Jos Crdova 10-Mar-11 FP103x Parties and Interest Groups Profile Ecuadorian History shows that we have had

periods of Democracy and civil and military dictators. Since the returning to Democracy the social classes have displayed a permanent interest in obtaining political power to dictate laws and control the institutions. The principal goal of the Political Parties is to help the social class they represent to reach and control the state government. Public and history have judged political parties by their words and actions, instead of their philosophy. In Ecuador we have the called Traditional Parties , that are The Bourgeois Parties , that do not declare openly their bourgeois character. Traditional Parties represent the owners of Media and Means of Production. Traditional parties are normally stereotyped as the governments that will follow all the U.S. international policies. The socialist, progressive and communist parties are more open in saying who they represent. Some political parties include more than one social class, but it does not represent them necessarily. Beside their names and ideology, every party in Ecuador is recognized by a specific number. The most important parties in Ecuador are: 1. P.A.I.S. Alliance (35): founded in 2005. It is the president s political party. It was recently created for the elections in 2008. It is a democratic socialist party. It appears as a Revolutionary Party , proposing a change after 30 years of democracy given to foreign and particular interest instead to the Ecuadorian people. P.A.I.S. is leaded by five axis: y y y Constitutional Revolution: create a new constitution, create and update laws. Fight against corruption: better control of money and avoid increasing the national debt. Economic Revolution: equality for the social classes and break links with Washington.

y y

Revolution in Social Policy: grant education and health for everyone. Latin American Integration: boost unification: UNASUR, ALBA, CAN, etc.

2. Democratic Left (12): founded in the 70 s. Inspired in create a model of economic, political and social democracy. They believe that neoliberalism is not applicable anymore. Their slogan is: Social Justice with Freedom . 3. Patriotic Society (3): founded in 2000. It principally represents the opposition. This party is centerleft. Some of the proposals are: help developing agroindustry and tourism with low rate loans. Reduce taxes. Increase security. Use of natural resources in benefit of people. 4. Christian Social Party (6): founded in the 60 s. It is identified as a conservator party, based on the Catholic Church doctrine. It used to be popular in the coastal provinces, specially the city of Guayaquil, but nowadays its decay is clear. This is one of the Traditional Parties . 5. P.R.I.A.N. (7): founded in 1998. It is led by the businessman Alvaro Noboa. His message is that because he is rich, he does not have the necessity of taking money for himself. His policies are: Give a bonus of 77 dollars for poor people. Improve the retirement issues for the Armed Forces. Improve the basis services. Attract foreign investors create more jobs. Since the 90 s the Interest Groups have gained strong representation in politics. In the last years their participation has been important for elections by establishing alliances with the candidates. They also have become an important factor when protesting to take down presidents. There are interest groups that have transcendence in the province and national level. The most known and important interest groups are: 1. FENOCIN (National Confederation of Peasant, Indigenous and Black): It represents the rural sectors of the coast, highlands and amazon region. It tries to get opportunities of development in a democratic, sustainable and solidary frame. They work for:

Sustainable Development: technical assistance for agriculture. Control of credits and prices for their development. Development of agro-industry.

Opposition to neoliberalism and alternatives to globalization: increase the rural investment. Strengthen of local governments. Fight against the oppression.

Building a multicultural society: support for indigenous and black autonomy. Defense of the human rights. Social coexistence and peace.

2. CONAIE (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador): it specially represents the indigenous people of the highlands and amazon region. They are people with ancestral roots, with their own culture and language that they intend to preserve. Their major goals are: y y
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Defend indigenous territories and natural resources. Achieve equality and justice for indigenous people within the country. Maintain international relationship among indigenous nations of the continent.

3. FEUE (Federation of Ecuadorian University Students): this group appeared thanks to students influenced by the Cuban revolution in the 60 s. It was a anti-oligarchy, anti-military, and antiimperialist movement. Students had taken the streets on several occasions in defense of public freedoms, university autonomy and reform.

4. U.N.E. (National Union of Teachers): It appeared in the 40 s. It is a national interest group influenced by socialist and communist ideology. They are well organized and press the government by strikes with the support of FEUE.

Once we studied some of the characteristics of the Political Parties and Interest Groups, we can see that there Interest Groups are important in my country to generate change in the society. The lower classes can participate in the government and effectively express their opinion and complaints. Especially the

indigenous movement that was not important 20 years ago have become an important ally when elections are coming. In the last years the old parties have been losing popularity and new parties have been more successful in order to reach the presidency. The dissatisfaction originated by the old parties had produced this phenomenon, in which none of the old parties had reached the presidency since 1998. Among the Ecuadorian people the stereotype about politicians is that all of them are corrupt. We are trying to make a change, but come election time, we, as a people, are forced to choose between the lesser of two evils. Among the Interest Groups, the most organized and committed to a cause are the indigenous groups. A few years ago they took off the president. They represent the agricultural side of my country and because of their tough work they deserve to be heared. Bibliography: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izquierda_Democr%C3%A1tica_(Ecuador)
http://movimientoalianzapais.com.ec/wp-content/uploads/Principios_ap.pdf

http://www.prian.org.ec/Paginas/Titulos.php?Med=149 http://www.fenocin.org/marcoestrategico.html http://www.conaie.org/sobre-nosotros/que-es-la-conaie