The State of Liberal Democracy in Ecuador. 2017 Global Review of Constitutional Law (original) (raw)
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Ecuador – The State of Liberal Democracy
The report will be published in the volume of I·CONnect-Clough Center 2017 Global Review of Constitutional Law. We discuss the most important constitutional developments in Ecuador in 2017, from the point of view of the level of liberal democracy. We touch upon issues such as he presidential elections, the referendum on the indefinite reelection of the president or the cases on corruption, just to mention some.
State of Liberal Democracy Ecuador 2018
I·CONnect-Clough Center 2018 Global Review of Constitutional Law, 2019
Ecuador expressed a strong consensus about the need to fight corruption. The transitory Council for Public Participation and Social Control was set up to investigate the abuse of power and lack of impartiality in the judiciary. The result was the unveiling of corruption scandals and the dismissal of the Constitutional Court.
Liberalism in Ecuador: In Search of a Constitution
Ecuador is not a society that upholds classical liberal values. Since its inception as a republic in 1830, the country has had twenty constitutions with an average duration of nine years, that is, slightly over two presidential terms. Why has liberalism not taken root in Ecuador? In this paper we argue that the main reason is the combination of a weak state capacity and a rentist society. This is problematic because it leads to constitutions that are customized to the current ruling coalition. Together, these characteristics lead society to an ongoing process of constitutional instability that generate uncertainty undermining society's grasp of liberal values and economic development.
Since the renewal of constituent power in the 1991 Colombian constitution, various democratic constitutions in Latin American countries have undertaken important structural changes in both the organization of public powers, the democratic legitimacy of power, and the constitutional reform of rights. Among these new constitutional texts in Latin America, the 2008 Ecuadorean constitution, with sumak kawsay (living well) as its axiological basis, stands out for its originality and theoretical advances as the first case of transitional constitutionalism. All these constitutions, however, are faced with an enforcement problem that hinders their operation as instruments of social transformation. Desde la renovación del poder constituyente en la Constitución colombiana de 1991, varias constituciones democráticas en los países de América Latina han llevado a cabo importantes cambios estructurales tanto en la organización de los poderes públicos, la legitimidad democrática del poder, y la regeneración constitucional de los derechos. Entre estos nuevos textos constitucionales en América Latina, la constitución de Ecuador 2008, con el sumak kawsay (buen vivir) como su base axiológica, destaca por su originalidad y avances teóricos como el primer caso de constitucionalismo de transición. Todas estas constituciones, sin embargo, se enfrentan a un problema de aplicación que dificulta su funcionamiento como instrumentos de transformación social.
2009
The paper takes a comparative look at the ongoing processes of rethinking and reworking democracy in Bolivia and Ecuador. It analyzes the new constitutions in both countries as the politicoinstitutional expression of these processes of transforming democracy within democracy. The paper tries to capture the shapes of the democratic institutions and processes as conceptualized by the new Magna Cartas. It specifically asks whether the constitutions comprise elements that deviate from -or go beyond -the mainstream model of liberal democracy and to what extent these constitute alternatives, complements or substitutes to liberal-democratic concepts. The theoretic premise is that each really existing democratic order is a specific blend of contradictory democratic principles (e.g., sovereignty of the people vs. constitutionalism, majority rule vs. protection of minorities, political equality vs. individual freedom, individual equality vs. recognition of cultural differences). The processes of constitutional change in Bolivia and Ecuador can, thus, be read as attempts to readjust and rebalance these principles by strengthening the plebiscitary and participatory aspects of democracy as well as the economic, social and cultural dimensions of human rights.
The powers of the five functions of the state in Ecuador
Revista Tecnológica Ciencia y Educación Edwards Deming
The design of the functions of the State, within the framework of the liberal regime characterized by political representation, has been deeply criticized from a legal and political perspective. However, since the current Ecuadorian Constitution, there have been significant changes in the institutional design, which have generated a profound theoretical and normative discussion on the validity of constitutional paradigms as old as the tripartition of powers or the form of democracy. However, this apparent dichotomy between types of democracy, in our case representative and participatory, has not allowed us to examine the progress and setbacks in the implementation of democratic institutions in Ecuador. It is therefore necessary to analyze within the constitutional changes, the new Function of Transparency and Social Control, especially the Council of Citizen Participation and Social Control. Especially the power to appoint the highest authorities of the State. At the end of this stu...
