The Paradoxes of Post-Populist Institutionalization in Ecuador

• In Event: Latin American Populism in between Democracy and Authoritarianism

Abstract

This paper analyzes the prospects for post-populist institutionalization of democracy in Ecuador. It compares how populists and non-populists appeal to the people through popular consultations. Rafael Correa used consultations to replace a crisis-ridden liberal democracy with a populist plebiscitarian variant. Lenín Moreno used consultations to attempt to re-institutionalize liberal democracy. Despite their profound differences, populists and their foes often understood consultations as direct expressions of the sovereign will of the people and used laws instrumentally to bring rapid change. Yet they differ in that populists act as if their projects of transformation are unconstrained by norms, and that they are the redeemers and saviors of the people. Non-populists use the exception to get rid of populism and, as they claim, to bring back democracy. When self-described democrats argue that exceptionalism allows them to govern outside the rule of law, they perpetuate arbitrariness, weaken institutions and constitutions, increase political instability, and pave the way for the return of or the emergence of another populist.

Authors

• Felipe Burbano

• Carlos de la Torre, University of Florida