Latin America Erupts: Ecuador’s Return to the Past

Issue Date July 2021
Volume 32
Issue 3
Page Numbers 5-18
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The election of Guillermo Lasso in Ecuador may indicate a return to the neoliberalism, fiscal austerity, and minority government that marked the contentious politics of the 1990s and 2000s. This “return to the past” is the result of successive governments’ inability to resolve longstanding structural deficiencies. Despite overt attempts to forge a new trajectory, Rafael Correa’s Citizens’ Revolution reflected an illusory stability that depended on favorable political-economic conditions. After government revenues decreased and Correa left office, the country’s political and economic pathologies reemerged. Ultimately, the nature of these problems bodes ill for governability under Lasso and for democratic stability.

About the Authors

John Polga-Hecimovich

John Polga-Hecimovich is associate professor of political science at the U.S. Naval Academy.

View all work by John Polga-Hecimovich

Francisco Sánchez

Francisco Sánchez is professor of political science and administration and director of the Iberoamérica Institute at the University of Salamanca.

View all work by Francisco Sánchez