Destination: Discovery: Week 4: Politics- The Same in Any Language

Tuesday, September 25 – Monday, October 1

Time is passing very quickly once again… already ¼ through with my time here in Ecuador. As I have mentioned in almost every past blog, Ecuador is beginning the monumental political process of drafting a new constitution through the election of an “Asemblea Constituyente” (Constitutional Assembly). Even though it is the country’s 19^th constitution, this is a major event in history for the people of Ecuador. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to observe the election of this assembly on Sunday and witness how another country holds their elections.

Perhaps the most interesting facet of Ecuador’s political system is the obligatory vote of all legal citizens, with the exception of a few select groups such as military personnel or those with a mobility-limiting illness. Coming from a country which celebrates a 50% voter turnout, I began to consider the consequences, both positive and negative, of the mandatory vote. Surly, it promotes more widespread citizen concern in government and state affairs, but I’m not sure if this is solely a phenomenon that occurs around the times of elections. Without a doubt, I have seen a definite passion from many Ecuadorians in their discussion of politics. In addition to this, it intuitively would force potential candidates to focus on issues that pertain to all demographics, not just those who vote in strong numbers. On the other hand, there are surly those citizens with an apathetic attitude towards politics whose vote would be uniformed, thus defying the underlying principle of democracy.

The other big point of discussion in Ecuador with the obligatory vote appears to be the right to vote of illiterate citizens. I may have stated in an earlier blog that the illiteracy rate in Ecuador is 80%; luckily I was misinformed on this statistic and it is actually 15%. Nonetheless, this topic of discussion is quite controversial, especially amongst my family. Those in opposition of this right claim than illiterates, because they cannot read, do not have the ability to become informed voters and hence have a negative impact on election results because of their ‘ignorance.’ Unfortunately, it seems that many middle- and upper-class families hold this viewpoint. From my perspective, the illiterate population has resources available to become informed voters such as the television and radio. Granted these may not always be the most objective sources, but I wonder how many other voters take advantage of printed candidate info, especially with 1000+ candidates to sift through in every providence.

Another quirky thing about Ecuador’s election process is the prohibition of the public sale of alcohol in the days leading up to the election. With the election held on Sunday, the ban started on Friday morning at 12:01am and lasted until Monday at noon. And with the ban, Quito seemed to turn into a ghost town during the evenings as streets usually filled with nightlifers were vacant. The logic behind the law: ensure all citizens are in a tranquil state of mind to consciously make decisions.

Before I go any further, here is a quick overview of how the Constitution Assembly and the elections are working. In total, there are 130 seats in the assembly- 24 filled by national candidates and the rest by providential candidates (Ecuador has 22 providences, and the number of candidates per providence logically depends on its population). Between the two levels, national and local, exist approximately 35 political parties and/or movements which are called ‘listas.’ Each ‘lista’ is identified by both a name and number and is only allowed to run the as many candidates as there are available seats on the national or local level (they can’t run 40 national candidates for the 24 seats). In January, the elected assembly will convene in a new building specifically constructed for the purpose of the assembly and begin to draft the new constitution. They will have 6 months to complete the project with the option of extending it another 3.

So now on to the actual voting process, which I observed as I accompanied my family to the polls on Sunday morning. In all reality, it wasn’t that much different than the US- in fact, for my family, it was a very quick process since they all voted ‘en plancha,’ meaning all for the same ‘lista.’ And the results? Lista 35, which is the Alianza Pais group sponsored by the current President Rafael Correa, won nearly 70% of the seats in the assembly. Most Ecuadorians I have talked to are positive about the results of the election, saying it signifies the people are asking for a change. Even more important is the anticipated change will happen peacefully, which few Latin American countries have been able to achieve. The reason people are so confident in a positive change is the fact that Alianza Pais is not a mainstream political party in Ecuador; instead it was formed to sponsor the presidential campaign of Correa. Moreover, the traditional powerhouse parties in Ecuador have started to lose support in a big way. In any case, when the constitution is all said and done, it will be interesting to see if the government will have the ability to actually implement and enforce the changes proposed by the constitution- a problem currently existing in Ecuador.

However, like in any country, with politics always comes controversy and never consensus. Ecuador is no exception, with a great illustration coming right from my home. My family couldn’t have been more frustrated by the election results, claiming it shows the ignorance of the people (going back to the illiterate argument). To me, it’s amazing how people coming from essentially the same socioeconomic class and set of beliefs can hold such different opinions about politics. Sometimes, we just have to be content and let politics run its own course, not letting it affect the way we live our lives. This does not change with culture or language.

Back in the academic world, all students are now undergoing the process of selecting our internship sites, where we will spend 5 weeks starting the last week of October. The intership will allow us to experience and observe many of the facets of development that we’ve been learning about in the classroom. Simultaneously, we will be doing research and writing our ‘monografía,’ a significant research paper that will serve as our final project. I, along with one of the other two males in the program, had the opportunity to visit a potential internship site on Friday. The village is called Yunguilla, and while it is located about 1.5 hours outside of Quito it is a completely different world. Approximately 40 families comprise this community, which operates a completely sustainable community development project with 90% participation from the inhabitants. Projects include a cheese and jelly production along with a tourism business operated through student partnerships in Quito. The landscape is absolutely amazing, which you can see by the pictures below. To me, more interesting than the scenery or the development projects would be the opportunity to live in a place where community is the most important aspect of life, not to mention completely isolated conditions from the modernized world. I will probably visit another site before making a decision on where I will work, and look forward to keeping you posted on my decision.