The Implementation of Buen Vivir in Ecuador: An Analysis of the Stakeholders’ Discourses

Abstract

Buen vivir is a central notion in Ecuador and was introduced in its Constitution in 2008. On the individual level, this notion describes a multidimensional form of well-being, integrating strong cultural and ecological aspects based on indigenous communities’ knowledge. On the national scale, buen vivir is the key notion of public policies and justifies an intervention of the state in all dimensions of sustainable development. The implementation of buen vivir in a developing country as Ecuador raises questions about multiple social and economic aspects. The aim of this paper is to identify all of these challenges that such a transition implies. To do so, this paper uses a qualitative and multidimensional approach based on 40 semi-directive interviews with stakeholders of the policy implementation of buen vivir. The interview grid was divided into four parts: (i) individual characteristics, (ii) definition and implementation of buen vivir, (iii) the extractivism in Ecuador and (iv) the challenges of the transition between two models of development. The preliminary results identify two major challenges. Firstly, the main challenge is the governance of this major transition and the issue of corruption in Ecuador. Secondly, these interviews show that education is the most central dimension to implement buen vivir correctly. Keywords: Buen vivir, discourse’s analysis, extractivism

How and why buy-in for health in all policies was facilitated in Ecuador: a realist case study of Plan Nacional para el Buen Vivir

“…The Correa government became notorious for criminalizing and demeaning such voices, which had previously helped bring it to power [ 38 ]. One qualitative study [ 40 ] identified a group of stakeholders outside of the public sector and not involved in the implementation of PNBV who were more critical of the implementation of PNBV. For example, one stakeholder was critical of Correa’s turn towards extractivism in 2012, which is echoed in other articles that highlight his government's aggressive promotion of mining, oil and gas extraction, and agroindustry [ 16 , 37 ].…”

“…For example, one stakeholder was critical of Correa’s turn towards extractivism in 2012, which is echoed in other articles that highlight his government's aggressive promotion of mining, oil and gas extraction, and agroindustry [ 16 , 37 ]. In another interview, a government stakeholder argued that extractivism in the short term was necessary to finance a reduction in poverty [ 40 ], echoing a common narrative in Correa’s public service (and public speeches) that helped to dismiss resistance to resource extraction as ‘infantile’ or insufficiently informed by science [ 38 ].…”