“THEY DON'T LOVE ARGUING WITH PEOPLE”. PARADOXES OF THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN IMBABURA, ECUADOR (2008-2017)

Abstract

This article is the result of an ethnography of the so-called “citizen participation” in the province of Imbabura, northern Ecuador. Our objective was to carry out a critical analysis of the effects -desired or not- of the institutionalization of citizen participation in Ecuador from 2008 to 2017. It is paradigmatic the case study in this area, known worldwide for its innovative and substantive participatory processes prior to the so-called Citizen Revolution. Ecuador has been the first country -and the only one- to raise the same rank as the legislative, executive or judicial power, the “participatory function”. The constitutional recognition of participation has led to its expansion, regulation and institutionalization, especially among urban populations in the province. In contrast, in cantons where rural or mixed logics prevail, participation has been emptied of content when not, directly criminalized, braking in exemplary cases, its democratizing potential.