Communist Party of Ecuador (in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

: ''Partido Comunista del Ecuador'') is a

communist party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

. It was formed in 1925 as the Socialist Party. The party publishes ''El Pueblo'', the general secretary is Winston Alarcón and the youth wing of the PCE is the Communist Youth of Ecuador.

History

After its foundation PCE gradually gained in importance; in 1944 the PCE won fifteen out of eighty-five seats in the National Assembly and had one of its members appointed minister of education. The first female MP of the country,

Nela Martínez Nela Martínez Espinosa (November 24, 1912 – July 30, 2004) was an Ecuadorian communist, political militant, activist, and writer. For four days in 1944 she was the leader of Ecuador. Biography Nela Martinez was born in Cañar, Ecuador and ...

, belonged to the party. In 1946 the government outlawed the PCE and jailed many of its members. The PCE was legalized during the 1948-52 term of President

Galo Plaza Galo Lincoln Plaza Lasso de la Vega (17 February 1906 – 28 January 1987) was an Ecuadorian statesman who served as President of Ecuador from 1948 to 1952 and Secretary General of the Organization of American States from 1968 to 1975. He is the ...

, but was banned again when the military junta held power in 1963-1966. In 1964 PCE suffered a major split. The pro-

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

minority constituted the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of Ecuador (PCMLE) which went on to side with

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

during the

Sino-Albanian split The Sino-Albanian split was the gradual worsening of relations between the People's Socialist Republic of Albania and the People's Republic of China in the period 1972–1978. Both countries had supported each other in the Soviet–Albanian and S ...

and now maintains a

hoxhaist Hoxhaism () is a variant of Anti-revisionism, anti-revisionist Marxism–Leninism that developed in the late 1970s due to a split in the anti-revisionist movement, appearing after the Sino-Albanian split, ideological dispute between the Chinese ...

line. In the mid-1960s the U.S. State Department estimated the party membership to be approximately 2500. Later PCE was legalized, although it had only an estimated 5000 members in 1988. The PCE participated in congressional and presidential elections as part of the coalition of the Broad Left Front (), which gained thirteen seats in Congress in 1986. The main strength of PCE is its

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

work. PCE plays a leading role in the Confederation of Ecuadorian Workers (). The party supported the government of the former presidente

Rafael Correa Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado (; born 6 April 1963), known as Rafael Correa, is an Ecuadorian politician and economist who served as President of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017. The leader of the PAIS Alliance political movement from its foundation ...

References

1925 establishments in Ecuador

Communist parties in Ecuador Far-left politics in Ecuador International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties Political parties established in 1925 Political parties in Ecuador São Paulo Forum {{Ecuador-party-stub