Fragile coalitions: Anti-populism at work in Ecuador

Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program (LACS) Seminar Series.

After being governed by left-wing populism for most of the 21st century, Ecuador elected right-wing Guillermo Lasso as its new president in 2021. This presentation explains the juncture that brought Lasso to power, thanks to the formation of an anti-populist coalition that agglomerated various heterogeneous sectors. It also analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of this anti-populist coalition, both in the electoral contest and in the exercise of power.

Paolo Moncagatta is Associate Professor of Political Science at Universidad San Francisco de Quito, in Quito, Ecuador, where he also serves as Dean of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities. He obtained his PhD in Political and Social Sciences from Universitat Pompeu Fabra, in Barcelona. He also collaborates as a Research Fellow at the Research and Expertise Centre for Survey Methodology (RECSM) of Universitat Pompeu Fabra. His research focuses on Latin American politics, citizen attitudes toward democracy, democratization, ideology (and ideological polarization), and electoral behavior.