Left populism and institutions: lessons from Ecuador on Laclau’s antinomies

Populism and institutions have been characterized as antithetical to each other by Ernesto Laclau. Yet the Latin American pink tide has offered many instances of left populism in power, with Rafael Correa’s Ecuador representing a prime example of the enmeshment between populist rhetoric and technocratic construction. Some accounts have emerged to make room for the latter, while ultimately failing to capture much of the dynamics at play. One of the chief questions is that the simple enlargement of the State cannot be taken as a trustworthy indicator of the stability and regularity of the new institutions. In order to secure their sustainability, these need to be propped up by accountable governance and a broader cultural transformation. By neglecting such aspects, left populism in Ecuador has left behind a mixed record in terms of institutional legacy. From a normative viewpoint, populism is thus conceived as a transitional device which can usher in a new institutionality, but, if some of its ‘vices’ are excessively protracted, it may be indicative of its failure to instil a new hegemony and its institutional achievements may be subject to a swift dismantling.