Wang Di: The Historical Origins, Development, and Future Prospects of the Ecuadorian Left
The Ecuadorian Left is a political force of significant influence within Latin America. Since the mid-1920s, it has undergone a series of evolutionary processes—including emergence, expansion, internal crisis, and reorganization—leaving a profound mark on Ecuadorian history. In 2006, the successful election of Rafael Correa marked the peak of the Left's political influence in the country, becoming a vital component of the Latin American "Pink Tide." [1] Based on this context, a systematic investigation into the origins and historical evolution of the Ecuadorian Left, along with a theoretical elucidation of its deep-seated issues, can provide a window through which to observe the developmental trajectory of the nation's socialist movement and the future prospects of the Latin American Left.
I. The Historical Origins of the Ecuadorian Left in the mid-1920s
At the end of the 19th century, Ecuador successfully achieved a Liberal Revolution. The Liberals, representing the interests of coastal merchant groups, took power. This spurred the development of the capitalist economy and the growth of the proletariat. In the early 20th century, influenced by the Mexican Revolution and the victory of the Russian October Revolution, social trends dominated by nationalism and Marxism spread widely. By the late 1920s, the global Great Depression struck Ecuador heavily, leading to frequent domestic social protest movements and a rising clamor among the lower and middle classes for the establishment of leftist political parties.
(1) The Victory of the 1895 Liberal Revolution
Since breaking away from Gran Colombia to become an independent state in 1830, the struggle between Liberals and Conservatives has permeated Ecuador's political development. The Liberals were generally composed of the commercial class in the coastal city of Guayaquil, while the Conservatives referred primarily to the landed gentry of the inland highlands. From 1851 to 1859, the Liberals briefly held power with broad support from the lower classes, but later lost control due to the internal strife of caudillos. [2] In 1860, the Conservative leader Gabriel García Moreno took power. As a devout Catholic, he oversaw the promulgation of the 1861 Constitution of Ecuador, which established Roman Catholicism as the state religion. Subsequently, he tied citizenship closely to Catholic faith, placing the entire nation under a conservative political atmosphere.
Benefiting from an unprecedented boom in cocoa exports since the late 1880s, the economic strength of coastal planters and commercial elites grew further. They supported Eloy Alfaro and helped him successfully seize power in 1895, initiating thirty years of Liberal rule. Upon taking power, the Liberals implemented two major reforms: first, the separation of church and state, with the government taking over education and social welfare programs previously governed by the Church; second, the development of public infrastructure and modernization of the state relying on import tax revenue. It can be said that the Liberal Revolution cleared the obstacles for Ecuador’s modernization and created the conditions for it to enter a track of rapid development.
Amidst Ecuador’s modernization process, the proletariat grew rapidly. At the end of the 19th century, the Second Industrial Revolution caused raw material prices on the international market to rise sharply. The Alfaro government seized this opportunity, promulgating free trade policies and vigorously promoting agricultural exports, leading to a flourishing economy. The strong development of the coastal capitalist economy posed a threat to the semi-feudal hacienda [3] economy of the inland highlands. More and more peasants began to flock to coastal industrial sectors to become free wage laborers, further expanding the labor force. Faced with exploitation and oppression by capitalists, the laboring masses united to defend their interests, and their class consciousness began to germinate imperceptibly.
(2) The Vigorous Development of International Social Revolutionary Movements
From 1910 to 1917, a bourgeois-democratic revolution against feudalism and imperialism broke out in Mexico, with broad participation from various social classes and ethnic groups. The land reforms and structural social changes triggered by the revolution gave Mexico a new look and significantly enhanced national cohesion. While the Mexican Revolution was in full swing, Ecuador was troubled by a sharp drop in cocoa exports caused by the First World War, and contradictions between the increasingly impoverished lower-middle classes and the elite groups fermented rapidly. In this context, the heroic deeds of Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa, key leaders of the Mexican Revolution, spread widely in Ecuador. People hoped their own country could follow Mexico's example by launching a vigorous revolution to break the oligarchy’s monopoly on political and economic power and establish a just and equal society.
