Ecuador's tumultuous history is, paradoxically, cyclical; Ecuador remains tempestuous and struggles to advance because of deep-rooted sociological, geographical, economic, and political features. The same issues that determined Ecuador's direction in the last two centuries, continue to dominate its historical landscape at the beginning of the twenty first century.

Four key themes remain essential to understanding Ecuador:

First, the vast majority of the nation's wealth sits in the hands of a very few, a diminutive middle class struggles to survive, and more than half of the country's population exists at or below the poverty level. Ecuador's highly inequitable economic and social structure can be traced to colonial era racial discrimination and land tenure patterns, and to its dominant European cultural expressions.

Second, the large-scale, export-oriented agricultural enterprises of Ecuador's coastal region, represented by Guayaquil, continue to compete with the smaller farms and businesses of the Andean highlands, represented by Quito. This persistent regional rivalry often determines the outcome of key national issues and frequently paralyzes the government.

Ecuador's colonial roots are not confined to the history books, they are visible in everyday life even after almost two hundred years of independence from Spain.

Third, the economy continues to enjoy periods of "boom" and suffer periods of "bust" on account of its reliance on a few export commodities. The constant rise and fall of the economy makes it very difficult for Ecuador to realize any meaningful economic, social or political changes. It seems that just when something is about to change for the better, the country enters a period of economic decline. Finding a way to break the boom-bust cycle is imperative to the stabilization of the countries economy, political system, and to the advancement of social reform.

Fourth, the political system lacks strong, stable institutions. Since achieving independence there have been more than ninety changes of power. On average, every two years a new civilian or military government takes control. Governmental institutions, without opportunity to mature, have been unable to address Ecuador's constantly re-emerging problems. Ecuador's lack of a stable political system is both the result and cause of the nation's disparate class structure, regionalism, and roller coaster economy.

The new millenium holds as much challenge for Ecuador as it does promise. Social change, economic growth, the healing of regional wounds, and the stabilization of its political system can only be achieved if Ecuador considers and learns from its past.