Democratic Constitutionalism and Constitutional Innovation in Ecuador

Abstract

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.

Patria ya es de él: presidencialismo plebiscitario, partido instrumental y élite legislativa en Ecuador

“…• 9 y planteando un nuevo papel del Estado en la economía (Viciano & Martínez Dalmau, 2010). En este proceso, el plebiscito de ratificación de la nueva Constitución también sirve como mecanismo de legitimación (Martínez Dalmau, 2015), lo que refuerza la autopercepción de los presidentes como ejecutores de la voluntad popular y sus representantes directos. Correa, un presidente ajeno al statu quo que lideraba un proyecto radical de cambio, requería de mecanismos indiscutibles de legitimación y apoyo social como una Asamblea y un plebiscito.…”

Ecuador’s dual populisms: Neocolonial extractivism, violence and indigenous resistance

“…Over the past two decades, the search for alternative development models has emerged as a defining political commitment for many of Latin America’s Pink Tide governments. In this context, Ecuador has been hailed as one of the most radical and innovative countries in the region for its introduction of the concept of buen vivir or sumak kawsay , Kichwa for ‘living well’ or ‘excellent living’ (Gudynas, 2009b; Martínez Dalmau, 2015). For advocates, the concept represents nothing less than a paradigm break with pre-existing developmental models (Gudynas, 2011; Gudynas and Acosta, 2011).…”

“…Rather, its inclusion was a response to significant social movement pressures and reflected their organizing efforts within the Constituent Assembly. Moreover, as attested by its appearance in over 20 sections of the Constitution (including its establishment as its own institutional and rights regime), it was to be a constitutive framework for the new regime, its ‘axiological basis’ emblematic of the newly refounded state (Martínez-Dalmau, 2015).…”