WOMEN IN THE LEGISLATIVE POWER OF ECUADOR: ANALYSIS FROM VERBAL AND NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

In this article we analyze the verbal and non-verbal communication of the speeches made during the inauguration of the three main authorities of the legislative power of Ecuador from May 2013 to May 2017. On May 14, 2013 Gabriela Rivadeneira was elected president of the Asamblea Nacional del Ecuador; Rosana Alvarado, first vice president; and Marcela Aguinaga, second vice president. This parliamentary election has special relevance, because, for the first time in the history of the country, a woman was chosen like first authority of the legislative. Second, at age 29, Rivadeneira became the youngest president of a Parliament in America. Third, it is the first legislature in which 39% of assembly members are women; and fourth, is the first time that three women reach the highest power spaces in this state entity. The verbal analysis describes the main purpose of each discourse and the credible, argumentative and dramatic materials that the speakers use. Regarding the nonverbal band, we observe how the legislators use paralanguage and body language; and what manifestations of affection they transmit. These three speeches represent a significant moment in the achievements of women in Ecuadorian politics and clearly show the styles of communication that each of these assembly members maintained throughout their legislature.