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Ecuador The Penal System
The National Directorate of Social Rehabilitation, a component
of the Ministry of Government and Justice, continued to operate the
country's penal system in 1989. The García Moreno Prison in Quito
and the Coastal Prison in Guayaquil were Ecuador's largest criminal
detention facilities. Quito and the capitals of all Costa and
Sierra provinces also had municipal jails.
Although the laws called for rehabilitation of prisoners, few
facilities had space, staffing, and equipment for education or
training programs. One exception, the women's prison in Quito,
provided both academic and vocational courses. Some private
factories held prison work contracts. All prisoners were expected
to work and were paid a minimum wage. One-third of the wages went
to the prisoner upon release; one-third to pay expenses while in
prison; and one-third to the court to take care of expenses
incidental to the trial. During the 1980s, two halfway houses were
opened in Quito from which prisoners traveled to jobs and were
allowed to visit their homes.
Most prisons were greatly overcrowded, the result of budgetary
restrictions and the low priority given prison construction and
staffing. As of July 1986, Ecuador had 6,450 prisoners in a system
whose total capacity was 2,600. The García Moreno Prison, which was
built in 1875 to house 300 and subsequently remodeled to hold 640,
held 1,800 prisoners who were forced to share twenty toilets. As of
1988, a new prison was scheduled to open in Quito, which would help
relieve existing pressures.
According to the Department of State's Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices for 1988, "prison conditions are so
squalid and brutal that in themselves they represent cruel
treatment." Guards reportedly beat prisoners for disciplinary
reasons. Notoriously underpaid, guards reportedly could easily be
bribed by prisoners who wanted to avoid punishment, to receive
improved living conditions, to secure visits, and to obtain drugs.
According to a report by the Special Commission on Human
Rights, unhygienic conditions in the prisons were conducive to
skin, lung, gastrointestinal, and venereal infections. Prisons had
few medical supplies and only sporadic visits by doctors. Again,
the Quito women's prison was an exception to this general pattern.
The Department of State reported that guards at the Coastal
Prison often mistreated detainees charged with terrorism or
subversion. The Americas Watch and Andean Commission of Jurists
group confirmed these observations, documenting various forms of
guard brutality and the withholding of privileges, such as
exercise, sunlight, visits, and recreation. This discrimination
reportedly ended in 1987.
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A number of studies trace the relationships between the armed
forces and the civilian leadership. John D. Martz's The Military
in Ecuador assesses both the 1972-79 military regime and the
role of senior officers following the resumption of civilian rule.
Osvaldo Hurtado's Political Power in Ecuador includes a
concise analysis of the military's attitude toward civilian
politics and its strengths and shortcomings while in power. The
Military Coup d'état as a Political Process: Ecuador, 1948-1966
by John Samuel Fitch, although based on earlier research, contains
still relevant data on the leanings and social background of the
officer corps. David W. Schodt's Ecuador: An Andean Enigma
treats the role of military figures and the military establishment
in both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Human Rights in Ecuador, a study by Americas Watch and
the Andean Commission of Jurists, contains much detail on abuses by
the police, particularly in the treatment of political detainees,
and on prison conditions. The Department of State's annual studies,
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, describe the
operation of the legal system and practices of the police and
prison authorities.
Up-to-date reports on the organization and operational status
of the Ecuadorian armed forces are scarce. Considerable
information, particularly of a historical nature, may be found in
the section on Ecuador in Adrian J. English's The Armed Forces
of Latin America. The Military Balance, 1988-89,
prepared by the London-based International Institute for Strategic
Studies, has data concerning weapons systems in the armed forces
inventory. (For further information and complete citations,
see
Bibliography.)
Data as of 1989
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