Page last updated at 16:17 GMT, Thursday, 6 August 2009 17:17 UK
Timeline: Ecuador
A chronology of key events:
~snip~
1963 - President Carlos Arosemena Monroy deposed by military junta, which implements social and economic reforms, including agrarian reform.
1966 - Interim government takes over from military junta, which was forced to step down following violent demonstrations and harsh retaliation; newly elected constituent assembly chooses Otto Arosemena Gomez as head of state.
1967 - New constitution promulgated.
1968 - Former President Jose Maria Velasco elected president for the fifth time and, two years later, assumes dictatorial power in response to declining support.
1972 - Oil production starts and Ecuador emerges as a significant oil producer; General Guillermo Rodriguez Lara becomes president after overthrowing Velasco.
1979 - New constitution heralds return to democracy.
1981 - Border war with Peru erupts, but ends with international arbitration.
Economic deterioration
1982 - A deterioration of the economy due to falling oil prices leads to strikes, demonstrations and a state of emergency.
1987 - President Leon Febres Cordero kidnapped and beaten up by the army in protest at policies of privatisation and public expenditure cuts.
1992 - Indigenous peoples granted title to 2.5 million acres in Amazonia; Ecuador leaves the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries to increase its oil output.
1995 - Vice-President Alberto Dahik Garzoni flees, seeks political asylum in Costa Rica to escape corruption charges.
1996 - Abdala Bucaram Ortiz elected president.
1997 - Fabian Alarcon becomes president after Bucaram is deposed by parliament on grounds of mental incapacity.
1998 - Jamil Mahuad Witt elected president.
2000 - Vice-President Gustavo Noboa becomes president after Mahuad is forced to leave office by the army and indigenous protesters; Ecuador adopts the US dollar as its national currency in an effort to beat inflation and stabilise the economy.
2001 January - Ecuador declares state of emergency in Galapagos Islands after an oil spill from a stricken tanker threatens the islands' fragile ecological balance. The potential danger is, in the end, largely averted.
2001 September - Indigenous community leader Luis Maldonado sworn in as minister for social welfare, the first Indian to hold a cabinet post which does not deal exclusively with indigenous affairs.
2002 February - Protests by indigenous peoples bring oil production to a near standstill. The protesters demand that more of the oil revenues should be invested in their communities.
Gutierrez elected
2002 November - Leftist and former coup leader Lucio Gutierrez wins presidential elections. He takes office in January 2003.
2003 August - Former president Gustavo Noboa, who faces corruption charges, goes into exile in the Dominican Republic.
2004 April - Jail crisis: Hundreds of people are held hostage by prisoners demanding better conditions and shorter sentences. Police regain control after 10 days.
2004 December - Congress dismisses most of the Supreme Court's members and appoints a new court. President Gutierrez accuses the former court of pro-opposition bias.
Gutierrez ousted
2005 April - Anti-government protests mushroom after the Supreme Court drops corruption charges against two former presidents. Congress votes to oust President Gutierrez. Alfredo Palacio replaces him.
2005 August - Protesters, demanding that oil revenues should be spent on infrastructure, bring oil production to a halt. A state of emergency is declared in two oil-producing provinces. The protest ends after oil companies agree to help mend roads and pay local taxes.
2005 October - Former President Lucio Gutierrez is arrested and detained on charges of endangering national security. He is released in March 2006 after a judge dismisses the charges.
2006 March - Nationwide protests flare over a proposed free trade agreement with the US.
2006 June - Ecuador prompts US ire by cancelling the operating contract of the US oil firm Occidental Petroleum after it allegedly sold part of an oil block without government permission.
Correa elected
More:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1212826.stm