Ecuador: President and Preamble

The Ecuadorian President has set aside Mondays to attend the changing of the guard at the Plaza de Independencia in Old Quito.  It's a well received event and free to all. We enjoyed all the pomp, splendor and people.

President Rafael Correa Delgado at his balcony with the honored school children of the week.

Plaza de Independencia before the changing of the guard.

Ian, Fausto and Janet.

 

Ecuadorian Preamble

 

We, the sovereign nation of Ecuador

 

Recognizing our millennial races, composed of women and men of diverse backgrounds,

 

Celebrating the natural environment, la Pacha Mama (Mother Earth in Kichwa - the primary indigenous language of the Andean region), of which we are a part and which is vital for our existence,

 

Invoking the name of God and recognizing our diverse forms of religiousness and spirituality,

 

Appealing to the knowledge of all cultures that enrich our society,

 

As heirs of social struggle for liberation, facing all forms of domination and colonialism,

 

And with profound obligation to the present and the future,

 

We decide to create

 

A new form of citizen coexistence, in diversity and harmony with nature, with the intent of attaining a better form of life, el sumak kawsay; ("sumak" is the Kichwa word for beautiful or marvelous, while Kawsay is the word for existence, costume, culture and life)

 

A society that respects, in all its' forms, the dignity of people and communities;

 

A democratic country, dedicated to the integration of Latin America -the dream of Bolivar and Alfaro - peace, solidarity and with all communities and people of our earth; and,

 

In exercise of our sovereignty, in the City of Alfaro, Montecristi, the province of Manabí, we give ourselves the present.

For more check out this blog:

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/riahl/1/1222978500.html

The constitution, voted on in October 2008,  also aims at ameliorating the living situation for the youth of Ecuador (that comprise a majority of the population).  It promises free education through University for all Ecuadorian citizens, gives the right to vote to people as young as 16 and allows people to serve as senator (a democratically elected position) at 18.