Truth-out article about Ecuador's president Correa

How Ecuador Transitioned From 20th Century Neoliberalism to 21st Century Socialism →

In June, Josh Hoxie published a piece in Foreign Policy in Focus highlighting Ecuador’s adoption of an especially progressive version of the estate tax. In the article, he advised that Americans “pay closer attention to this small South American nation” and that the United States consider similar redistributive policies. Hoxie is not the first writer to highlight Ecuador as a model of 21st century socialism. In 2012, a Guardian piece by Jayati Ghosh called Ecuador “the most radical and exciting place on Earth” and suggested that “the rest of the world has much to learn” from its example.

With Ecuador having emerged as a poster child for political and economic leftism, readers may be surprised to learn that it only recently shifted away from a long-standing policy approach consistent with the neoliberal Washington Consensus. This shift coincided with the first election of President Rafael Correa in 2006, leading many analysts, including Ghosh, to credit Correa with Ecuador’s shift to the left. While Correa certainly deserves credit for policies implemented by his administration, the role that changes in the international political economy have played in facilitating Ecuador’s shift should not be overlooked.