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Democratic Tradition and the Failed Presidency of L ucio G utierrez in E cuador
Author(s) -
MARTÍNEZ CHRISTOPHER A.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
bulletin of latin american research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.24
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1470-9856
pISSN - 0261-3050
DOI - 10.1111/blar.12705
Subject(s) - outrage , political radicalism , demise , politics , democracy , presidential election , opposition (politics) , presidential system , political economy , political science , presidency , context (archaeology) , economics , law , paleontology , biology
In A pril 2005, L ucio G utiérrez was removed from office in the context of a fast‐growing economy. With no economic hardship to fuel social outrage, the failure of G utiérrez illustrates how political and institutional factors can be the most important forces determining presidential survival. In this article, we qualitatively analyse the path toward confrontation between G utiérrez and the congressional opposition which led to his political demise. We find that E cuador's weak democratic tradition working through more proximate causes – radicalism, normative preference for democratic institutions and a negative institutional equilibrium – coupled with other institutional and political variables accelerated L ucio G utiérrez's fall from power.