Is Ecuador On the Brink of a 'Perfect Dictatorship?'

"These reforms—if implemented as President Correa has promised—will vest the executive with a troubling degree of discretionary power over two areas key for democratic stability: judicial independence and freedom of expression. The need to streamline the judiciary and reduce certain business' monopoly on the media has merit. The way in which the reforms are being presented and carried out, however, risks converting legitimate frustrations with political and institutional pathologies into the consolidation of personal power at the expense of checks and balances of democratic governance. Presidents Correa, Hugo Chávez and Evo Morales rode to power as outsiders promising to shake up decades of relatively closed political and economic systems. In doing so, they effectively captured the popular clamor for change and greater inclusion, but have done so by threatening minority and political rights. The need to reform Ecuador's slow and politicized judicial system was never in doubt. And many regional groups have long expressed concern over the hyperconcentration of media in the hands of business that threatened journalistic autonomy and the objectivity of the media. The problem is that, as approved, the referendum gives President Correa near carte blanche in recrafting these institutions. The legitimate and likely risk now is that the president will use his newfound powers to handpick political favorites to the higher courts. Regarding the media proposal, there is real concern that he will use the powers to break up control over media to drive out opposing voices and punish journalists and businesses. Here is the optimistic note: Ecuadorean voters proved to be more discriminating than the president and many observers predicted. The fact that approval of the ballot questions barely squeaked by demonstrates that a growing number of voters are recognizing the difference between reform and personal ambition."