The victory of the 1917 Russian October Revolution also had an important impact on Ecuadorian intellectual circles. Guided by Marxism, the October Revolution overthrew the bourgeois Provisional Government. The victory of the October Revolution opened the way forward for proletarian revolutions and national liberation movements in colonies and semi-colonies throughout the world. In the mid-1920s, the international communist movement expanded into South America. The South American Bureau of the Comintern [4] was established in 1925 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, led by the country's union leader José Fernando Penelón. Progressive Ecuadorian groups actively communicated with Penelón, reporting on the basic situation of domestic labor and peasant organizations while seeking advice for future work. Furthermore, the then-Mexican Ambassador to Ecuador, Ramos Pedrueza, was himself a member of the Mexican Communist Party. A group of leftist Ecuadorian intellectuals gathered around him, frequently discussing Marxist theory and the revolutionary experience of the Soviet Union. Under Pedrueza's influence, a Communist branch named the "Association of Friends of Lenin" (Sociedad Amigos de Lenin) was established in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, in September 1925, with the goal of achieving communism. Clearly, under the influence of the Mexican Revolution, the Russian October Revolution, and the international communist movement, Ecuadorian revolutionary thought continued to develop, and the ideological conditions for the establishment of leftist political parties reached maturity.
(3) The Intensification of Domestic Contradictions in Ecuador
After the outbreak of World War I, Ecuador’s agricultural exports were hit hard, serving as a fuse for the intensification of domestic contradictions. Cocoa, as the key ingredient for making chocolate, was Ecuador's primary export at that time. Starting from the mid-1880s, the country experienced a "cocoa boom." According to statistics, from 1885 to 1922, cocoa exports accounted for 65% to 70% of Ecuador's total export value. The continuous flow of wealth laid a solid foundation for building ports and railways and implementing electrification. However, after the outbreak of World War I, Hamburg—an important port for receiving cocoa in Europe—was closed, and cocoa prices plummeted simultaneously. Research shows that in 1920 alone, the price of cocoa on the New York market dropped from $2,676 per quintal [5] to $1,200, and further fell to $575 in 1921. The closure of the port of Hamburg, the drop in prices, combined with a pest infestation during that period, led to a massive contraction in cocoa export revenue, leaving the Ecuadorian economy in a precarious state.
During the same period, the standard of living for the lower and middle classes deteriorated daily, with poverty and famine becoming their primary troubles. In contrast, the oligarchic ruling clique preserved their economic strength through capital flight and continued to maintain their monopoly over state power departments. In November 1922, labor organizations led by the Regional Confederation of Ecuadorian Workers (Federación de Trabajadores Regional Ecuatoriana) and the Guayas Labor Confederation (Confederación Obrera del Guayas) held a joint strike to protest the socio-economic policies of the official departments. They put forward the following demands: that government authorities formulate a reasonable exchange rate system to curb price hikes; prevent capital flight and crack down on export oligarchs; and protect labor while safeguarding the basic rights of workers. This strike saw extensive mobilization of urban laborers, artisans, and peasants, with up to 30,000 participants. Economic operations in the coastal regions were brought to a near standstill. Faced with this grim situation, government departments adopted a posture of peace talks to pacify the striking masses on one hand, while mobilizing armed forces and adopting a bloody policy of suppression on the other, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of strikers. This strike massacre holds significant meaning in the history of the Ecuadorian labor movement. It not only showed the laboring masses the necessity of uniting against the oligarchic ruling clique but also made them realize the importance and urgency of organizing a political party that represents their own interests to change the established political and economic order.
II. The Developmental Trajectory of the Ecuadorian Left
Since the mid-1920s, the Ecuadorian Left has explored the socialist path by leading social protest movements, learning from the Cuban experience to conduct armed struggle, and actively participating in parliamentary elections, exerting a profound influence on the country's social development. Today, after several splits and reorganizations, some leftist parties in Ecuador have disappeared while others remain active on the domestic political stage, continuing to lead the socialist movement. Based on differences in policy stances and social influence across different historical periods, the developmental trajectory of the Ecuadorian Left can be divided into five stages.
