A professor from Truman State University spoke Friday afternoon about the history of Ecuadorian politics, saying the current progressive administration has reversed decades of conservative rule.

In an event hosted by NU’s Latin American and Caribbean studies program, Prof. Marc Becker delivered a lecture in University Hall to more than 20 people and said the Ecuadorian economy today is expanding because of President Rafael Correa’s progressive policies — policies that departed from conservative administrations that concentrated power in elites and discouraged social movements.

“If you piss off the oligarchy, you piss off the military, and they can come get you,” he said.

Becker said he has taught Latin American history at Truman State for 16 years and has authored multiple books focused on Ecuadorian politics.

He discussed Correa and his election, saying he is the country’s first “real” president because he is the first to care about its citizens. Becker pointed to an expanded economy and lower infant mortality rates that he said come from Correa’s progressive policies. He also said Correa is so popular in part because voters chose him in a particularly legitimate election.

“If you remember 1993 in Bolivia, nobody remembered the presidential candidate’s election,” he said. “It is one of the key ideas in understanding indigenous politics in Latin America.”

But Becker also said Correa’s style of politics is polarizing Ecuador, potentially leading to a more fractured system.

Bianca Jimenez, assistant director of the Latin American and Caribbean studies program, said Becker was a welcome guest.

“It is great to bring in faculty from other universities to interact with our faculty,” Jimenez said. “It is a part of academia, and the opinions and ideas discussed in the discussion were really important.”

Maria Akchurin, an audience member who studies Ecuador, said she appreciated Becker’s focus on Correa’s presidency.

“For me the most significant part was hearing Marc Becker reflect on the current political situation in Ecuador,” Akchurin said. “I had done some research in Ecuador and I had learned quite a bit on Ecuador’s contemporary history, so Correa was someone I had learned about.”

Becker is one of two professors invited by the program this quarter to speak about issues related to Latin America. Patrick Iber, a professor at the University of Texas at El Paso, will visit Northwestern on Oct. 29 to talk about Latin American left-wing artists, writers and scholars during the Cold War.

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the university that Marc Becker works at. He works at Truman State University. The Daily regrets the error.

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