Programmatic or Personalistic? Pachakutik Strategies in Ecuador’s 2006 Elections

Many scholars of Latin America have assumed that ethnic parties are able to avoid the personalistic tendencies of traditional parties, and capture votes primarily due to their party platforms, rather than with the provision of pork, patronage, or other tangible goods. In this paper, I examine this assumption through an analysis of the campaign strategies of ethnic party candidates in Ecuador. I find that ethnic party candidates behave strategically in response to Ecuador’s institutions – such as electoral laws and the separation of powers – which compromises their ability to form programmatic linkages. Using data gathered in three provinces on three different Pachakutik party campaigns during the 2006 legislative elections in Ecuador, I illustrate the vote-seeking styles of ethnic party candidates. In this qualitative analysis, I rely on campaign materials, campaign speeches and candidate interviews, as well as personal observations, in order to capture how candidates generate representational relationships with their constituents. I find that although these candidates agreed with the programmatic interests of the ethnic party, they were ultimately unable to achieve the high expectations placed upon them by indigenous leaders and scholars alike – to form programmatic linkages with their constituents, and correspondingly improve Ecuadorian democracy.