In 15 years the entrance of celebrities to politics tripled
Ecuadornews:

Theen tertainment broke into the political arena since 1986. According to experts,the parties recruit the figures of the show only at election time, to capture votes, without being interested in forming their pictures with them.
Theafore mentioned argue that no matter a professional title, but be close to the citizen and know their needs. Politics is increasingly linked to the characters of music, sports, entertainment, culture and journalism. This is considered by professors who coincide in holding the parties and movements, the citizens and the State responsible for the phenomenon, due to the lack of training.
According to data of the National Assembly, it is in 1986 when the first talent arrives to occupy a seat. It was the journalist Segundo Serrano, who also obtained the title of lawyer prior to becoming a counselor and legislator. Its passage by this last organism granted the recognition to the then deputy by the greater amount of presented / displayed bills.
However,the first major wave of celebrities to win a seat for the then-National Congress (now the National Assembly) was in 2003. Five of those characters won:television presenters Kenneth Carrera, Vicente Olmedo and Freddy Elhers; the sports journalist Alfonso Harb and the singer Silvana Ibarra. From there,little by little the figures of the show have attracted the voters and have reached positions of popular election.
Today, only in the Assembly, there are 12 of these legislators. In other words, in 15 years, celebrities almost tripled in representation positions.
Time line generator
Why do political parties recruit celebrities? According to Diego Zaldumbide, of the Center for Research and Spatialized Studies (Ciess), the short time of the campaign forces political organizations to look for known figures and take stars pectators as their first choice.
This,for the political consultant Oswaldo Moreno, “is valid, but it is not optimal”. He indicated that there is an indifference that is theres ponsibility of politicians and the comfort of society. The current Assembly woman Paola Vintimilla defended that democracy guarantees that acitizen with Ph.D is a candidate, as well as those who come from the media.
Moreover,for the current prefect Jimmy Jairala, it is the serious work done by some celebrities that attracts the confidence of citizens. “Not every celebrity should be elected or reelected. Something more than fame is required:preparation. The problem is that the people, tired of politicians, choose celebrities without preparation, “he said.
Zaldumbide explained that in the campaign, the parties must present candidates to which at least 70% of the population knows them. “Citizenship does not vote for those who do not know.” Then, 40% of the population should have a good opinion of him or her.
For the teacher and sociologist Natalia Sierra, this phenomenon responds to the”mercantilization”, in which the citizen, when choosing his representative, does not find an ideological horizon, nor political proposalsor, what is worse, the voter is not interested in adhering to a project. “The parties have become like electoral companies, which seek to position people who will respond to the interests of society, but interests not articulated to clear political projects,” Sierra explained.
She added that parties use celebrities only to capture votes. While representative democracy validates that every citizen can participate as a candidate, Sierra believes that there is no political education in society and that is when citizens become “mass”: a kind of consumer who receives an offer whose merchandise is the candidate.
But this, according to Moreno, should not be taken negatively. He explained that Ecuador is a hotbed of television and soccer fields, but that does not preventany citizen from participating as a candidate. “There are very valuable people who come from fame,” he said. However, he added that the real problem is that the youth remains indifferent.
Inaddition, that society has been stigmatized as a synonym for corruption. In this agreed Sierra, who indicated that this loss of confidence causes the citizen is isolated and the voting exercise becomes an empty ritual.
Shared responsibility in terms of training
For the experts, in the case of citizenship, the voters have not been aware of theres ponsibility of their vote. They agree that there is no organization or political debate among citizens. “Yes, you have to enter into a politicalself-formation process. It supposes that we go out to the public life and leave aside the private life, where these famous people are and the fiction that absorbs us, “said Sierra.
For Zaldumdide, however, it is essential that the citizen feels part of the community and his vote does not only respond to their interests. Regarding political parties Zaldumbide pointed out that they are responsible for raising candidates for citizens: “I do not choose who I want but to whom I am given the opportunity,” he said.
The prefect of Guayas, Jimmy Jairala, indicated that it is the political parties that should train their cadres. In the case of its Centro Democrático movement, he said that it has been the first to have a political training school with six promotions endorsed by the Democracy Institute. But not only do they have responsibility in these actions. The State also plays a transcendental role.
For Sierra, it is important to rethink the current regulations to establish restrictions. In this disagreed Zaldumbide, who said that the challenge must bet hat political organizations do not leave their proposals in campaign promises,but are possible actions to carry out. For legislator Cristina Reyes, any new requirement must be handled with tweezers, as it could affect the right to elect and be elected, which enshrines the Constitution.
For Sierra, being in positions of popular representation should require training that is linked to a political project. She recalled that certain celebrities were seriously interested in forming politically. For Zaldumbide, training is also relative because although it is desirable, the important thing is that they are representatives of citizens. Moreno appreciated that social organizations are those who participate to “make themselves heard and understand what is happening in the country.”
At the same time, he considered that public education and experience should be valued.”The first step is for the movements to carry out primaries,” hereiterated. What is the current contribution of celebrities in bills? On the website of the National Assembly, it is recorded that, until 21 November, the Document Management Department received 440 bills. That would correspond to the fact that each one of the 137 current assembly members had to deliver at least three proposals.
However,of the 12 celebrities that have reached this Legislative period, four did not comply with this amount. For Zaldumbide, this is not an important aspect to deal with, since it does not consider that it is correct to measure production by presenting proposals but by how many of them have come to culminate in law.
In this agrees the Assemblywoman Cristina Reyes indicated that more than telling the bills presented, “it is essential to evaluate the quality of these.”In her case, she explained that 10 came from the construction of citizens. For Assembly woman Paola Vintimilla, the important thing is not an academic degree,but being close to the people to listen to them and receive their proposals.”The important thing is the results and not the academic degrees you have.” She insisted before the Public Media that she does not believe that the dignities should only come candidates with academic credentials.
In her opinion, it must be ethics that prevails in the public service. She criticized that currently there are legislators who “come to the House, put their finger (assistance) and leave.” She said that affects the work for which they were elected. In it agreed Jairala. He argued that contact with the people allows empathy with people and that the candidate knows the needs.
According to the Legislative Observatory, in the period 2013-2017, the famous one who hadthe most absences was Cristina Reyes. Given this, the Assemblywoman explained that each of their absences has a justification, as provided by the legal rules.
Moreover,he clarified that in the great majority of times, his absences were due to invitations to international events, which he attended on behalf of the country. Finally, for the experts, a person who opts for the policy must have awide knowledge and preparation, but it must also should be supported in the pleasure that the citizenship offers.
Fameand titles
Envious preparation
Cynthia Viteri became the first woman to be a candidate for the Social Christian Party(PSC). She was also the first famous with two candidacies for the Presidency.She has four professional titles.
5 professional titles has Diana Acosta: two third level, three fourth level.
The phenomenon is reactivated
There cruitment of television, sports and other talents is reactivated in each period, such as the one that Ecuador will experience on March 24, 2019, when5,682 sectional authorities will be elected. (I)
Source: https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/politica/3/farandula-ingreso-famosos-politica