Hurtado sees 3 milestones in 40 decades of history

"Ecuador between two centuries ”is the new book of former president. The role of women, the indigenous sector and the middle class are highlighted by the ex-president.

The social transformation of women, the insurgency of the indigenous people and the emergence of the middle class, highlights former President Osvaldo Hurtado Larrea, in his work "Ecuador between two centuries", as three of the most important events experienced by the country since 1976 . His new book was presented, yesterday morning, in the Hall of Honor of the University of Azuay, (UDA).

This book is like a continuation of his social study, "The political power in Ecuador", which covered up to 1976.

In the new work, Hurtado develops the reality of the country from the aforementioned year, a time of such profound reforms, as Ecuador has not lived in 400 for years, he says. And three of the most radical changes are those mentioned: today women are present in all areas of life: social, political, economic, academic, cultural, sports; society was very different in past decades when women were invisible. When he was a law student, among more than 200 students, only three were women, he says.

The same thing happened with the indigenous people: excluded and exploited by all, the change has been very great and today is a political actor. The indigenous presence has contributed to the country's self-identification as a mestizo, and something essential for the nation's character is to have a clear awareness of its ethnicity, he said.

The third change that stands out is the emergence and consolidation of the middle class in society. When he published "The political power ...", the middle sector did not exist as a class, and today is very remarkable, as can be seen in the development of cities, without denying that there is poverty.

Francisco Salgado, rector of the UDA, highlighted Hurtado's academic work, "without fashions or novelties", and has contributed to the Social Sciences with works such as "The Political Power in Ecuador", a classic consulted by 40 years; "Two overlapping worlds", "The customs of Ecuadorians" and others.

At the same time he thanked Hurtado for the support given to build the main buildings of the current university.

José Chalco Salgado, dean of the Faculty of Jurisprudence of the UDA was responsible for commenting on the work: "reliable source of consultation." He summarized that it addresses the economy, society, politics, ideas, external debt, exploitation of resources and underlined a recommendation of the ex-president: political education, to face populism, authoritarianism and other problems.

For the first quarter of next year, Hurtado will publish a new edition of his book "The customs of Ecuadorians", which will arrive until the last year of the government of Rafael Correa, with an addition of the beginning of the government of Lenín Moreno, to which there are to acknowledge having returned the climate of freedom and democracy, he said. (AVB) - (I)

PHRASES
 

"Recurring discourse of the dictatorship of Correa was the" partycracy, "which became a pejorative word, but political parties are the most important institution of democracy. They name the candidates for mayors, presidents, deputies, elaborate the Constitutions, the laws and mark the government. So abominating parties and liquidating them has been very bad for democracy. The dictatorships always follow the disappearance of the parties, ”said Osvaldo Hurtado in his speech.

“If you have to recognize Moreno for having restored democracy and freedom, you have to criticize him for not having put the economy in order, the basis for growth and employment. Decisions such as labor reform have been delayed. The country has been years of stagnation, ”he said.

“We must recognize changes and progress in the country, it is not true that everything is wrong, today's poverty is much less than before. A craftsman or worker goes his work in his vehicle and that did not happen 40 years ago. ”