From staff and wire reports

                  QUITO, Ecuador -- Cautious support for the new government of Ecuador
                  was given by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, just before Ecuador's new
                  civilian president, Gustavo Noboa, entered Government Palace to begin work
                  on Sunday.

                  At the same time, Arturo Valenzuela, U.S. President Bill Clinton's Latin
                  America adviser, told Argentina's Clarin newspaper that the military coup in
                  Ecuador did not signal a resurgence of junta rule in the region.

                  Chavez's endorsement came after the U.S. State Department on Saturday
                  evening expressed its support but warned that it was still "watching closely"
                  to ensure the country's constitution is upheld during the transition of power.

                  Chavez, a former army coup leader, welcomed the fact that Ecuadorians
                  "found a peaceful outcome" to the popular rebellion that led to President
                  Jamil Mahuad's overthrow on Saturday.

                  "We cannot condemn people when they take to the streets," he said,
                  stressing that Venezuela's position was one of "respect and noninterference
                  in internal matters."

                  'Who are we to judge the people of Ecuador?'

                  "I saw 25,000 Indians asking for their rights. I saw military units supporting
                  them," Chavez added. "Who are we to judge the people of Ecuador? We
                  asked for a peaceful and democratic solution and, thank God, that's what
                  happened."

                  Valenzuela, calling the circumstances leading to the change a "constitutional
                  crisis," said the region still had a long way to go to full democracy.

                  "For example, Argentina's democracy is still very young...(but) is much more
                  ahead in this than countries like Paraguay or Ecuador, for example. And
                  that's not to mention Haiti or countries like Venezuela or Peru, where there
                  were significant reversals of the constitution."

                  Valenzuela added: "Ecuador's example shows how fragile the region's
                  democracies are. However, I do not believe this is a return to coups d'etat in
                  the traditional sense, when military juntas seized power by force to impose
                  repressive regimes that systematically violated human rights.

                  "Obviously this is not a normal situation from a constitutional point of view.
                  That a president appears on television to say he's been ousted is not normal.
                  But at the same time President Jamil Mahuad said he would not oppose
                  Noboa assuming the presidency."

                  A day of governmental disarray

                  Angry at Mahuad's inability to stop Ecuador's economic slide, hundreds of
                  Indian protesters, led by Antonio Vargas, stormed the empty Congress
                  building Friday. They and young army officers unhappy with widespread
                  corruption announced the creation of a new government, including a
                  "Parliament of the People" and a three-man governing junta.

                  Mahuad fled into hiding. Defense Secretary and top military chief Gen.
                  Carlos Mendoza took a seat in the junta but then quickly dissolved it, ceding
                  power to Noboa.

                  Saturday, many Indian protesters were leaving the capital and expressing
                  disappointment with Noboa, the breakup of the junta and a lack of military
                  support.

                  "Among the generals there was betrayal," said Indian leader Euclides
                  Collauasi. "They have betrayed us."

                  All sides urged to work together

                  U.S. Department of State deputy spokesman James B. Foley had
                  praise for Mahuad's handling of the crisis.

                  "While we regret the circumstances that led President Mahuad to call for
                  public support for a Noboa presidency, his statement is a magnanimous
                  gesture to pave the way to restore the country to constitutional order."

                  "The United States calls on all parties to continue to work together to
                  address the severe economic and social challenges which played a central
                  role on bringing about the current crisis and that Ecuador will continue to
                  face."

                  The day after the ousting of Mahuad, vendors returned to squat in the
                  presidential palace's shadows, hawking freshly cut roses as they do every
                  day of the week.

                  But army troops are in the shadows as well. They have laid strips of
                  concertina wire to block access to the seat of power.

                  Tensions still under the surface

                  While a semblance of normality may be returning to Quito, Ecuador's
                  capital, the political tensions that sparked the military coup are still under the
                  surface.

                  The thousands of indigenous Indians who marched on the palace demanding
                  Mahuad's resignation are heading back to their mountain communities. But
                  they say their fight is far from over.

                  They say things will not change because Noboa has said he would maintain
                  current economic policies, those that critics say have led to a 60 percent
                  inflation rate and a precipitous crash in the value of the country's currency.

                  Warning from Indian leader

                  "We are going to continue fighting. We may return to march in Quito, and
                  we could be a lot more hard-line when we mobilize," Antonio Vargas, the
                  Indian leader who led the protests, told Reuters by telephone from a hiding
                  place outside Quito.

                  One piece of graffiti in the city reads, "Mahuad has left, what next?"

                  That is the question being asked by many, including military leaders, who
                  have shown they are interested enough in the country's political situation to
                  take direct action -- and who presumably would not hesitate to do so again
                  if they felt it necessary.

                  Noboa, whose motto for these times is "Peace, progress and justice,"
                  appointed six ministers on Sunday to minor posts but left the key portfolios
                  of energy and finance empty. He is due to name these ministers by Tuesday.

                     Mexico City Bureau Chief Harris Whitbeck and Reuters contributed to this report.