Regresar

The Ecuadorian Scientific Technological Policy Within the Framework of “Buen Vivir”, a Dispute with the Orthodoxy of Development

Abstract:

This chapter analyzes the change in Ecuadorian scientific-technological policy (PSandT) in the post-neoliberal proposal of the 2007 “Citizen’s Revolution” based on the roles of the two relevant participants: the academy and the government. An analytical narrative proposes that what occurred does not have a cause but rather a history. Strategic interaction of the relevant participants is taken up and, in addition to considering the macrosocial processes-domestic political-economic conditions and international influences-the concrete processes of policy definition are also studied. This shows that PSandT is outlined in the paradigm of “Buen Vivir”, conceived as a heterodox development proposal. However, regulations, institutional reform and conceptual elements that guide the change in PSandT are questioned by a group of academics who see in it the uncritical adoption of notions and international models and, consequently, the lack of relevance with local reality. They also denounce the centralization of PSandT and the exclusion of the academy, considering that this process is carried out by politicians or bureaucrats outside the academy and, therefore, separate from a deep conceptual discussion.