Advancing without transforming: unveiling the socio-environmental contradictions in the 2008 Constitution of Ecuador

Abstract

Although the 2008 Ecuadorian Constitution introduced Buen Vivir and the Rights of Nature, unsustainable socio-environmental dynamics persist. Why have deep socio-environmental shifts towards just sustainability not materialized in Ecuador? This study argues that the 2008 Constitution of Ecuador is grounded in theories, concepts, frameworks, and philosophies that entail inherent socio-environmental tensions and contradictions which have impeded the realization of the Constitution’s transformative socio-environmental objectives. By applying a qualitative content analysis method, the results show key tensions between Buen Vivir and development, (neo)extractivism, and sustainability, as well as between the Rights of Nature and both commodification and environmental sustainability. Furthermore, the Constitution leaves unchallenged the roles of the State and technology within capitalist structures, thus neglecting deeper systemic leverage points such as reconfiguring power, shifting goals, or altering institutional rules. These contradictions are illustrated through Ecuador’s recent hydropower development, which transgressed the rights to Buen Vivir and the Rights of Nature.