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U.S. tells Ecuador army to stay out of politics

QUITO, Ecuador, Feb 16 (Reuters) - A senior U.S. official said on Wednesday that Ecuador's military, which led a short- lived coup in January, must let civilians run the troubled Latin American state.

U.S. Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering, speaking after a meeting with President Gustavo Noboa, told reporters that civilian politicians ``have key roles to play to preserve Ecuador's fragile democracy''.

The military should ``not get involved in politics,'' he said.

Noboa was named president by Congress after democratically elected President Jamil Mahuad was overthrown by an army-backed Indian uprising in January. A junta including the army head was briefly set up but quickly handed power to Noboa, who had been Mahuad's vice-president.

At the time, Washington gave Noboa muted support while regretting the circumstances of his ascent to power. The ousted Mahuad also said he would support the new government to help pull the country out of its deep economic problems.

Mahuad's attempts at reforming the Andean country's economy were hampered by an unruly Congress and political bickering.

Pickering repeated U.S. promises to support the country's difficult economic transition, but made no specific pledges.

``The United States is ready to support Ecuador in the economic changes that may be necessary for the future of the country,'' he said.

Ecuador, a nation the size of Italy with 12 million people, is negotiating a long-delayed loan deal with the International Monetary Fund and plans to adopt the U.S. dollar and replace its own currency, the sucre, in a bid to eradicate chronic inflation.

The current chaos erupted in 1998 after destructive tropical storms and a plunge in the value of key oil exports pummeled an economy already struggling under a debt load almost equal to its economic output.

Last September, Ecuador said it did not have money to pay back foreign loans and would not pay certain debt -- a move investors feared could embolden other poor nations to default.

Mahuad unveiled the dollarization plan in early January, sparking the revolt by Indians who said it would further impoverish them. Noboa is pressing on with the plan despite widespread popular opposition.