(1) The Rise of the Ecuadorian Left (1926–1933)
In the mid-1920s, the elite clique formed by the alliance of agricultural export oligarchs and the financial bourgeoisie began to face challenges. Progressive social forces advocated against oligarchic rule, nurturing new opportunities for political change in Ecuador.
In September 1924, the leftist group "The Torch" (La Antorcha) was established in Quito, later founding a magazine of the same name. It aimed to explore Ecuadorian political and social issues, forming an ideological front for the dissemination of socialism. Additionally, similar leftist groups appeared in other cities, such as "Vanguard" (Vanguardia) in Loja in the south, "Reform" (La Reforma) in Tulcán in the north, the "Revolutionary Nucleus of Manabí" (Núcleo Revolucionario de Manabí) in Portoviejo in the west, and the "Socialist Doctrinal Center" (Centro Socialista Doctrinario) in Guayquil. The appearance of these groups indicated that the conditions for establishing a leftist political party were mature.
In May 1926, the founding congress of the Socialist Party of Ecuador (Partido Socialista Ecuatoriano, hereinafter referred to as the "Socialist Party") was held in Quito, with "The Torch" serving as the adhesive force. Ricardo Paredes, the founder of "The Torch," had traveled extensively to establish contact with various socialist groups to achieve the goal of founding a national leftist party. As a journalist at the time emphasized: "The Socialist Party of Ecuador was founded in a highly democratic environment; not only did socialists participate broadly, but the right-wing opposition was also granted seats."
After its establishment, the Socialist Party adopted a Declaration of Principles guided by Marxism. The Declaration of Principles consisted of 12 articles, including: emphasizing that collective welfare is superior to individual welfare; implementing the socialization of the means of production, distribution, and public services under state management to ensure economic equality for social members; persisting in the dictatorship of the proletariat until the bourgeoisie is eliminated; opposing the current state organization and replacing its functions with labor unions; strengthening state supervision of education to promote the all-round development of individuals; eliminating gender differences and strengthening support and protection for women; and so on. This Declaration of Principles reflected the party’s anti-oligarchic and anti-exploitation political stance. it was the first attempt by Ecuadorian leftist forces to unite in pursuit of establishing a just, equal, and democratic state, marking the rise of the Left in that country.
Of course, the establishment of the Socialist Party was not entirely smooth sailing; the question of whether to maintain ties with the Comintern was a long-standing subject of dispute. From the very beginning of the party's formation, an intense debate emerged within the Socialist Party regarding the establishment and maintenance of ties with the Comintern, resulting in two factions. One faction argued that the Socialist Party should remain independent of any international political organization and autonomously explore a path toward socialism; the other faction emphasized that the Socialist Party should uphold an "internationalist stance," join the Comintern, and undertake collective action under its leadership to achieve socialism. Under the shared premise of adhering to Marxism, the two factions decided to temporarily set aside their disputes and jointly participate in the work of party building. In 1927, the Socialist leader Ricardo Paredes received a letter from the Comintern inviting him to attend the international conference celebrating the tenth anniversary of the victory of the Russian October Revolution, which became the direct trigger for the party's split. After receiving the invitation, Paredes traveled to the Soviet Union and, without internal party discussion, established official contact with the Comintern in the name of the Socialist Party, drawing dissatisfaction from some party members. In 1931, the Socialist Party’s Second Congress passed a resolution to change its name to the Communist Party, signifying a victory for the "internationalist" faction. In 1933, a group of members led by Juan Genaro Jaramillo, Enrique Terán, and Luis Gerardo Gallegos broke away; they maintained a nationalist stance, opposed Comintern leadership, and announced the reorganization of the Socialist Party. Thus, two major left-wing parties were formally established in Ecuador.
(2) The Development and Expansion of the Ecuadorian Left (1934–1958) From the mid-1930s to the late 1950s, the Ecuadorian Left achieved significant progress in participating in presidential elections, leading mass movements, and developing left-wing culture. Its influence within the country rose rapidly, and its mass base continued to expand.
