Changes in the Structure of the Executive Branch of Ecuador (2017-2021): A Shift to the Right?

Abstract

In 2017, Lenin Moreno Garcés was inaugurated as President of the Republic of Ecuador, following his electoral victory with the ruling party Alianza País. A government that was supposed to continue the previous administration’s approach, within a few months, took a “turn” in its political style compared to its predecessor and in the programmatic axes of the movement, across various sectoral policies. In this context of political alternation, the article examines changes in the structure of Ecuador’s Executive Branch. It analyzes twenty-four ministries created between 2007 and 2017, to identify changes in their life cycle, hierarchical level, size, and competencies. The results show that, during the period 2017-2021, twelve ministries were eliminated, four saw a decrease in their hierarchical level, eleven were negatively impacted in terms of size, and twelve changed their institutional mission, with a reduction in their scope and tasks. As a result, the executive structure was reconfigured, a new way of distributing and coordinating work internally was defined, and new lines of authority were created. This governmental reorganization reflects the political preferences of the new president, marks a break from the previous period, and can be interpreted as a material expression of the political shift in Ecuador