accion!" ("I am a man of action!") I guess he was trying to impress me. But aside from startling me with the slamming of the UZI on his desk, which incidentally caused his bodyguards to storm into the room with drawn guns, he did not impress me. He struck me as being somewhat of a windbag and a buffoon who was trying to show how tough he was.
There were many things, incredible things that Abdala pulled during his short tenure as Mayor of Guayaquil. More recently, when the Mayor of Toronto admitted to sniffing coke and doing other un-mayor-like things, I thought of Abdala and his antics. The Canadian appeared like a choir boy in comparison!
Abdala was a Mayor of Guayaquil for only a year, from 1984 to 1985. He was accused of embezzling several millions from the city coffers and also of "insulting" the Ecuadorian Army, apparently an offense much more serious than embezzlement! Anyway, Abdala fled Guayaquil and sought refuge in Panama.
But the saga of the Bucaram family was not over yet, not by a long shot. With the mayor's office vacant, a special election was held and Abdala's sister, Elsa, was elected! Again, like Abdala, she swept into the Mayor's office thanks to the votes of the disaffected, the poor from El Guasmo and Mapasinge! In some ways, Elsa was even worse than her brother, if that was possible! Like her brother, Elsa was a big woman, not exactly cover girl material, more like Abdala in drag! About a year into her time as Mayor of Guayaquil, she decided to demonstrate what a champion of people she was, how she cared for the poor. Much like her brother, she was always trying to pull stunts that would draw attention and never passed up an opportunity. However, this time she went a bit over!
Elsa announced that on a particular day, she was going to distribute free cans of tuna to poor people who came to the square in front of the mayor's office. Ecuador is a major producer of canned tuna, so it was not difficult for her to get several cases into her office. Then on the said day, she appeared on the second floor balcony of her office and proceeded to toss cans of tuna at the people gathered below! You can imagine the chaos it created. Aside from people jostling each other to try to catch a can of tuna, some people got hit on the head with cans that were being thrown by Elsa and her assistants. Ambulances had to be called for injured and the whole event became a disaster. The press immediately jumped on Elsa and criticized her for the stupid stunt that she pulled. Elsa, like her brother, didn't much care for criticism.
A few days later, when criticism became a bit too much for her, she appeared before the national TV and attacked her critics, saying that they did not understand her, that she was doing everything for "her people." She then pulled a stunt that not only surprised but shocked the TV audience. She announced, "I have nothing to hide, I have a pure heart!" With that she ripped open her blouse and said, "I can bare my chest and show that I have nothing to hide!" Yes, her brother Abdala pulled a lot stunts, but Elsa was not going to take a back seat!
But the story of Abdala was not over yet! Abdala returned to Ecuador for the 1996 Presidential Elections. Apparently everything was forgiven and he could return to run for office. Actually he had returned and ran for office in 1988 as well as 1992, but lost each time. Ecuadorian law allows even wanted individuals to run for office without being arrested! At any rate, during his election campaign he went around with a pair of attractive girls and dressed as Elvis, sang "Jail House Rock," his favorite song! Aside from Hitler and Mein Kampf, Elvis and "Jail House Rock" were his other favorites. If anything, Abdala was a man of varied interests and talents! Anyway, he won the Presidential election in 1996 and became Ecuador's President. However, his presidency lasted less than a year, actually only 7 months, before he was impeached and dismissed from the presidency for incompetency and fraud.
Abdala once again left Ecuador for Panama. This time, hopefully, for good.
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