Ecuador and the Government of the Rafael Correa period
In order to analyze and answer the question raised, it is necessary to first present a concept of the term "dictatorship".
The dictatorship, in the words of Juan Linz (2009), is conceived as:
An emergency government that temporarily suspends or violates constitutional norms on the access and exercise of authority. In this way, the term reserves the term for interim crisis governments, generally of a military nature, that they have legitimized themselves and that represent a break with the institutionalized norms for the access and exercise of the power of the previous regime, whether democratic or traditional.
The Karl Schmitt doctrinal (1985) indicates that the dictatorship occurs "where sovereign power appears at its maximum expression thanks to the figure of the enemy establishing clear limits to the power of the same".
Likewise, Bobbio (1998) establishes that the term dictatorship is commonly used to designate non -democratic and not legitimized governments by the tradition, which happened in the monarchies of the absolutist regime;This term could be presented as a type of power lacking legal limits, which means that it is established de facto, being that it is beyond legitimacy and violating the pre -existing political order.
The Chilean doctrinal Gabriela Vásquez Leyton, indicates that the idea is presented that the dictatorship implies the use of force, thus mentioning that “as an action that allows the arrival to power illegal, that is, the government is established, that is, the government is establishedWithout the electoral capacity of citizens, a situation that contradicts the restriction of the freedoms and rights of the people, therefore generates the submission of citizens ”.
Analyzing the aforementioned, a concept of dictatorship can be established, which is a system of government whose state powers fall directly to an individual, which has not been designated by the electoral route backed by the will of the citizens, and thatIt usually leads to the use of force, violating the rights of the people.
Having a concept of dictatorship now, it is necessary to indicate the qualifying criteria of the term, and thus, Bobbio, Matteucci and Pasquino (2005) indicate their main characteristics:
- Concentration and absolute character of political power.
- Suppression of democratic procedures and their legitimacy not authorized by constitutional rules.
- Pre -existing political order disorder.
- Establishment of a power that lacks legal limits and clear rules for its own succession.
- Legitimation of the de facto order through a new constitution, making it a constitutional dictatorship.
- Its duration is not set in advance, although it is presented as temporary, it can become a normal and permanent form of government.
As the main issues covered by the dictatorship system, the use of force is presented first, complementing this the absolute concentration of political power in a person, which results in a violation of human rights, and theillegitimacy of his power;Likewise, the control of the media and the non -separation of powers of the State.
Being able to make a comparison with the regime of former president Rafael Correa, the executive function, more detail, the president of the Republic, could show that in some cases interference was given in the different functions of the State as well as in the media;This, as a consequence that the end with which the division of the powers is not respected.
Taking into consideration the concept and criteria that characterize a dictatorship, it is necessary to start with the analysis the irregularities that occurred in the regime of former president Rafael Correa;For which, the work carried out by the International Organization for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, which was based on the ex -president’s government interfered in the resolutions of the government’s interest cases, as well as in appointments and appointments anddismissals of judges. This organization documented more than a dozen cases in which the Judicial Council initiated administrative procedures against judges and prosecutors, who did not comply with orders by this institution, consuming a suspension or dismissal of theseofficial;These came to narrate how they were asked to fail in favor of the government since, otherwise, they were going to have "consequences". Another issue that is in this publication and that is important to highlight, is the investigation in which approximately 145 judges were sanctioned for having incurred an “inexcusable error”, being an exaggeration and disproportionate injustice.
Following the decade of Correism, the state capacity to protect services such as education, health and security was promoted, but at the same time, regularization in some sectors such as the media, social organizations, international cooperation agencies, among others, among others,It resulted in excessive regularization, allowing the president to be in the interference of the press control. Thus, we have as an example the case of Diario El Universo, which obtained a disproportionate sentence of forty million dollars due to the opinions given by one of the journalists of the newspaper, showing the influences that the Executive has in the judicial function, establishing a remarkableviolation of freedom of expression, in order to monopolize information in favor of the government on duty. A very successful comment against what was mentioned in previous lines is the one given by former president Osvaldo Hurtado, in an interview conducted by the Editorial Voz de América, which indicates: “A president who wants to eliminate freedom of the press, silence theCivil society and who wants to control justice already having all the other powers in their hands, has the undoubted purpose of remaining in power ”.
However, analyzed the aforementioned background, in which the interference made by the ex -president marked a characteristic feature in his regime, we agree that there was no dictatorship government system in the presidential period of Rafael Correa, having as the first important pointThe legitimacy of his mandate supported by the will of citizens on the two occasions of their management, will expressed through the electoral system that governs in Ecuador;This means that from the beginning it is not called the dictatorship to the past government;also pointing out that the characteristics that constitute that system of government, such as the suppression of democratic procedures or that the duration of the presidential mandate is not set in advance, allow indicating the non -existence of a dictatorship in the Ecuadorian state in the period indicated above.
In justification for the non -existence of a dictatorship from 2007 to 2017, it is possible to refer to a term that characterized some Latin American governments, which is "presidentialism".
