Women´s role in Ecuador’s Citizen Revolution. In depth analysis of Rafael Correa´s government from the gender perspective as a democratization element

Abstract

The Citizen Revolution is perhaps the most interesting political phenomenon in Ecuador’s recent history. It is the result of a series of social conquests, inscribed in the progressivism that includes elements of Marxism, Christianity and sumak kawsay philosophy (or “well living” according to Quichuan cosmogony). The government bet for supporting the gender approach with the pursuit of social conquests and for the importance of the presence of several women in key governmental positions has been overshadowed by two main stream ideas that are part of the Ecuadorian regime: Christianism, publicly professed by Rafael Correa, and his statements about women, which reaffirmed archetypes about their secondary role in Ecuadorian society. This article aims to understand Ecuadorian women’s role as part of the Citizen Revolution, by emphasizing on Correa’s contradictions, since despite the fact that women were paramount in social conquests, signs of a regression towards their rights were observed in the governmental speech. For this, the role of women in the great mobilizations in the history of Ecuador is explored. Next, their role is analyzed in the recent scenarios of political upheaval. Finally, the contradictory narrative of the government is studied, showing the difficulty to mainstream the principle of gender equality as an indispensable requirement for democratization.