{"id":3984,"date":"2018-01-10T21:07:06","date_gmt":"2018-01-10T21:07:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/arielsheen.com\/?p=3984"},"modified":"2018-03-07T09:09:53","modified_gmt":"2018-03-07T09:09:53","slug":"what-social-democracy-do-we-speak-of-in-21st-century-ecuador","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/10\/what-social-democracy-do-we-speak-of-in-21st-century-ecuador\/","title":{"rendered":"What Social Democracy Do We Speak Of In 21st century Ecuador?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Descriptive statistics from Ecuador’s 2013 legislative elections, provincial deputies<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Original text by Oscar Perez,\u00a0<\/a>Director de el Telegrafo<\/p>\n

Translation by Ariel Sheen<\/p>\n

In Europe, social democracy is not only going through its worst moment in history, but it has revealed itself as a tendency of those that are right of center. This is evident through the means of those that practice power in its name, the impact of policies on their respective countries, and in the frustration of those social groups that placed their hope in them. At the same time, however, there are still leaders and groups advocating within the social democracy camp for exit from the parliamentary process.<\/p>\n

All this infighting is occurring during a period of emergence of various fascist right tendencies found deep within various electorates. The silence of Social Democrats on the triumph of Donald Trump in the USA and the lack of debate on the possibility of a fourth term for Angela Merkel is not something for which we should be grateful.<\/p>\n

And in Ecuador? What remains of the social democratic programs that Rodrigo Borja raised despite the antagonism of the oligarchic right? Programs that he could never fulfill, for the same reasons that now lead us to think that it is an impossible political project for a country like ours.<\/p>\n

Is it enough to mention the slogan \u201csocial justice with freedom\u201d to reflect the crisis evident in this current of thought? Should we think of the social democratic project in Ecuador merely as those consisting of political representatives that claim this label? Could it be that having stretched the Ecuadorian political process to the left in the last 10 years forced a certain social democratic nostalgia without a proper analysis of its real content?<\/p>\n

It is very convenient to appeal to the center and talk about absolute consensus. It sounds good – like something found in a self-help manual for times of existential crisis. The European and Latin American reality, however, tells us several truths about where such verities of political centrism leads.<\/p>\n

If what is now described as Ecuadorian Social Democracy could adequately explain how society functions \u2013 perhaps it could also explain to itself why it has not exercised power for more than 20 years? And something else: why are those who now represent this movement not so different in their visions from the right? Why do certain right-wing actors join those self-described Social Democratic organizations without any misgivings? They will tell me that there are also others, of those who were called left. Yes, as it also happens in the US, where ‘libertarian’ groups that defend homosexuals, ecology and women now join Trump without any misgivings.<\/p>\n

In practice there is not much difference between what so-called Social Democrats and what the Social Christians, the Christian Democrats and the right-wing libertarians propose. In fact, many of them have their best representatives in the media, in blogs and in the media or the many International NGOs with representatives in Ecuador.<\/p>\n

Although one or the other speaks in favor of women\u2019s right to choose abortion or homosexuals to marry, they do not want to transform society much beyond that. It sounds very nice to defend the rights of women and sexual diversities, but within a society predicated on a capitalism means tolerance and nothing else.<\/p>\n

This is how they conceive how our society should be: tolerance of diversity, but continued exclusion of opportunity via maintenance of in the distribution of wealth; women ought to be protected from assaulted or violated but not from market conditions which deny them decent jobs. Young people are free and sovereign, but only to sustain the market as good consumers and not as citizens part of a project of collective social transformation.<\/p>\n

As the Colombian philosopher Santiago Castro-G\u00f3mez <\/a>said recently in a lecture at La Falco: The only way a society can be changed is by transforming the common sense of our peoples and by taking institutions (not only in the state sense). From there can be exerted real and revolutionary political power!<\/p>\n

Even if it is hard for them to recognize it, the new social democrats are actually right-wing libertarians. They have not learned from Rodrigo Borja much less the classics of international social democracy. This is neither meant to stigmatize nor underestimate their political performance.<\/p>\n