The Great Depression of 1929 dealt a massive blow to Ecuador's agricultural exports. Simultaneously, the bourgeoisie of the coastal regions and the large landowners (latifundistas) of the inland highlands [6] engaged in an intense struggle over political power, leading to escalating contradictions. Against this backdrop, the Socialist Party and the Communist Party of Ecuador respectively nominated Carlos Zambrano Orejuela and Ricardo Paredes as presidential candidates in 1934. Although neither could defeat José María Velasco Ibarra, the Socialist candidate's vote share reached 17%, reflecting the significant influence the party had already attained. In fact, both moderate reformism and radical revolutionary tendencies existed within the Socialist Party, yet these two positions coexisted without generating fierce internal conflict, which allowed the Socialist Party to garner more popular support than the Communist Party.
Beginning in the late 1940s, an unprecedented boom in banana exports provided Ecuador with relatively stable economic growth. Meanwhile, the Left made notable progress in leading mass movements. In 1944, to oppose the high-handed policies of then-President Arroyo del Río, the Socialist Party united with the Communist Party and other factions to form the Ecuadorian Democratic Alliance (Alianza Democrática Ecuatoriana), successfully overthrowing his rule by mobilizing a mass movement. Subsequently, the Socialist Party gave its support to Velasco, paving the way for his second term in power and further strengthening the party's political influence. During the 1944 Constituent Assembly, the Socialist and Communist parties won a dominant number of parliamentary seats and jointly promoted the drafting of the progressive Constitution of 1945. Thereafter, under a relaxed political environment, the Left successively participated in the establishment of social organizations such as the Confederation of Workers of Ecuador (Confederación de Trabajadores del Ecuador), the Ecuadorian Federation of Indians (Federación Ecuatoriana de Indios), the National Union of Educators (Unión Nacional de Educadores), and the Federation of University Students of Ecuador (Federación de Estudiantes Universitarios del Ecuador).
Ecuadorian left-wing intellectuals actively promoted the dissemination and development of socialist thought. As early as the 1930s, intellectuals in the field of Ecuadorian literature embraced left-wing ideas, expressing their reflections and socialist propositions through literary creation. Pablo Palacio’s Débora, Fernando Chávez’s Silver and Bronze (Plata y bronce), and Ángel Felicísimo Rojas’s The Exodus from Yangana (El éxodo de Yangana) and Idyll of the Ignorant (El idilio de los bobos) all attacked Ecuador’s social maladies to varying degrees, depicting the brutal exploitation suffered by people at the bottom of society and awakening a spirit of resistance among the masses. In the mid-1930s, Luis F. Chávez, who served as the rector of the Central University of Ecuador, was also a committed socialist; he encouraged the teaching corps to accept and absorb socialism, leading the development of education toward modernization, secularization, and a scientific orientation. From 1946 to 1958, the Ecuadorian Left spread socialist ideas by founding the newspaper The Earth (La Tierra). Although this publication was repeatedly subjected to censorship and disruption by official departments, it nonetheless exerted a profound social influence.
(3) Crisis and Fragmentation of the Ecuadorian Left (1959–1977) In the mid-1960s, the banana export boom drew to a close, and as a "peripheral" country, Ecuador once again exhibited its dependency and vulnerability toward "center" nations [7]. Politically, the Cuban Revolution produced a massive resonance across the Latin American region; Fidel Castro took a strong stance against the United States and sought to promote revolutionary movements throughout Latin America. Furthermore, in the context of the Cold War, the achievements of the Soviet Union in scientific, technological, and military fields—along with the influence and attraction it projected—led the Ecuadorian Left to move toward a radical revolutionary path.
