Ecuador

Abstract

Ecuador is a small-sized country in the heart of Latin America. As of mid-2018, more than 60% of the nearly 16.5 million inhabitants live in urban areas, and the indigenous population represents 7% of the total population. As with most of Ecuador?s neighboring countries in the Latin American region, mass media in Ecuador have played an important political role in the development of the public agenda and the political identities of citizens?whether from the historical development of a community media committed to defending minority cultures and the interests of the most impoverished areas of the country or from the powerful private sector that is committed to corporate interests. Recently, the government, led by Rafael Correa from 2007 to 2017, attempted to strengthen public and community media and change the dynamics of action, public policies, and debates around the democratization of media sector. However, this restructuring of the media sector from one dominated by private media concentrated in few hands has yet to be achieved. This entry first reviews the history of media in Ecuador and the current status of the sector.