Ecuador Decentralizes and Reorganizes

Quito, Jan 18 (Prensa Latina) The new state administrative structure that establishes Ecuador's division into seven regions to guarantee better distribution of resources, is attracting the attention of the citizenry Friday.

The proposal of territorial decentralization, regionalization, and reorganization was presented to the national media by the chief of SENPLADES (National Planning and Development Office) Fander Falconi.

He explained that the plan is to group several provinces in an administrative region, considering their demographic, social, fiscal, risk, and infrastructure components.

This reform is part of President Rafael Correa's project to change the State, and should be included in the Constitution that the Constituent Assembly is elaborating.

The initiative is an attempt to end social and regional inequality and move toward a decentralization process of competence and resources.

Falconi said this would favor a progressive transference of attributions and functions from the central Executive to the local and intermediate governments of each region.

According to the proposal, there would be seven administrative regions and the cities of Quito, the capital, and Guayaquil, which has more than two million inhabitants, would be metropolitan districts.

The Galapagos Islands, due to its specific characteristics, will have a special administration.

Provincial and municipal governments fear losing their autonomies under the project, but Falconi said the new administrative division would not negatively affect the territories at all; rather it will benefit them, because greater assistance to the populations will be possible.