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Mounting evidence suggests that Latin American democracies are characterized by politics and societies becoming more divisive, confrontational, and polarized. This process, which we define here as the "new polarization" in Latin America, seems to weaken the ability of democratic institutions to manage and resolve social and political conflicts. Although recent scholarship suggests that polarization is integral to contemporary patterns of democratic "backsliding" seen in much of the world, this new polarization in the region has not yet received systematic scholarly attention. Aiming to address this gap in the literature, the different contributions in this special issue revise the conceptualization, measurement, and theory of a multidimensional phenomenon such as polarization, including both its ideological and affective dimensions, as well as perspectives at the elite and mass levels of analysis. Findings shed light on the phenomenon of polarization as both a dependent and an independent variable, contributing to comparative literature on polarization and its relationship to democratic governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective/context: This article describes and analyzes the performance, supply, organization and electoral reception of the right wing in Ecuador between 1998 and 2018, a period in which this ideological tendency faced particularly adverse structural conditions. Methodology: Research was conducted through a mixed approach. The first part of the article, focused on the supply, strategies and performance of the different actors of the Ecuadorian right, involved a process tracing analysis. The second part of the article surveys demand-side support for the right, including the influence of variables such as geographical region, wealth, level of education and religiosity among those who voted for the right. This analysis was based on the application of logistic regression models to survey data from the AmericasBarometer of the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP). Conclusions: This work manages to identify multiple variables that contributed to the peaks and troughs of the Ecuadorian right's performance in the polls during the period studied, highlighting the role of the pendulum effect associated with commodity cycles. Additionally, it concludes that, despite voters' diffuse identification with ideological definitions in broad terms, the right wing in Ecuador has not only survived, but has periodically emerged strengthened. Originality: Studies about the different ideological tendencies in Ecuador --especially with regard to the right-- are incipient and largely out of date. This article provides an overview of recent scholarship on the Ecuadorian right, by combining a descriptive analysis of the main milestones that marked the positions of political elites, with an analysis of empirical evidence on the ideological self-identification of citizens since the beginning of the 21st century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many respects, 2016 was a complex year for Ecuador. On the economic front, the country officially fell into recession. The earthquake that took place in April exacerbated the economic emergency. In the political realm, presidential approval declined due to the recession. In this context, the electoral campaign for the succession of Rafael Correa started: pro-government forces considered several options for their presidential bid and the opposition did not forge a united candidacy. Considering the imminent presidential change, some initial assessments of Correa’s tenure were anticipated. This article highlights Ecuadorian hyper-presidentialism —both in its institutional design and in its authoritarian practice— as well as the deterioration of the quality of democracy and its legitimacy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]