THE CONCEPT OF CARE IN THE CONSTITUTION OF ECUADOR OF 2008

In the Constitution of Ecuador, in force since October 2008 and framed in what has been called the New Latin American constitutionalism, the concept of care is present for the first time. It is an interesting approach that questions the classical paradigms of the economy, the sexual distribution of work and the economic and social value that is assigned to the tasks that make possible the reproduction of life. In this essay, we start with a characterization of the Ecuadorian Constitution and some general elements, then a brief review of the economic component to arrive at the concept to which we will devote more analysis: care. This concept, born of feminist criticism about the distribution of work and its economic valuation, is novel in our Magna Carta and in general in the Constitutional Law of the region. After developing some concepts around "care", an analysis is made of the presence of this concept in the constitutional text, in declarative and programmatic provisions and also in those that have specific legal and budgetary consequences. As a conclusion, reflections are presented on the challenges that this concept imposes after nearly ten years of validity of the Constitution.