For a long time, two factions existed within the Communist Party of Ecuador: one primarily located in the more economically developed coastal city of Guayaquil, with a relatively moderate political stance; the other primarily located in the inland Pichincha province, with a more radical stance. Following the "Sino-Soviet Split" [8], the moderates supported the Soviet Union and advocated for a reformist line, while the radicals agreed with and absorbed Mao Zedong Thought, emphasizing the extreme importance of armed struggle. In July 1963, a military coup overthrew the regime of Carlos Arosemena; the radical representative Rafael Echeverría criticized the passive attitude of the Communist Party of Ecuador's leadership toward this event, accusing them of failing to mobilize a mass movement against the military dictatorship. This event became the trigger for the party's split. In March 1964, the Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ecuador decided to reorganize the Pichincha Provincial Committee and expelled Echeverría, who was then the committee's secretary. In August of the same year, Echeverría led the party's radical members to found the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of Ecuador (Partido Comunista Marxista Leninista del Ecuador, PCMLE), beginning to practice his line of armed struggle. During the same period, other radical parties emerged in Ecuador, such as the Revolutionary Socialist Party of Ecuador (Partido Socialista Revolucionario Ecuatoriano) which split from the Socialist Party, and the Revolutionary Youth Union of Ecuador (Unión Revolucionaria de la Juventud Ecuatoriana). The latter, composed of secondary school and university students, was most heavily influenced by the Cuban Revolution and attempted to launch a guerrilla war on the banks of the Toachi River in the rainforest regions, but was met with intervention and obstruction by the military government.
Additionally, in the early 1960s, as Latin American guerrilla movements developed rapidly, the United States vigorously supported pro-American dictatorial regimes in carrying out counter-guerrilla operations to curb the further development of communism in its own "backyard." Consequently, Ecuadorian left-wing forces were suppressed and gradually fell into crisis. In 1960, the populist leader Velasco took power again; responding to popular demand, he refused to sever commercial and diplomatic relations with Cuba and made a direct visit to the country. This move touched a sensitive nerve in the United States. In 1961, the U.S. supported the ascent of the pro-American Arosemena to power, forcing Ecuador to sever diplomatic ties with Cuba, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. During this same period, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency was active undercover in Ecuador. Former agent Philip Agee admitted in Inside the Company: CIA Diary (published in some contexts as La CIA en Ecuador) that as early as 1960, CIA members had infiltrated the circles surrounding Echeverría, the radical representative of the Communist Party. The "Toachi Guerrilla" (Guerrilla del Toachi) supported by Echeverría was at one point under close surveillance. The reason the guerrilla movement planned by the "Toachi Guerrilla" was extinguished at its inception was inseparable from the "timely delivery" of intelligence by agents to official departments. In 1963, the situation in Ecuador fell into chaos; the armed forces overthrew the Arosemena government and established an even more pro-American Military Junta. The military took a firm counter-revolutionary stance; many radicals from the Communist Party of Ecuador, the Revolutionary Socialist Party, and the Revolutionary Youth Union were killed, while many other members were imprisoned or exiled. In May 1977, left-wing forces launched a national general strike against the dictatorial rule, which was likewise severely repressed. Under this unfavorable political environment, the Ecuadorian Left fell into crisis.
In the 1960s and 1970s, as the international communist movement developed rapidly in Latin America, the Ecuadorian Left moved toward radicalization. To safeguard its strategic interests, the United States propped up right-wing dictatorial governments and struck at left-wing forces through high-pressure policies. From an internal perspective, left-wing parties in Ecuador lacked a unified guiding ideology and failed to establish a united front. Internal fragmentation and confrontation resulted in a state of decentralization, weakening their own influence; this became one of the primary reasons for their descent into crisis.
(4) The Reorganization of the Ecuadorian Left (1978–2006) By the end of the 1970s, the rule of the military government fell into a serious crisis, and plans to return power to the people were placed on the agenda. Economically, since the mid-1970s, Ecuador's oil revenues had continually declined, and foreign debt rose from $500 million in 1975 to $11 billion in 1989. Politically, due to rising prices and the worsening living conditions of the masses, strike movements continuously increased. In this situation, rather than listening to the voices of the strikers, the military adopted even harsher repressive policies, causing it to gradually lose popular support. In 1978, the military proposed a plan to return to a constitutional system, providing the Ecuadorian Left with an opportunity for reorganization.
