The politics of development in Ecuador: Accounting for plural rationalities

Abstract

Recent protests and tense elections in Ecuador suggest a strong polarization regarding the development model. The diversity of vindications underscores the plurality of development notions, rendering it a wicked problem, which is characterized by the presence of multiple definitions. Employing sociocultural viability theory, four ideal-typical and irreducible development models are found, illustrated by neoliberalism, developmentalism, multiple postdevelopmentalist alternatives among which Buen Vivir is the most representative, and a chimera. Locating the most important current political movements and parties in this cultural map allows us to make sense of Ecuador's political landscape and to point to ways to address this problem effectively and legitimately by producing clumsy development models, which seek to incorporate all worldviews.