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.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/)
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.