Populism in Ecuador: Inclusion, Exclusion, and Polarization

• In Event: Poster Session: Comparative Politics of Developing Countries 2

Abstract

During his ten-year presidency, Rafael Correa exemplified Latin America’s polarizing populism. Similar to other polarizing populist leaders in the region like Juan Domingo Perón, Alberto Fujimori, and Evo Morales, this paper argues that polarized views on Correa were due to his simultaneous inclusion and exclusion toward the members of the in-group vs. the out-group. Through a qualitative content analysis of Correa’s weekly TV show and the V-Dem data, the paper unpacks Correa’s inclusionary and exclusionary populist leadership to explain polarization in Ecuador. The findings show that at symbolic, political, and material dimensions, Correa polarized the Ecuadorians into two antagonistic camps. Symbolically, Correa claimed to empower forgotten Ecuadorians and described them with favorable phrases such as the patriots, humble ones, hopeful ones, enthusiastic ones, and members of the Citizens’ Revolution. In contrast, Correa frequently attacked his opponents by calling them the corrupt ones, the liars, the primitive ones, the traitors, the bigwigs among others. At the political level, Correa opened up the political space through a participatory constitution-making process, multiple referendums, and plebiscites, lowering the voting-eligible age, increasing the representation of women as well as Afro-Ecuadorians. On the other hand, Correa concentrated power at the executive branch, undermined the freedom of the press, clashed with the indigenous movement, regulated civil society, and restricted the opposition parties’ ability to compete on equal ground. Materially, Correa used rampant oil revenues to build roads, hospitals, schools, and other public works projects. He also developed conditional cash transfers, which helped him reduce poverty and inequality. However, the clientelistic nature of his social policies created a new group of winners and losers in Ecuadorian society. Overall, the findings of the paper contribute to our understanding of populist leaders whose legacies continue to polarize their countries even if they are out of office. In that sense, the Ecuadorian experience contains significant lessons for the students of Latin American Politics but also populism and democracy more broadly.

Author

• Orçun Selçuk, Luther College