Faculty Connection

For my faculty connection, I spoke with Dr. Leslie Schwindt-Bayer. She is a political science professor and researches women’s representation in Latin America as well as political institutions in Latin America. My conversation with Dr. Schwindt-Bayer was very interesting. We discussed how the Catholic Church influences political institutions in Ecuador as well as the current presidential election.

As Ecuador is one of the most Catholic countries in Latin America, with over 70% of the population practicing Roman Catholicism, Ecuador’s politics are heavily influenced by the church. Dr. Schwindt-Bayer discussed how in very Catholic countries in Latin America, like Ecuador, the political institutions really just follow the practices and beliefs of the Catholic Church. This has a lot of implications for women’s rights, especially women’s right to access sexual and reproductive health, as the church tends to promote a more abstinence-only method of contraception and is very unfavorable towards pro-choice abortion policies. For this reason, many politicians are very hostile to the promotion of women’s sexual and reproductive health. This has been very evident in the research I’ve done on Ecuador so far so it was interesting to hear Dr. Schwindt-Bayer’s comments.

Dr. Schwindt-Bayer also studies elections in Latin America. We talked about how the current President, Rafael Correa, has been the first president to serve a complete term of 10 years in a very long time. Ecuador has a lot of small, divided political parties. For the past few decades, few presidents have remained in office for very long, and different political parties have held different offices. This has caused significant political instability; however, these past 10 years in Ecuador with President Correa have marked a distinctly more stable period for Ecuador. Dr. Schwindt-Bayer suggested that it might be best if the candidate and vice-president under Correa, Lenin Moreno, wins the election. This would continue this period of political continuity for Ecuador as the political party in power will stay the same. This unprecedented continuity could improve political stability in Ecuador and possibly relieve some current issues like the rising debt and corruption.

After talking to Dr. Schwindt-Bayer, I’m very interested to see how the NGO I will be working with, CEMOPLAF, operates in the political and religious climate in Ecuador. The work of CEMOPLAF seems to directly contradict a lot of policy and opinion towards women’s sexual and reproductive health in Ecuador. I’m curious to see how such a progressive organization is able to function within this context. It will also be interesting to see what happens after the election is complete and what changes the new president will make.

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Community Connection

When I’m in Ecuador the community organization I will be working with is the NGO, CEMOPLAF, which is part of the worldwide organization Center for Health Market Innovations. CEMOPLAF was founded in 1974 and is located in Quito and focuses on promoting family planning and reproductive health services primarily to young women from underprivileged backgrounds.  They hope to improve education on sexual and reproductive health and provide low-cost sexual and reproductive healthcare to people in need.

This organization addresses the need for better sexual and reproductive education and health services in Ecuador, especially among lower-income populations. Many people in Ecuador have little exposure to this kind of education or these health services due to religious values and stigmas surrounding the topic. CEMOPLAF tries to combat this need by creating outreach and education programs and also by helping people who cannot afford the health services they need.  They work with several other NGOs and the Ecuadorian Ministry of Health to provide these services and outreach programs.

I still haven’t received much information about what I will be doing with the organization. I will be volunteering with them, probably working with them on their outreach programs or counselling services. I’m really looking forward to working with the organization and learn more about what kind of services they offer. I think I will learn a lot that I can bring back home. Although, sexual and reproductive health is generally a more open topic here in the United States. It is still certainly controversial and difficult for some people to talk about. I think my time with CEMOPLAF will teach me strategies and ideas for how to discuss these important topics even in conservative environments.

2017 Presidential Election

Presidential Candidate Lenin Moreno (www.theguardian.com)

Since I wrote my Background and Analysis, Ecuador began their 2017 presidential elections. The article “Ecuador election: Moreno facing runoff as 40% vote looks out of reach,” describes the election that will replace President Rafael Correa who has been in office since 2007. In this election, the two frontrunners are the leftist vice-president under Correa, Lenín Moreno and the right-wing candidate Guillermo Lasso. In the election, Moreno fell just short of the necessary 40% of the votes required to win the presidency. The runoff elections will take place in the beginning of April. The new president will inherit an increasing national debt and corruption as well as a variety of other issues.

