User:Colossal Squid/Sandbox/Ecuador

Ecuador is a country in South America whose main international claim to fame is an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean known as the Galápagos Islands, a secluded paradise of biodiversity whose inhabitants don't fear humans as much as the rest of the world due to the place mostly being free of them. Iconic critters include the finches that pop culture attributes to Darwin's theory of evolution, and the Galápagos tortoise, the largest in the world. For a while, it was also known for being Julian Assange's hideout until he was kicked out in 2019.

Politics
Ecuador is notable for their indigenous groups, represented by CONAIE (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador), being responsible for overthrowing three of the country's leaders within the span of 1997-2005. Things calmed down for a while when leftist leader Rafael Correa got elected as part of South America's pink tide, for he succeeded in significantly reducing the country's inequality. while promising to keep the oil in Yasuni National Park in exchange for a huge sum of money from the United Nations. Not being able to acquire the money, he backtracked and started drilling, which naturally pissed off the indigenous tribes living there.

His former Vice-President Lenín Moreno got elected in 2017 and proceeded to backstab Correa by backtracking on his entire leftist agenda while preventing him from ever running again. While Ecuadorians were initially relieved to have a new face, they steadily became more and more annoyed with his neoliberal policies. This came to a head in October 2019 when he cancelled fuel subsidies as part of an austerity package that came with a $4.2 IMF loan, sending fuel prices sky-high and sparking such intense mass protest that his government had to flee the capital of Quito. However, he managed to keep his position as leader by eventually reaching a deal with the country's indigenous groups, including backtracking on the fuel subsidies.