Post-Colonial Constitutional Axiology of the 21st Century in Latin America: the Case of the Republic of Ecuador and the Plurinational Sate of Bolivia Cover Image

Konstytucyjna aksjologia postkolonialna XXI w. w Ameryce Łacińskiej na przykładzie Republiki Ekwadoru i Wielonarodowego Państwa Boliwii
Post-Colonial Constitutional Axiology of the 21st Century in Latin America: the Case of the Republic of Ecuador and the Plurinational Sate of Bolivia

Author(s): Radosław T. Skowron
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Geopolitics
Published by: Kancelaria Sejmu
Keywords: sumak kawsay; suma qamaña; Pacha Mama; sustainable development; post-colonialism

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of the article is to analyse the concepts of sumak kawsay / suma qamaña and Pacha Mama introduced into the constitutions of the Republic of Ecuador and the Plurinational State of Bolivia at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, which have a juridical impact across other countries of Latin America. The new ideas form a different axiology for constitutional systems in this region of the world from the previous one and represent an attempt to move away from an anthropocentric vision of society.Using historical, formal-dogmatic and comparative-legal methods, the author presents the development of Latin American constitutionalism, analyses the global and local determinants of the popularity of the aforementioned concepts at the beginning of the present century, deconstructs the notions of sumak kawsay / suma qamaña and Pacha Mama and shows their positions in the constitutions of both the Republic of Ecuador and the Plurinational State of Bolivia. The result of the study proves that the post-colonial concepts used as foundations for the newly formulated constitutional systems of the Republic of Ecuador and the Plurinational State of Bolivia are an essential step towards the creation of an original constitutional tradition in Latin America that takes into account the history and values of the indigenous peoples of the Andes and the Amazon.

  • Issue Year: 174/2023
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 55-71
  • Page Count: 17
  • Language: English, Polish