Noted recall: The goal is to describe, in just a few words, what the article is about. Additionally, if I think the article is particularly note-worthy (good or bad), I will comment on that. Compare this to a small sticky note, something to jog your memory about the contents of an article. Of course, if I miss the point of an article, or fail to find anything remarkable, that is entirely the fault of the reviewer.
Available at: https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/issue/april-2020/
Why Ecuador’s Referendums Backfired - Felipe Burbano de Lara and Carlos de la Torre
(read 2020-06-19)
Look at Ecuador. Correa was the populist leader from 2007-2017 and introduced many reforms, some good, some not-so-good, but used referendums to claim support from the people in order to justify breaking the existing law and to replace the constitution. Moreno took office in 2017, and unexpectedly started reversing some of the Correa decisions. However, in the process of reverting back to a government more democratically accountable, Moreno chose to also break existing law to expedite the process. Moreno is claiming government reform, but using the same justification as the system they are trying to replace. This has proven unpopular. Additionally, the economy has significantly declined with the decline of oil prices, and Moreno is limited in his capacity to respond. Trust in the government is about half that of what it was under Correa.