After nearly 20 years of fragmentation, the increasingly weakened Left abandoned armed struggle and attempted to explore the country's socialist path by actively participating in elections. In 1978, the Communist Party of Ecuador, the Revolutionary Socialist Party, and other left-wing groups formed a united front, while the Socialist Party participated in the election as an independent party. Because both the united front and the Socialist Party lacked sufficient financial support, suffered from inadequate election propaganda, and were in competition with one another, they failed to secure enough votes. In 1979, Jaime Roldós, leader of the Concentration of Popular Forces (Concentración de Fuerzas Populares), which had democratic and populist tendencies, won the presidential election, thereby initiating the country's democratization process.
In the 1980s and 1990s, as neoliberal reforms progressed in Ecuador, the living conditions of the populace further deteriorated. Under these circumstances, the left joined with marginalized social groups to establish organizations such as the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) and the National Confederation of Peasant, Indigenous, and Black Organizations (FENOCIN). By providing aid and support to small merchants, their mass base expanded daily. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the "End of History" [9] thesis clamored loudly in Ecuador due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the drastic changes in Eastern Europe. Facing a crisis in the world socialist movement, the Socialist Party took the lead in launching discussions to explore the root causes of the crisis while simultaneously identifying and correcting internal party issues. In 1995, it established an alliance with the Communist-led Broad Front of the Left (Frente Amplio de Izquierda). Thereafter, the two parties reached a consensus on continuing to strengthen ties with mass organizations and enhancing solidarity with progressive social forces. In May 2003, the left formulated the manifesto "For Socialism for the 21st Century." In November 2006, Rafael Correa, the candidate for the leftist PAIS Alliance movement, was elected president, marking a historic victory for the country's left.
(5) New Developments of the Ecuadorian Left (2007 to Present)
The decade of Correa's administration from 2007 to 2017 was a significant stage in which leftist parties sought to change a political and economic system characterized by corruption and mismanagement, and to renew the face of national development. At the beginning of his term, Correa signed a decree to convene a Constituent National Assembly and hold a national referendum. In 2008, a new constitution was formally adopted, taking "Socialism for Good Living" [10] as its guiding principle. "Socialism for Good Living" is both a theoretical program by which the Ecuadorian left seeks an alternative to neoliberalism and an important exploration of a socialist development path rooted in indigenous historical and cultural traditions. Furthermore, Correa proposed launching a "Citizens' Revolution," the essence of which was to change power relations in favor of the majority of the masses and establish a state that truly serves the interests of the people. To realize "Socialism for Good Living" and the "Citizens' Revolution," the Correa government made major adjustments at the political, economic, social, and diplomatic levels.
At the political level, Correa strengthened the power and role of the presidency and expanded government functions. Through judicial reform, the president gained the power to intervene in the operation of the executive branch and appoint governing bodies, and could even participate in the rulings and judgments of courts and procuratorates. During Correa’s administration, the number of public officials in executive agencies increased substantially, and the scale of the government reached a historical peak. Correa was also a technocrat; he hired a large number of high-level talents from academia, NGOs, and industrial and commercial enterprises to ensure that policy formulation was scientific and professional.
At the economic level, Correa took multiple measures to increase fiscal revenue. First, he actively negotiated with international oil companies to ensure the nation received more benefits from oil revenues. Second, he reformed tax laws to effectively improve the level of tax collection and management. Third, he increased supervision and tax rates on financial institutions, including abolishing the autonomy of the Central Bank and strengthening controls over capital flows. Fourth, he developed economic cooperation with China to expand diversified economic and trade relations. Precisely because of this series of measures, the Ecuadorian economy maintained healthy and stable development during Correa's administration, and fiscal revenue continued to increase.
At the social level, the Correa government strengthened infrastructure construction and raised the level of public investment. Correa invested heavily in road construction, making the transport of goods and the circulation of people more convenient. He built thousands of social housing units in rural and urban areas, solving residency issues for low-income groups. He also increased investment in public education and updated the medical system, equipping numerous hospitals with modern medical equipment.
