[Source – Latin American Herald Tribune]
“The common idiomatic expression ¨si o no?¨ has taken on a whole new and highly loaded meaning as Ecuador´s national Referendum and Consulta Popular draws near,” says Lindsay Green-Barber, reporting from Ecuador. “The ¨no¨ campaigns are coming from both the political right and the left in opposition to President Rafael Correa suggesting that the five year dominance of the Alianza PAIS party is coming to a close.”
By Lindsay Green-Barber
QUITO — The common idiomatic expression ¨si o no?¨ has taken on a whole new and highly loaded meaning as Ecuador´s national Referendum and Consulta Popular draws near.
While a ¨si¨ victory of the proposed five constitutional changes and five consultations on laws would certainly be worrisome in that it will concentrate even more power in the executive, the quantity, quality, and creativity of the discourse of the intense campaigns for ¨si¨ and ¨no¨ are evidence of an actively involved and concerned citizenry. Furthermore, the ¨no¨ campaigns are coming from both the political right and the left in opposition to President Rafael Correa suggesting that the five year dominance of the Alianza PAIS party is coming to a close.
The campaign for ¨si¨ has been orchestrated predominantly by Alianza PAIS and has focused on a vote in favor of the 10 questions as a vote in support of ¨patria,¨ and thus is a campaign based in patriotism. Following this logic, the advertisements targeting the controversial communications law have framed the debate in terms of ¨si¨ being a vote against violence, sex, and other ¨irresponsible¨ materials that damage Ecuadorian society.
The ¨si¨ campaign in favor of outlawing animal cruelty and events such as bull rodeos in which the bulls are killed has been somewhat more complicated. As rodeos de toros are a national pastime and part of Ecuadorean culture, the rhetoric of supporting the patria has proven to be ineffective. Instead, the Alianza PAIS campaign has focused elsewhere, and President Correa even went so far as to say this proposed law would not affect rodeos. Noteworthy is the conspicuous absence of discussion regarding the proposed constitutional changes that would concentrate power over the judicial branch in the hands of the executive.
The campaigns for ¨no¨ have been more creative. The media, while banned by the National Electoral Committee (CNE) from officially campaigning, have found ways to express their opposition to the proposed communications law.
For example, Ecuador´s daily newspaper El Comercio staged a march on Wednesday, May 04, 2011 for the World Day of Freedom of Expression. While the article published about the march does not mention the consulta, it does discuss the upcoming national assembly´s debate over the communications law and how the proposed law violates internationally protected freedom of expression.
Indigenous organizations, spearheaded by the national Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), have staged marches, protests, and rallies throughout the country. While the CONAIE officially suspended all conversations with the government in January of 2010, regional and local organizations have come out strong against the Correa administration in the face of the consulta.
In the Andean province of Cotopaxi the provincial indigenous Organization, the Indigenous and Campesino Movement of Cotopaxi (MICC) went so far as to symbolically take back a baton they had given President Correa in 2006.
The campaigns for both ¨si¨ and ¨no¨ have been strong, creative, and fervent. While the usual suspects are contesting President Correa´s consulta, such as the business community, the vehement opposition of left political segments, such as the indigenous movement, workers unions, and the political party the Ruptura de 25, suggest that Alianza PAIS´s days of dominance are coming to a close, regardless of ¨si o no.¨