Social Advocacy in Neoliberal Times

Abstract

This chapter illuminates the challenges and tensions of social advocacy in a unique scenario where Ecuadorian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) navigate the contradictions between President Rafael Correa Delgado's nationalist, anti-neoliberal agenda and the demands of international development where many aspects of the dominant neoliberal agenda prevail. It defines social advocacy here as the series of efforts that facilitate the translation of key messages across actors with unequal forms of power. The chapter presents an analysis of how conditions created by the Correa Delgado government and the prevalence of a neoliberal logic have shaped NGOs' advocacy efforts in Quito, Ecuador's capital. It defines neoliberalism as a set of ideas supported by practices that disseminate and naturalize economic rationality–the logic that prioritizes the efficiency of the free market–across both the private and public realms of life. The chapter defines an NGO as a type of nonprofit organization that channels aid and delivers state-like services despite being institutionally separated from the state.