Ecuadorian Constitutionalism in the 19th century: presidentialism, Confessionalism, and restricted citizenship (1830-1897)

Abstract

This study comparatively analyzes the Ecuadorian Constitutions enacted between 1830 and 1897 with the aim of identifying structural continuities and ideological ruptures in the process of nation-state building. Using a historical-institutional approach, the official constitutional texts are examined and contrasted with classical and contemporary Ecuadorian historiography. Findings reveal that nineteenth-century constitutionalism functioned primarily as an instrument of state consolidation rather than social democratization. Throughout the century, three structural features persisted: strong presidentialism, state confessionalism, and restricted citizenship based on census, educational, and religious criteria. Although the Liberal Revolution and the 1897 Constitution introduced significant ideological changes—particularly in the State-Church relationship and in the expansion of civil liberties—they did not dismantle the presidentialist framework established since 1830. It is concluded that nineteenth-century Ecuadorian constitutionalism was a progressive process of state construction under limited political inclusion, in which Constitutions operated simultaneously as legal frameworks and as instruments for institutionalizing hegemonic projects.