Latin America's move to the left continued Sunday as voters in Ecuador overwhelmingly approved a new constitution. The 444-article constitution gives the government greater control over the economy including oil revenues, recognizes the inalienable rights of the natural world, legalizes gay marriage and guarantees social security benefits for stay-at-home mothers and workers in the informal sector, as well as free education for all through university level. The new constitution also makes it possible for Ecuador's president Rafael Correa to hold office until 2017.
Ecuador has long been one of South America's poorest and most politically unstable countries and Correa was voted into power two years ago on his promise to radically remake the nation's political institutions to serve the needs of its 14 million people. The new constitution written and approved by an elected constituent assembly that met earlier this year.
Venezuela and Bolivia have also charted similar moves to the left in recent years.
With soaring mountains and the the Amazonian rainforest, Ecuador is one of the most ecologically diverse countries on the planet and the new constitution has drawn the attention of environmentalists with its promise of protection for the natural world including the right of nature “to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution".
Indigenous critics of Correa worry that his government will still look to the mining industry to generate the revenues he needs to fund his social programs and the new Constitution doesn't give local communities veto power over future projects that could be destructive of their way of life.
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correa is not as left as the media portrays him. he is an economist first, with a phd in economics from the university of illinois. he understands that a "moderate" free market is needed, and has no intention of nationalizing any of the key income sectors in his country. the fact that he will provide a certain amount of social security to its citizens is not a "leftist" move, as our country, the united states, has a far more expansive social security program for disability and retirement. their new constitution also mimics the united states presidential term limits, that being two consecutive 4 year terms. previously ecuadors constitution has a limit of two four year terms, but they could not be consecutive. it made very little sense. correa has stated he will stay in office only until 2015, due to the fact that he has already been in office two years. so really, you could say call correa "the moderate".
This victory culminates the efforts of Indigenous movements, trade unions, the Liberation Church, and a host of social organizations to free themselves from domination by oligarchs, the International Monetary Fund, and a corrupt âpartitocraciaâ that have kept Ecuador dependent, divided, and poor for decades.
It shows how popular movements can combine agitation, education, and electoral politics to overcome the kinds of economic madness that has now brought the United States to its knees. At the same time, it is important to understand the limitations of Rafael Correaâs government. For better or worse, Correa is not so much pursuing âsocialism in the 21st Century,â the purported goal of his electoral alliance, as a recalibration of the balance between capitalism and the state. Bannowsky treated the developing Indigenous movement and its confrontation with neoliberalism in his novel The Mother Earth Inn. Interesting commentary on this issue can be found at upsidedownworld.com and phillipbannowsky.com.
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