Rafael Correa’s Decade in Power (2007–2017): Citizens’ Revolution, Sumak Kawsay, and Neo-Extractivism in Ecuador

• Author: Hugo Goeury
• Published date: 01 May 2021
• Date: 01 May 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0094582X211004907
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0094582X211004907

LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES, Issue 238, Vol. 48 No. 3, May 2021, 206–226

DOI: 10.1177/0094582X211004907

© 2021 Latin American Perspectives

206

Rafael Correa’s Decade in Power (2007–2017)

Citizens’ Revolution, Sumak Kawsay, and Neo-Extractivism

in Ecuador

by

Hugo Goeury

In 2006, Rafael Correa was elected president of Ecuador on the promise that his Citizens’

Revolution would represent “a change of era” for the country, notably through the writing

of a new constitution. The indigenous concept of sumak kawsay/buen vivir, which

represents, among other things, a new development paradigm based on the decommodifica-

tion of nature, became the guiding principle of this new constitution. While the failed

Yasuní-ITT initiative represented an innovative attempt to translate buen vivir into poli-

cies, Correa’s reliance on neo-extractivism and the repression of indigenous communities

deviated dramatically from the transformative path offered by sumak kawsay. The tensions

between the sumak kawsay approach enshrined in the 2008 Constitution and the policies

implemented by Correa can be explained, at least partly, by the Citizens’ Revolution’s

anticorporatism and the “delegative democratic regime” Correa put into place.

En 2006, Rafael Correa fue elegido presidente de Ecuador con la promesa de que su

Revolución Ciudadana representaría “un cambio de era” para el país, en particular a

través de la redacción de una nueva constitución. El concepto indígena de sumak kaw-

say/buen vivir, que representa, entre otras cosas, un nuevo paradigma de desarrollo

basado en la desmercantilización de la naturaleza, se convirtió en el principio rector de

dicha Constitución. Si bien la fallida iniciativa Yasuní-ITT fue un intento innovador de

traducir el buen vivir en políticas, la dependencia de Correa del neoextractivismo y la

represión de las comunidades indígenas se desvió dramáticamente del camino transforma-

dor ofrecido por sumak kawsay. Las tensiones entre el enfoque sumak kawsay consagrado

en la Constitución de 2008 y las políticas implementadas por Correa pueden explicarse, al

menos en parte, a partir del anticorporativismo de la Revolución Ciudadana y el régimen

de democracia delegativa establecido por Correa.

Keywords: Sumak kawsay/buen vivir, Neo-extractivism, Ecuador, Rafael Correa,

Citizens’ Revolution

In November 2006, as Rafael Correa ascended to the presidency, Ecuador

joined the other Latin American countries that, in the wake of Hugo Chávez’s

1998 election in Venezuela, had elected left and center-left governments. This

regional shift, usually referred to as the “Pink Tide,” responded to two decades

of failed neoliberal experiences in Latin America (Cameron and Hershberg,

Hugo Goeury completed his M.Sc. in Latin American politics at the Institute of the Americas of

the University College London and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in sociology at the Graduate

Center of the City University of New York.

1004907LAPXXX10.1177/0094582X211004907Latin American PerspectivesGoeury / CITIZENS’ REVOLUTION, SUMAK KAWSAY, AND NEO-EXTRACTIVISM

research-article2021

Goeury / CITIZENS’ REVOLUTION, SUMAK KAWSAY, AND NEO-EXTRACTIVISM 207

2010; Webber and Carr, 2013). In Ecuador too, heading what he called a

“Citizens’ Revolution,” Correa (2007a) claimed that his election would bring

about the end of what he frequently called the “long and sad night of neolib-

eralism.”

This paper assesses the extent to which Rafael Correa’s decade in power

(2007–2017) did indeed represent the definitive departure from the neoliberal

order that he promised. Given its potential for a far-reaching, radical change, the

analysis will focus on the indigenous concept of sumak kawsay/buen vivir

enshrined in the 2008 Montecristi Constitution. It will pay particular attention

to the failed Yasuní-ITT initiative, a pioneering and innovative attempt to trans-

late the spirit of sumak kawsay into actual policies. The objective will then be to

understand why the policies of the Correa administration—the weight it gave

to neo-extractivism and the associated repression of indigenous communities—

deviated so remarkably from the transformative path offered by buen vivir.

The first section of the paper will briefly address the 2006 presidential elec-

tion and the relationship between Correa, a relative newcomer to politics, and

the indigenous movement, spearhead of the anti-neoliberal opposition in the

country. With Correa insisting that his Citizens’ Revolution would only be suc-

cessful if it built on a “constitutional revolution,” the second section will deal

with the introduction of a new constitution in 2008. Special attention will be

given to the indigenous concept of sumak kawsay, which became the “guiding

principle” (van Teijlingen and Hogenboom, 2016: 388) of the new constitution

and the best illustration of the transformative potential of Correa’s presidency.

It will be followed by an analysis of the Yasuní-ITT initiative, an audacious

attempt to translate the change of development paradigm represented by buen

vivir into actual policies. The next two sections will then show how, after the

failure of the Yasuní-ITT initiative, the Correa administration fully embraced

neo-extractivism as the central pillar of its development policy, in complete

opposition to the core elements of sumak kawsay, and repressed those daring

to oppose the president’s neo-extractivist project and attempting to uphold the

rights embedded in the 2008 Constitution. The concluding section will argue

that Correa’s staunch anticorporatism and increasingly “delegative demo-

cratic” regime (O’Donnell, 1994) provide us with at least a partial explanation

for his renunciation of turning buen vivir into policy. The article will build on

the analysis of Correa’s public discourse to support the arguments.

The 2006 PresidenTial elecTion: correa, The indigenous

MoveMenT, and The ProMised “change of era”

The 1996–2006 decade that preceded Rafael Correa’s election was marked by

high levels of political and social instability. Correa’s three predecessors were

ousted from office as a result of massive popular protests, and it is widely

accepted that, following the 1990 uprising around land claims, the indigenous

movement emerged as the most important actor in opposition to neoliberal

policies in Ecuador (Becker, 2011b; Sawyer, 2004; Van Cott, 2005). This led the

Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador (Ecuadorian