As Correa has been president for 10 years now, a change in presidency could cause some upheaval in Ecuador. While Moreno would be likely to continue with policies similar to Correa, a win by Lasso or any of the other candidates could cause some serious change in Ecuadorian policy. It will be interesting to see how the new president handles topics such as women’s equality and women’s rights.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/19/ecuadorian-ruling-party-candidate-ahead-in-exit-polls

U.S. Mexico City Policy

Just a few weeks ago, Trump reinstated the U.S. Mexico City Policy as described in the article “Governments Step Up for Reproductive Rights.” This policy ends U.S. funding going towards NGOs around the world that provide abortion services or give information about abortions, even though these NGOs do not use the U.S. government funding from for abortions, rather that money goes to services such as family planning programs, contraception, and gynecological checkups. It is estimated that there are over 225 million women around the world who are unable to access affordable contraception. This policy is likely to increase unplanned pregnancies and prevent millions of women from using contraceptives. In Ecuador, where abortion is severely restricted, women are driven to unsafe abortions and doctors are unable to do anything to help due to the severe laws.

While I don’t think this U.S. policy will affect the NGO I will be working with this summer, it will likely affect many NGOs around Latin America that provide important health services for many women and also educate youth about sexual and reproductive health. Ecuadorian women already face many struggles in accessing adequate healthcare and contraception. This policy will have a serious impact on women around the world and in Ecuador as fewer women are able to access the healthcare they need. When women are unable to access contraception and maternal care, maternal deaths increase due to unplanned pregnancies and complications. I think this policy will only exacerbate the issues women face around the world and in Ecuador.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/02/28/governments-step-reproductive-rights

President Correa: Religion and Politics

The article “Is Ecuador’s Correa blurring the lines between religion and politics?” discusses how President Correa’s policies often seem to come from his catholic background. Religion has influenced Correa’s healthcare, poverty reduction, and education policies during his time in office. While Ecuador has decreased teen pregnancies during Correa’s term it still has the highest teen pregnancy rate in all of Latin America. Correa has also appointed a pro-life, abstinence-only advocate, Monica Hernandez, as the head of the National Interagency Strategy for Family Planning and the Prevention of Teen Pregnancies.

While Correa has publicly supported the use of contraception, he has also made a case for an abstinence-only approach and is strongly opposed to abortion on the basis of his Catholicism. These contradictions indicate how women’s health and access to these kinds of health services are still an extremely controversial and difficult topic in Ecuador. Religion clearly has a huge impact on women’s ability to access necessary health services and also affects many aspects of the nation’s policies.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2015/0305/Is-Ecuador-s-Correa-blurring-the-lines-between-religion-and-politics

Losing Ground in the Fight for Women’s Rights

Graffiti painted by pro-choice advocates in Quito (www.pri.org/stories)

While Ecuador does guarantee access to sexual and reproductive healthcare to all in their constitution, the article “As Pope Francis visits Ecuador, women there say they’re losing ground,” describes how women are continuing to struggle to obtain equal rights and are losing some of the progress they have made. Correa is considered to have some of the strictest policies towards women’s rights and health. Correa and his policies suggest a rise in conservatism that may undermine much of the progress women have made within the last few decades.

This article makes me wonder about how the NGO I will be working with deals with this kind of environment that is so hostile to what they are doing. This article also talked about how it’s very difficult to find birth control commercially. Most pharmacies don’t carry birth control and it’s often necessary to find it on the streets which can be very expensive. It seems like NGOs like the one I will be working with are probably the only way for low-income women to get access to birth control. Reading these articles has really shown me how essential these NGOs are for women in Ecuador.

https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-07-04/pope-francis-visits-ecuador-women-there-say-theyre-losing-ground

Sources:

“As Pope Francis Visits Ecuador, Women There Say They’re Losing Ground.” Public Radio International. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.

Collyns, Dan, and Jonathan Watts. “Ecuador Election: Moreno Facing Runoff as 40% Vote Looks out of Reach.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 20 Feb. 2017. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.

“Governments Step Up for Reproductive Rights.” Human Rights Watch. N.p., 28 Feb. 2017. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.

Guidi, Ruxandra. “Is Ecuador’s Correa Blurring the Lines between Religion and Politics?” The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 05 Mar. 2015. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.