At the diplomatic level, the Correa government sought to reshape national pride, defend national sovereignty, and promote regional integration. Correa changed Ecuador's "obedient" attitude toward the World Bank and the IMF, formulating economic policies more in line with national conditions. In handling relations with the United States, Correa stood by his campaign promise and refused to renew the lease of a military base in the coastal city of Manta to the U.S. Air Force. In 2012, Ecuador again showed its toughness toward the United States—the Ecuadorian Embassy in London granted political asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, thwarting U.S. attempts to impose improper charges on him. Regarding regional integration, the Correa government promoted the establishment of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and joined many Latin American countries in establishing the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
As a representative of leftist parties, Correa regarded the realization of "Socialism for Good Living" as his primary goal and kept his promise to end long-standing neoliberal policies, giving the country’s development a completely new look. After Correa, Lenín Moreno—the PAIS Alliance candidate and former UN Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility—was elected president, allowing the Ecuadorian left’s tenure to continue. Moreno was closely linked to Correa and served as Vice President during Correa's administration. Although some differences of opinion later emerged between the two, Moreno basically continued Correa’s governance principles, actively revitalizing the economy, fighting corruption, and strengthening social security work. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ecuador's economic situation deteriorated and social unrest ensued, leading to a decline in public trust in the left. In 2021, the right-wing conservative candidate Guillermo Lasso was elected president, bringing a temporary end to the 14-year period of leftist governance.
III. Dilemmas and Development Prospects of the Ecuadorian Left
The development process of the Ecuadorian left over nearly a century has been full of hardships and twists. After Correa took power, leftist forces experienced a brief recovery and prosperity. However, in the 2023 presidential election, Daniel Noboa—a businessman from the banana industry and candidate for the center-right "National Democratic Action" alliance—won the election, and the political spectrum tilted rightward once again. Overall, the future development of the Ecuadorian left still faces multiple challenges; its prospects are unclear, and it has a long way to go to achieve its socialist goals.
First, it is seriously affected by geopolitics. Since the issuance of the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, the United States has regarded the Americas as its "backyard," maintaining its national interests through numerous interventions. After the "September 11 attacks," the U.S. adjusted its foreign policy, and Western Hemisphere affairs temporarily receded to a secondary position in its diplomatic strategy. Both the "Western Hemisphere Strategic Framework" issued by the U.S. National Security Council in 2020 and the "Interim National Security Strategic Guidance" released by the White House in 2021 indicate that the U.S. will increase the input of strategic resources, bolster pro-U.S. right-wing regimes, and suppress radical leftist forces. As a part of Latin America, Ecuador long maintained close relations with the U.S.—not only cooperating with U.S. anti-guerrilla policies during the military government era but also being early to accept the neoliberal reform "prescriptions" issued by the U.S. During the economic crisis in 2000, the authorities even directly dollarized the economy. Therefore, as the U.S. strengthens its intervention in Latin America, right-wing regimes will undoubtedly receive strong support, while the left—particularly the radical left—will be further suppressed.
Second, internal parties are numerous and factional contradictions are sharp. Since the split between the Ecuadorian Socialist Party and Communist Party in the early 1930s, there has been more fragmentation than unity within the left, a trend that intensified after the 1960s. In the 1970s, the left splintered into the Democratic Left Party, People's Democracy, the People's Socialist Party, and the Concentration of People's Forces, showing a trend toward decentralization and fragmentation. Furthermore, there are sharp factional contradictions within the left, the most prominent being the conflict between the Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement, which represents Indigenous interests, and traditional leftist parties. In 1995, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador established the Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement, known as Pachakutik. In 1996, the party participated in elections for the first time, winning 10% of the seats and becoming the fourth-largest party in parliament. After Correa first took office, the party briefly gave him support. However, after Correa’s second term began, contradictions between Pachakutik and the Correa government increased significantly. In the 2021 presidential election, Pachakutik candidate Yaku Pérez became a dark horse, obtaining 19.4% of the vote in the first round—falling to third place by a margin of only 0.35% and failing to enter the second round. Subsequently, Pachakutik refused to support Andrés Arauz, the candidate for the leftist "Union for Hope" coalition, and even called on voters to spoil their ballots or cast invalid votes, which became one of the reasons for the left’s defeat. One could say that the contradictions between Pachakutik and other leftist parties have weakened the overall strength of the country’s left.
