QUITO, Ecuador (AP) -- The armed forces warned Sunday that some
                  political and business leaders were conspiring against democracy in this
                  troubled Andean nation but said they would remain vigilant to protect it.

                  In a news release, the military high command said, "Some groups of political
                  and economic power are conspiring against the interests of the nation,
                  including manipulating the judiciary system" to undermine the elected
                  government.

                  The statement, seen as a strong display of support for embattled President
                  Jamil Mahuad, did not identify the alleged conspirators.

                  Since midyear, Mahuad, a Harvard-educated centrist, has faced demands to
                  step down from both the political left and right. Several business leaders who
                  are dissatisfied with Mahuad's handling of the economy added their voices
                  this month to the call for his replacement.

                  His rivals accuse him of ineffectiveness in managing the worst financial crisis
                  to hit the nation since the Great Depression. Ecuador has the highest inflation
                  in South America, exceeding 50 percent a year. The economy has shrunk
                  this year by 7 percent and the national currency is in a downward spiral.

                  Earlier this month, Washington's top official for Latin America urged
                  Ecuador's strident opposition leaders to reach a consensus with the
                  government on how to pull Ecuador out of its deep economic crisis .

                  "The road is to find a consensus revolving around national themes," Peter
                  Romero, assistant secretary of state for Latin American affairs, said during a
                  visit to Quito.

                  The Quito newspaper El Comercio reported that Romero left "frustrated" by
                  his efforts to bring political leaders together to resolve Ecuador's serious
                  problems. The paper said that advice from abroad is routinely ignored by
                  Ecuador's political establishment, which is immersed in petty squabbling.

                  The statement distributed by the Defense Ministry said some political and
                  business leaders were "irresponsibly using language that violated the
                  constitution and laws, putting in grave risk democratic institutions."

                  The armed forces said some political leaders were trying to exploit deep
                  poverty and high employment, "which are the result of years of neglect,
                  irresponsibility and mistakes, to politically destabilize the country" without
                  reflecting on the chaos it would cause and the loss of international aid.

                  The statement said the armed forces renewed their vows to "guarantee the
                  legal order of the republic."

                  Pascual del Cioppo, president of the biggest opposition force, the rightist
                  Social Christian Party, responded that "criticizing the regime is not
                  destablizing democracy."