https://carnegieendowment.org/2019/07/11/is-ecuador-model-for-post-populist-democratic-recovery-pub-79472
The startling spread of illiberal populism in democracies around the world raises the question of how damaged democracies can heal themselves. One country seems to be recovering from a phase of democratic backsliding brought on by a populist leader: Ecuador. Can Quito’s current trajectory be a guide for post-populist politics?
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In democracies around the world—from Brazil, Bolivia, and the United States to Hungary, Italy, and Poland—populist leaders with a nationalist message and authoritarian tendencies have risen to power. Now, observers are looking to understand how successor governments can help reverse the damage left by populist authoritarianism, from deep polarization and the closing of civic space to strains on checks and balances and attacks on the rule of law. With the populist wave still rising, there are few case studies for how states should pick up the pieces after a populist-led erosion of democracy. But one country seems to have successfully recovered: Ecuador, under President…
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