Third, there is a lack of a clear political line. Neither the Ecuadorian Socialist Party, the Communist Party, nor other leftist parties possess a clear political line. When the Socialist Party was founded, it adopted a "Declaration of Principles" advocating for the socialization of the means of production and distribution and the establishment of a socialist state. However, it lacked clear explanations and specific implementation paths for how to achieve these goals. In fact, the political line is directly related to a party’s survival and development; it is the lifeline of all party activities. Because it failed to propose a clear political line, moderate reformers and radical revolutionaries coexisted within the Socialist Party; while this ambiguous attitude seemed capable of gaining a larger mass base, it also led to a gradual loss of its position during the development process. As for the Communist Party of Ecuador, members ignored the party's own construction due to excessive focus on instructions from the Comintern, and thus failed to propose a clear political line. After the 1972 military coup, the Communist Party announced its support for the military government's program, only to begin organizing leftist forces to participate in general elections after the military returned power to the people in 1978. These adjustments reflect that the Ecuadorian left follows political trends rather than giving sufficient attention to its political line or forming a clear plan for the future. Similar issues emerged in the radical leftist parties that surfaced in the 1960s.
Fourth, the theoretical system requires improvement. At the end of the 20th century, the Ecuadorian Socialist Party and the Broad Front of the Left merged into the "Socialist Party–Broad Front" (PS-FA) and actively explored theoretical guidelines, taking the lead in proposing "Socialism for the 21st Century." Absorbing these ideas, Correa advocated "Socialism for Good Living" on various occasions after becoming president, emphasizing its core principles: being people-oriented, social justice and equality, participatory and representative democracy, a social and solidarity economy, and a development concept of "good living." Thus, "Socialism for Good Living" became an important ideology with distinct leftist characteristics. However, it has not yet become a complete theoretical system; many of its policies and propositions have not yet taken a fixed shape, and its feasibility still needs to be strengthened. Furthermore, the Ecuadorian left’s understanding of traditional socialism also requires theorization and verification through practice. Therefore, constructing a refined theoretical system for "Socialism for Good Living" remains an urgent issue for the Ecuadorian left to resolve.
Fifth, it is increasingly alienated from the masses.
Since the establishment of leftist parties, the Ecuadorian populace has held high expectations for the Left, hoping it could lead them along a developmental path distinct from capitalism. During the 1940s and 1950s, the Left maintained close ties with groups such as laborers, Indigenous peoples, educators, and students; it even led the political movement to overthrow the Arroyo del Río [11] dictatorship, causing its influence to grow steadily. Since the 1960s, as the Left moved toward radicalization, the military government—seeking to achieve its strategic counter-insurgency goals—began to emphasize its own reformist and nationalist stance, winning public support by introducing a series of land reform measures. Following the restoration of democratic order in the late 1970s, conservative forces claimed they would improve the lives of the masses through reform; this reformist posturing temporarily left the Left in a predicament, unable to propose a political discourse capable of attracting the public. During Rafael Correa's first two terms in office, this situation changed dramatically as "Socialism for the Good Life" [12] gradually took root in the hearts of the people, productive forces developed rapidly, the anti-corruption struggle achieved significant results, and the level of public services continuously improved. However, during his third term, "Socialism for the Good Life" transformed into a slogan used to consolidate political power. Protests from Indigenous groups and environmentalists against his insistence on large-scale mineral extraction increased, and the Left's mass base was severely weakened. Although a leftist party took power again in 2017, President Moreno failed to take effective measures to improve relations with the masses. After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic situation continued to deteriorate and poverty rates rose steadily. It can be said that the distance between the Ecuadorian Left and the masses is increasingly widening, which became a major reason for the subsequent rise of the Right and the populace's outcry of "No more Left."
In sum, the Ecuadorian Left has engaged in an active exploration of socialism and demonstrated a certain resilience, but it also faces multiple challenges. In the future, the Left should strengthen internal unity, maintain close ties with the masses [13], and continue to carry out theoretical innovation based on its own national conditions.
(Author’s Affiliation: Institute of History, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences) Source: Contemporary World and Socialism, No. 2, 2025 Online Editor: Zhang Jian