The Pachakutik Political Movement and the Strengthening of Ecuadorian.

This paper focuses on the contributions to democratization made by the Pachakutik Political Movement in Ecuador, a party founded by a coalition of indigenous organizations, social movements and labor unions in 1996. Despite the high levels of social mobilization and political volatility experienced in Ecuador during the 1990s, I argue that democracy was strengthened in this period by the emergence of this party. The two-pronged argument begins by referring to Rustow’s (1970) notion of the importance of ‘habituation’ to democratic rules and procedures as a key stage in democratic consolidation, and offers evidence that this has been taking place within the indigenous movement. Secondly, I argue that Pachakutik has been enriching democratic practice and challenging traditional hierarchical and clientelistic patterns of politics by introducing new participatory practices and by developing mechanisms designed to create greater transparency and accountability in government and by elected authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]