This month Ecuador’s 20th constitution since the country’s independence in 1822 is celebrating its first birthday. President Rafael Correa promoted this constitution as the greatest measure to-date toward reaching his goal of an “equitable, just” nation. Unfortunately, while this new magna carta establishes laws against the discrimination of all people—regardless of ethnicity or sexuality—the indigenous and afro-descendent communities, approximately 28 percent of the population, remain particularly marginalized and under-represented in Ecuador’s political system.

There have been some advances. The election of Roberto Cuero, an Afro-Ecuadorian, as governor of the municipality of Guayas in August 2009 was an important step in the right direction in Ecuador’s historic pattern of political inequality. Cuero is the first Afro-Ecuadorian to hold a high public office in the country’s history. However, there is much that still needs to be done for the indigenous and afro-descendent populations to achieve equality, as Afro-Ecuadorians face discrimination, political marginalization and poverty on a daily basis.

Since March of this year, IFES has been working with Ecuadorian civil society to promote the political inclusion of this marginalized population. To this end, IFES has partnered with local civil society organizations that specifically work to promote the rights of minority indigenous and Afro-descendent populations throughout the country. The joint project aims to increase awareness of the communities among the general population as well as to strengthen the institutional capacity of the organizations to be more effective in their work.

For example, IFES is holding youth leadership training programs to educate minority youth about their local governments and empower them to be politically active citizens representing the needs of their community. Once they have graduated from the program, IFES will place these students in internships with local government offices to pair their newfound knowledge with useful experience.

Governor Cuero is also working to increase the participation of minorities in government. This August he met with IFES’ chief civil society partner, Fundación Cimarrón Siglo XXI, and pledged to work with them to promote the visibility and political participation of the Afro-Ecuadorian population in Guayas. Cuero recognizes he cannot accomplish such a weighty task alone. Collaboration such as this with Fundación Cimarrón will be crucial to ensuring that Cuero’s term as the first Afro-Ecuadorian governor is used to increase the political participation of minorities.

As IFES’ project in Ecuador is slated to end in the summer of 2010, and international funding for projects such as these is rare, it is imperative that Cuero pursue such partnerships with civil society organizations. Even if greater funding from the international community is obtained, truly sustainable success can only be initiated and continued by grassroots and political movements inside the country. This could be the first real step toward the “equitable, just” nation of which President Correa dreams.

By Rachel Evans, Program Associate, Americas