Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, second from left, shakes hand with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. January 7, 2015. AP Photo/Andy Wong, Pool. All rights reserved.
Populists have the upper hand in this dispute. Their position is based on strong official propaganda rhetoric and on rampant political patronage which translates into popular support at the polls. Distributing the economic bonanza’s surplus without affecting the historical structure of capital accumulation has proven to be good political business.
The problem lies in the ambiguity of the term. In Ecuador, for example, it was coined as an eclectic mediation between conservatism and radical liberalism in the late 19th century, with only one purpose: stopping the revolution led by Eloy Alfaro (President of Ecuador from 1895 to 1901 and from 1906 to 1911) - even though he was, from the logic of modernity, the most conspicuous champion of progress in the country.
