Latin America Erupts: Ecuador's Return to the Past

Abstract

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.