Officers in Ecuador's armed forces could be about to lose their privileges and perks.
President Rafael Correa has called for officers to be stripped of separate dining facilities and meals. In a speech marking Navy Day, he called such practices anachronistic, hateful vestiges of inequality. The populist leftist leader also criticised "exclusive" clubs for military officers paid for with taxpayer dollars.
While clubs and recreational facilities for officers are better appointed in Ecuador than those for enlisted personnel, service people do pay fees to help maintain them.