Análisis del proceso de institucionalización de la participación ciudadana en Ecuador Analysis of the process of institutionalizing citizen participation in Ecuador

The extended constitutional process Ecuador has undergone since 2007 for the approval of its new Constitution and its subsequent application generated high expectations in the specific area of democratic development as the so-called citizen participation systems were implemented at the local level. This article offers a qualitative analysis based on documentary sources and infor-mation extracted from interviews and discussion groups with politicians, technicians and citi-zens, to understand the characteristics and achievements of the process of institutionalization of citizen participation and to assess its democratic quality. In spite of the good practices in the area of social participation, the results offer a scenario of highly institutionalized weak democ-racy, with little progress in terms of the direct and participatory democracy established in its Constitution.