Browsing by Author "Vallejo Vera, Sebastian"

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An Unwelcomed Deja-Vu: Ecuadorian Politics in 2021
(2022) Aldaz Peña, Raúl; Abad Cisneros, Angélica Isabel; Dávila Gordillo, Diana; Vallejo Vera, Sebastian
This paper explains the configuration of the political scenario in Ecuador after the 2021 general elections. The pandemic left a challenging economic and social aftermath that created policy challenges for the new government. Guillermo Lasso won the elections securing support from the anticorreísmo front. However, this electoral coalition did not translate into the legislative arena. Lasso addressed policy challenges using political strategies widely used in Ecuador by minority governments during the nineties. We focus on Lasso’s attempts to push economic reforms to show how his legislative strategy adapted to the prevailing political conditions, namely: 1) aimed for less ambitious policy goals; 2) used his institutional prerogatives to shape the legislative agenda; and, 3) crafted short-lived and informal agreements in exchange for (political) pork. Complex executive-legislative relations can limit the government’s ability to address economic and social problems in the future, which could lead to political and economic instability, as in the past. De facto coalitions are necessary for Lasso yet come at a cost for a government quickly losing support. We also provide an overview of other social problems and policy responses relevant throughout this year.
Believe in me: parties’ strategies during a pandemic, evidence from Ecuador
(2021) Abad Cisneros, Angélica Isabel; Vallejo Vera, Sebastian; Davila Gordillo, Diana Lucia; Aldaz Peña, Raul Alberto
There is a growing interest to evaluate the political aftermath of the pandemic. We study how parties attract voters under the redistributive pressure created by COVID-19, looking into the 2021 Ecuadorian elections. We classify the messages that candidates sent, evaluate if and how candidates used COVID-19 to mobilize voters, and assess how voters reacted to them. We followed 858 virtual events and gathered more than 1’575.000 tweets from candidates and their communities. We find that candidates did not place COVID-19 at the center of their strategies but used it to connect with symbolic messages about the capabilities of parties and candidates. Twitter users had a limited engagement with COVID-19-related content. These findings nuance our expectations of the pandemic. COVID-19 was only an element rather than the coreof electoral strategies. Our empirical approach can be easily extended to other cases where in-person events are still limited.