On the contrary, I say this only to provide evidence for their political role during electoral campaign times. They do this to differentiate themselves from Alianza PAIS. They declare themselves to be anti-reformists to death, with all the consequences that this entails, but then agree with many of the postulates of the Right on the role of the State, fiscal matters, the state of the world economy and the quality of democracy in terms of rights of participation or social inclusion.<\/p>\n

Of course, since intellectuals are very busy contributing to electoral campaigns, and profiting as consultants, pollsters and political marketing strategists \u2013 as could be seen in the last Political Communication Summit, held in Quito \u2013 they do not want to reflect on this. Perhaps this is because their intense work schedule does not give them time to reflect.<\/p>\n

And yet there are still some truly independent intellectuals (some of them who write in this newspaper luckily) who have touched on Creole social democracy\u2019s open wounds. Something that can hardly be recognize themselves when one is silent about major developments that have happened in Spain, France, Germany or England over the past two decades.<\/p>\n

The question is open and involves a response that in the middle of the electoral campaign should force a more serious debate: what social democracy do we speak of in Ecuador in the 21st century?<\/p>\n

*<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00bfDe qu\u00e9 socialdemocracia hablamos en el Ecuador del siglo XXI?<\/h1>\n

En Europa la socialdemocracia no solo atraviesa el peor momento de su historia, sino que se ha revelado como una tendencia de derecha antes que de centro, no solo por sus pr\u00e1cticas en el ejercicio del poder, sino por el impacto de sus pol\u00edticas en sus respectivos pa\u00edses y en las sociedades de bienestar de las que tanto se preci\u00f3. Al mismo tiempo hay l\u00edderes y grupos que disputan en el seno de esa socialdemocracia una salida por la izquierda.<\/p>\n

Todo eso ocurre cuando la emergencia de derechas y tendencias fascistas cala hondo en el electorado. No es gratuito el silencio de la socialdemocracia sobre el triunfo de Donald Trump en EE.UU. y el casi nulo cuestionamiento a la posibilidad de un cuarto per\u00edodo para Angela Merkel.<\/p>\n

\u00bfY en Ecuador? \u00bfQu\u00e9 queda de representaci\u00f3n de la socialdemocracia que Rodrigo Borja enarbol\u00f3 en plena disputa con la derecha olig\u00e1rquica y con un programa que nunca pudo cumplir por las mismas razones que ahora nos llevan a pensar que es un proyecto pol\u00edtico imposible para un pa\u00eds como el nuestro? \u00bfBasta con mencionar un eslogan (justicia social con libertad) para reflejar esa corriente de pensamiento en crisis en el mundo? \u00bfSe puede pensar en una socialdemocracia a la ecuatoriana a partir solo de la representaci\u00f3n y las figuras de algunas personas que se autocalifican de ese modo? \u00bfNo ser\u00e1 que haber estirado hacia la izquierda el proceso pol\u00edtico ecuatoriano de los \u00faltimos 10 a\u00f1os oblig\u00f3 a cierta nostalgia socialdem\u00f3crata sin el debido an\u00e1lisis sobre su real condumio?<\/p>\n

Es muy c\u00f3modo llamarse de centro y hablar de consensos absolutos. M\u00e1s bien huele a un manual de autoayuda en tiempos de crisis existencial, pero la realidad europea y la latinoamericana nos gritan varias verdades sobre las neutralidades o los centrismos pol\u00edticos que ya sabemos d\u00f3nde terminan. Si lo que ahora se autocalifica de socialdemocracia ecuatoriana pudiera explicar c\u00f3mo entiende a nuestra sociedad, quiz\u00e1 podr\u00eda tambi\u00e9n explicarse a s\u00ed misma por qu\u00e9 no ha ejercido el poder hace m\u00e1s de 20 a\u00f1os. Y algo m\u00e1s: por qu\u00e9 quienes ahora la representan no son tan distintos, en sus visiones, de la derecha, tan as\u00ed que determinados actores de la derecha se afilian a esas organizaciones autocalificadas de socialdem\u00f3cratas sin ning\u00fan recelo. Me dir\u00e1n que tambi\u00e9n hay de los otros, de los que se llamaban de izquierda. S\u00ed, como tambi\u00e9n ocurre en EE.UU., donde los grupos \u2018libertarios\u2019 que defienden a los homosexuales, la ecolog\u00eda y las mujeres ahora se afilian a Trump sin ning\u00fan recelo.<\/p>\n