For Linz (2009), "presidential systems are derived from two fundamental features, the first refers to dual democratic legitimacy, while the second deals with the stiffness of the presidential system". Following this same author, dual democracy lies in the nature of election both to the President and the Legislative Power, and that, coming both functions of popular election, they have the same democratic legitimacy.
In the specific case of Ecuador, in the Rafael Correa regime, the term "presidentialism" evolves and is presented as a "hyper -presidentialism" because it implies a reinforcement of power concentrated in a single person, who is the head of the state of stateand that at the same time he is head of government, and that he will have countless attributions, which will affect the balance and separation of powers
Hyper -presidescialism, in the words of Julio Echeverría (2012):
It constitutes a phenomenon that breaks the balance between democracy and presidentialism, with the ability to control or overcome through institutions that are guided by the most arbitrary mandate of the Executive Power on the other characteristic powers of the presidential government regime (electoral power, judicial powerand legislative power), subtracting or limiting functions of the powers mentioned with the objective of overcoming the benefits of the Executive or guiding the will of the president of the day.
Another important aspect, following Linz (2009), is the destabilization of the State in terms of the Assembly, which allows you to enjoy a strong and marked influence regarding constitutional powers with the help and support of the partisan majority in the Legislative Power;This doctrinal also refers to the fact that, for the development of this type of regime, a charismatic leader who is respected is necessary.
A basic characteristic of hyper -presidentialism, as determined by Maiguashca (2008), is the conjugation with ideas of absolutism, disguised with a characteristic of democracy, such as the realization of elections, decentralization of powers, etc., that they are apparently legitimate but that attempt with the structure of a presidential democracy, in which the president has many powers and would have the power to influence the other functions of the State.
Thus, in the case of the legislative function in the government of Rafael Correa, a majority of ruling could be evidenced, with 70% of the government party and 30% opposition. In order for a strong influence on the Legislative Power, it is important to have control over their own party, so that the official major.
In the analysis of what has already been mentioned, Maiguashca (2008) points out that hyper -presidentialism can be defined as an influence on the other powers of the State and a distortion of the presidential government system in the face of the centralization of the powers in the Executive and their influence on them;The case of the Rafael Correa government fits perfectly due to extreme ideologization, control of powers, media, which resulted in the unlimited use of government media to increase the advertising and propaganda of the State, while on the otherside, there was excessive regularization of private media.
Although the Ecuadorian system of the ex -president’s regime Rafael Correa has authoritarianism dyes, established by Montufar (2015), it cannot be qualified as such, as it can not be classified as a dictatorship, what happened is thatIt presented a diminished democracy due to the excessive power of the president, which led to the weakening of democracy allowing the interference of the Executive in the functions of the State.
Concluding, the excessive power of the Executive cannot trigger in a dictatorsrepresentative, which is the opposite in the dictatorship, since in this, the leader or president makes decisions without consent from citizens or state officials;Given this, in Ecuador it remains in a democracy that has development problems, and that with hyper -presidentialism, attempt against the quality of the same.
References
- Bobbio, n., Matteucci, n. & Pasquino, G. Politics Dictionary. (2005). Buenos Aires: XXI Century Editors.
- Feature Encyclopedia (2017). ‘Dictatorship’. Retrieved from https: // www.features.Co/dictatorship/
- Linz, j. (2009). Totalitarian systems and authoritarian regimes. Madrid: Editorial Center for Public and Constitutional Studies.
- Echeverría, j. (2012). Trade. Retrieved from hyper -presidescialism: https: // www.trade.com/Opinion/Hyper -presidentialism.HTML
- Trade. (n.d.). Retrieved from the 7 belt triumphs at the polls: https: // www.trade.com/news/politics/triumphs-of-chorrea-urban.HTML
- The universe. (2018). Retrieved from Rafael Correa had interference in Ecuadorian justice: https: // www.the universe.com/news/2018/04/20/Note/6723375/Rafael-Correa-tuo-Inzirencia-Justicia-Ecuadorian-Denuncio-HRW
- Focus News Ecuador. (2017). Retrieved from Task of the next Assembly: The greatest inspection of history: https: // medium.com/Focus-News-Ecuador/task-of-the-PR%C3%B3xima-Asamblea-La-Mayor-Fiscalizaci%C3%B3n-of-the-History-6B1DE927006
- Human Rights Ecuador. (2013). Retrieved from Case El Universo: http: // www.HumanightSecuador.org/cases-dotted/case-universo/_lag = is.HTML
- Orellana, g. (2018, May). GK. Retrieved from Did the democratic quality of Ecuador improve or worse in the last decade?: https: // gk.City/2018/05/06/improveo-la-democracy-in-executo-RAFAEL-CORREA/
- Schmitt, c. (1985). The dictatorship. From the beginning of modern sovereignty thought to proletarian class struggle. Madrid: Alliance. José Díaz García version.
- Vásquez Leyton, G. (2016). The concept of dictatorship: conceptions of Chilean students of secondary education, in antitheses magazine, no. 18, Brazil, P. 45-66.
- Voice of America. (2011). Retrieved from dictator to Rafael Correa: https: // www.Voanoticias.com/a/Ecuador-Correa-Hurtado-Dictatura-129409623/103926.HTML
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