The pitfalls of unity efforts in Ecuador.
| Autor | Saavedra, Luis Angel |
| Cargo | Essay |
With the goal of defeating Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa, or whomever he taps as his successor for the elections in February 2017, traditional political sectors are pushing for the creation of a bloc to present a single opposition candidate (NotiSur, March 13, 2015, July 17, 2015, and Aug. 21, 2015). While the country's history is full of examples of unification efforts made in response to a specific crisis, they have been favorable for the right, and have resulted in demobilization and persecution of forces on the left.
Everyone against Correa
The tremendous political power concentrated in President Correa and the lack of a strong leadership in other political factions has encouraged several sectors to propose a unified effort, organized outside ideological lines and with the sole objective of separating governmental functions and re-institutionalizing the country.
Azuay Provincial Prefect Paul Carrasco, a social democrat, launched the initiative and invited representatives of the strongest sectors of the Ecuadoran right--the mayors of Quito and Guayaquil, Mauricio Rodas and Jaime Nebot, respectively--to join him in uniting against Correa. Carrasco's proposal, which enjoys great popularity in Southern Ecuador, is that all political forces should join with the sole purpose of defeating Correa in an arena where the president controls all the power, including the electoral apparatus. Carrasco believes that no one in the opposition can win with an electoral system biased in favor of Correa and capable of committing electoral fraud to benefit the official candidate. Having a single candidate reduces the possibility of fraud by concentrating the opposition vote.
Once in power, Carrasco says, the unified opposition would proceed to modify the Constitution, eliminating the elements that allowed the current concentration of power, such as the Consejo de Participacion Ciudadana (Citizen Participation Council), which is the body charged with naming all the control entities as well as the justice and electoral councils. The next step after eliminating the Consejo would be to set up new electoral colleges and new courts of justice as well as name new public officials to direct regulatory agencies such as the Contraloria General del Estado (comptroller general), the Procuraduria General (solicitor general) and the Fiscalia General (attorney general). Once the new institutions are established, new elections would be called in which the parties and...
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