Communist Party of Ecuador (in Spanish: Partido Comunista del Ecuador) is a political party in Ecuador. It was formed in 1925 as the Socialist Party. The party publishes El Pueblo, the general secretary is Gustavo Iturralde and the youth wing of the PCE is the Juventud Comunista del Ecuador (JCE).
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, 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 Lasso, but was banned again when the military junta held power in 1963-1966.
In 1964 PCE suffered a major split. The pro-China minority constituted the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of Ecuador (PCMLE).
Later PCE was a legally constituted political party, although it had only an estimated 500 members in 1988. The PCE participated in congressional and presidential elections as part of the coalition of the Broad Left Front (Frente Amplio de la Izquierda), which gained thirteen seats in Congress in 1986.
PCE joined the government of Lucio Gutiérrez.
The main strength of PCE is its trade union work. PCE plays a leading role in the Confederation of Ecuadorian Workers (Confederación de Trabajadores Ecuatorianos).
