Where in the world is Ecuador? Country goes missing on new Brazilian textbook map

A map of South America in which landlocked Paraguay is shown with an Atlantic coastline and Ecuador does not exist may be found in a geography textbook used in the public schools of Brazil’s most-populous state.

Besides confusing Uruguay with Paraguay, another Paraguay figures on the map occupying a large part of Bolivian territory and distorting Colombia’s borders.

The book is intended for sixth-graders in Sao Paulo state.

According to teachers who reported the “crude errors” in an interview on Globo television, the map keeps students from correctly knowing about South American countries and where they are located.

The Sao Paulo Education Secretariat attributed the mistakes to the company contracted to prepare the material.

But the publisher, the Vanzolini Foundation, said the books were prepared by teachers recommended by the Education Secretariat.

The Sao Paulo state government said that it has already warned all schools about the errors on the map so that both teachers and students are aware of them.

According to the Education Secretariat, which refrained from saying how many of these books had been distributed, they will not be withdrawn since the mistakes can be corrected directly by the teachers.

Credit: Latin America Herald Tribune