22
sides. And yet, the Ecuadorian military had somewhat stealthily creating
outposts in the area and preparing, apparently to provoke a response by Peru.
68
Ecuador also had reason to believe that the guarantors would be sympathetic
to its claims, since the U.S. had called Peru’s position “intransigent.”
69
Subsequent events in Ecuador highlight the volatility of Ecuadorian
politics. Abdalá Bucaram succeeded Durán Ballén in 1996. His party controlled
only 19 of the 82 seats in Congress. Opposition to his policies and his
increasingly erratic behavior led Congress to remove him from office in
February 1997. An interim president, Fabián Alarcón, whose party only had 3
seats in Congress, served until 1998. Jamil Mahuad won the 1998 elections, but
he, too, was deposed, this time in an army-supported coup in 2000.
International condemnation of the coup forced the junta to leave power in
favor of Vice President Gustavo Noboa. His reform policies including carrying
out the dollarization plan that had fueled the discontent with Mahuad.
Therefore, Ecuadorian politics have been fraught with difficulties for the
country's presidents.
Conclusion
Although domestic reasons are paramount for understanding why the
Cenepa War between Ecuador and Peru occurred, the war presents an
opportunity to explore the role of a hegemon in ensuring peace and security.
This paper does not take the position that the occurrence of any war disproves
68
Mares, Violent Peace,
69
Mares, Violent Peace,
Convention