Brief Visualization of Democracy and Human Rights in Ecuador from 1972-2020
Acta Scientific Orthopaedics, 2022
The following study aims to develop a brief analysis through a documentary, theoretical and descriptive study that manages to gather accurate content on democracy and human rights in Ecuador. The methodology used is mixed, quantitatively Google Drive digital surveys were used and in this way statistical data was obtained, qualitatively documentary research content is presented, the same one that compiles different texts from books, articles, scientific magazines, articles of newspapers, information from educational texts, among others, to process the information obtained, organize it and provide an analysis. Therefore, one of the main results is that political parties through the media influence society, they are also observed in question No. 14, if there is democracy today? where 58% said yes, while 42% said no. Finally, in conclusion, the presidential commands due to the economic crisis have taken measures that directly affect the Ecuadorian people such as: fraud, deception, administrative failures, economic crises, which have a greater impact on the most vulnerable sectors, due to this the population feels that equal rights do not exist as part of an equitable democracy.
Critical Essays on Human Rights Criticism (A. Sajó & R. Uitz, eds.) , 2020
This chapter has two aims. First, to present and discuss the 2018 referendum called by the Ecuadorian President, Lenín Moreno. Second, to analyse how (in)effective the Inter-American System (IAS) was in preventing the human rights violations and the institutional crisis that developed in the country as a consequence of the referendum. For these purposes, I describe the national proceedings that preceded the referendum, showing that President Moreno by-passed regular constitutional proceedings and Ecuadorians received no protection from the Constitutional Court. Then I discuss how the IAS responded to two individual applications that requested the System’s bodies to suspend the referendum or its implementation. I conclude that the IAS left Ecuadorians with no protection and allowed the institutional chaos and the rupture of democratic principles that followed the implementation of the referendum.
Elections in Ecuador: An Emerging Alternative beyond the Left-Right Antagonism
GIGA Focus, 2021
On 11 April 2021 Ecuador's presidential runoff election will take place between leftist candidate Andrés Arauz from the UNES coalition and right-wing conservative Guillermo Lasso from the PSC-CREO alliance. Though this appears to be a conventional left-right battle, the successful first-round performance of Yaku Pérez from Pachakutik and Xavier Hervas from the ID surprised many observers. • Ecuador's runoff represents the choice between two opposing models of development. Arauz seeks to advance ex-president Rafael Correa's anti-neoliberal "Citi-zen Revolution," while Lasso promotes the old neoliberal agenda. Both contenders are betting on revenues from extractivism to fund their development plans. • In the first round, Arauz and Lasso avoided taking firm stances on issues related to the environment, gender, and sexual minorities. For the runoff , they have both "greened" their agendas and spun their positions as "women-and LGBT-friendly," recognizing the success of alternative third forces led by Pachakutik and the Izquierda Democrática (ID). • Despite a left majority in the legislature, creating a unified leftist front is wishful thinking. The differences between Unión por la Esperanza (UNES) and Pachakutik are irreconcilable: the former seems incapable of turning away from its founding figure, Correa, and the indigenous movement continues to be internally fragmented. • As both runoff candidates combined received only a little over half of the first-round vote, endorsements are currently a crucial battleground for the finalists. Pachakutik and the ID have announced they will support neither Arauz nor Lasso. The political tradition in Ecuador indicates that votes are not easily transferred, due to voters' weak identification with programmatic militancy and ideology. Policy Implications: Whoever wins the presidential runoff will have to deal with an urgent and profound socioeconomic crisis reinforced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Popular forces which have gained prominence in the first round of the elections-will persist vis-à-vis their environmental and social demands despite the unfavourable scenario. The region needs to keep its eyes open, as Ecuador might be a showcase of growing resistance and political mobilization.