En la pr\u00e1ctica no hay mucha diferencia entre lo que plantean los autodenominados socialdem\u00f3cratas y lo que proponen los socialcristianos, los democratacristianos y los libertarios de derechas (muchos de los cuales tienen a sus mejores representantes en los medios de comunicaci\u00f3n, en los blogs y en las ONG internacionales asentadas en Ecuador con representantes nacionales).<\/p>\n

Aunque uno que otro hable a favor del aborto o del matrimonio homosexual, en el fondo no quieren transformar la sociedad. Suena muy bonito defender los derechos de las mujeres y las diversidades sexuales, pero dentro de un capitalismo intenso maquillado de tolerancia y nada m\u00e1s.
\nAs\u00ed conciben nuestra sociedad: tolerancia con las diversidades aunque estas sigan siendo excluidas en la distribuci\u00f3n de la riqueza; que las mujeres no sean agredidas ni violentadas pero que no tengan trabajos dignos ni sean sujetos de la transformaci\u00f3n colectiva; y que los j\u00f3venes sean libres y soberanos, pero para sostener al mercado como buenos consumidores y no precisamente como ciudadanos.<\/p>\n

Como dijo hace poco el fil\u00f3sofo colombiano Santiago Castro-G\u00f3mez en una charla en la Flacso, del \u00fanico modo que se puede cambiar una sociedad es transformando el sentido com\u00fan de nuestros pueblos y tom\u00e1ndose las instituciones (no solo en el sentido estatal) para desde all\u00ed ejercer poder pol\u00edtico real y revolucionario.<\/p>\n

Los nuevos socialdem\u00f3cratas (que no han le\u00eddo los libros y reflexiones de un Rodrigo Borja y menos de los cl\u00e1sicos de la socialdemocracia internacional) son en realidad unos libertarios de derechas aunque les cueste reconocerlo. No es ni un estigma ni una subestimaci\u00f3n a su actuaci\u00f3n pol\u00edtica.
\nTodo lo contrario, solo es la constataci\u00f3n de su rol pol\u00edtico en tiempos de campa\u00f1a electoral porque para diferenciarse de Alianza PAIS no solo se declaran anticorre\u00edstas a muerte \u2014con todas las consecuencias que ello depara\u2014, sino que coinciden en los postulados de la derecha sobre el rol del Estado, materia fiscal, estado de la econom\u00eda mundial y la calidad de la democracia en cuanto a derechos de participaci\u00f3n o de inclusi\u00f3n social.<\/p>\n

Claro, como los intelectuales est\u00e1n muy ocupados en contribuir a las campa\u00f1as electorales, en calidad de asesores, consultores, encuestadores y estrategas de marketing pol\u00edtico (como se pudo constatar en la \u00faltima Cumbre de Comunicaci\u00f3n Pol\u00edtica, desarrollada en Quito) no han querido reflexionar sobre esto.<\/p>\n

Quiz\u00e1 por falta de tiempo dado el trabajo intenso al que est\u00e1n sometidos, pero hay todav\u00eda algunos intelectuales verdaderamente independientes (algunos de ellos que escriben en este diario por suerte) que han tocado en las heridas abiertas que tiene la socialdemocracia criolla y que muy dif\u00edcilmente pueden reconocerse como tales cuando callan sobre lo ocurrido en las 2 \u00faltimas d\u00e9cadas en Espa\u00f1a, Francia, Alemania o Inglaterra.<\/p>\n

La pregunta est\u00e1 abierta y conlleva una respuesta que en plena campa\u00f1a electoral deber\u00eda obligar a un debate m\u00e1s serio: \u00bfde qu\u00e9 socialdemocracia hablamos en el Ecuador del siglo XXI? (O)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For an American take on a similar theme, watch this:
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