This talk will explore the critical intersection of war rhetoric and the state of exception in Ecuador. This topic unveils how language and legal frameworks shape political authority and societal responses in times of crisis. War rhetoric, often employed to evoke urgency and solidarity, has been a recurring tool in Ecuadorian political discourse, especially in addressing issues such as organized crime, drug trafficking, and social unrest. This rhetoric frames these challenges as existential threats, demanding extraordinary measures to safeguard national security and public order. Such discourse justifies and amplifies the use of states of exception, a constitutional mechanism that temporarily suspends certain human rights to empower the state to act decisively. However, the state of exception has also been used to expedite the discussion of tax statutes in the legislative and to evade the independent control of public expense in defense. This raises critical questions about the balance between state authority and constitutional limits and the potential for abuse under the guise of emergency powers.

In Ecuador, the deployment of war rhetoric has become increasingly evident in recent years, particularly as the government confronts escalating violence and organized crime. While these measures may be very popular in certain sectors of society, they also normalize authoritarian practices and undermine democratic institutions. This lecture will examine war as a legal category, the facts that were used to justify the application of the state of exception, the response of the judicial institutions, and the response of a significant portion of the society that decides to ignore legal institutions to support the establishment of an authoritarian regimen. Ultimately, we will reflect on the delicate balance between addressing genuine threats and preserving the constitutional guarantees that underpin a democratic society.

David Cordero-Heredia, J.S.D. ’18 is a Law Professor of Law at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador currently affiliated to Cornell University as Visiting Fellow of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program. He has been a visiting professor at the Andean University Simón Bolívar (UASB), the University of the Americas (UDLA), and the University of Azuay (UDA). From 2018 to 2019, he co-taught the International Human Rights Clinic: Policy Advocacy at Cornell Law School as a Senior Teaching Postdoctoral Fellow. His research work deals with the interaction of social movements and the legal field with a focus on indigenous peoples.