Ecuador Border Issues and Complications with Peru

Ecuador lies at the beginning portion of the Amazonian Basin and the border between it and Peru lies on the Condor Mountain Range. This is a very interesting area for several reasons. It has been in and out of Peruvian hands historically and previously it was apart of Gran Colombia. In addition, the area is strategic and economically. With access further occupation of the basin, Ecuador would have greater accessibility to resources and the Atlantic Ocean. Both it and Peru would lay claim to the mountain range and just over a century of flaring conflicts would result. Over the time period, there have been at least thirty four conflicts over the territory of the Amazon.

The foundation of these conflicts came from two factors. One was the influences of a state's need to better itself in the global economy. This would be the essence of Wallerstein's World Systems Theory and helps explain the desire for the resources of the land. The framework to allow this to take place was the other factor: imperialism. As previously read, the territory of and around Ecuador changed hands many times over the centuries. These changes in possession resulted in an accumulation of many treaties of states that no longer exist. From Peru's perspective, both countries were starting fresh with independence and thus ignored previous agreements. Ecuador, on the other hand, still considered many of these treaties valid.

It is essentially the fallout of the former imperialist rulers that brought about the conflict. Surely, the desire for the land was self-serving for both countries strategically, however, without Ecuador's sense of place and connection to the area the claim for the land would haven't been justified.

Rio Protocol

In 1942, Ecuador and Peru broke out into war over their territorial disputes. While this wasn't the first time violence occurred, however, it was the bloodiest yet. A meeting was set-up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to settle the matter which came to be known as the Rio Protocol. In addition, four arbitrators, or guarantors, were called to the meeting as well. These were Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and the United States.

Now this brings up an interesting conundrum about sovereignty. It is common practice to bring unsettled claims to some sort of neutral party in order to get them resolved. However, it must be asked were these four countries neutral? This question can even be extended to today as, according to the Rio Protocol, they shall continue to act to help in the present. Unfortunately, a full investigation is beyond the scope of this paper so it is difficult to determine the level of bias that could have or have not been present at the meetings. But it is easy to see where outside countries could decide the course of another country's future and statehood and thus affect both its political and territorial sovereignty.

The 1995 Dispute

The problems didn't end with the Rio Protocol. Due to aerial photography, areas in the Amazon Basin not apart of the pact were discovered (Ratcliffe, 1998)(Simmons, 1999). This discovery led Ecuador quickly to disregard the Rio Protocol and declared it as invalid. Peru simply ignored the claim putting its weight behind the agreement that was signed. The significance of the area lies in its geographical placement. Firstly, it too was apart of Gran Colombia's territory when it existed. Also, it is a region that contains a vast amount of value because of the resources, such as gold, timber and oil, which are located there. Obviously, the claimed region would be very useful to both countries and because of the confusion over boundary definition due to previous imperial activity it is easy for both to claim.