Guidelines to ensure budget allocations in the cantonal councils for the protection of rights in Ecuador

Abstract

The research is justified by the lack of studies on the funding criteria of the Cantonal Councils for the Protection of Rights and the material impossibility for them to fulfill their purposes. The general objective was to formulate guidelines to ensure adequate budget allocations for the Cantonal Councils for the Protection of Rights in Ecuador through a series of technical criteria aimed at preventing discretion and the influence of political factors in their allocation. The qualitative methodology, based on document analysis and data collection through in-depth interviews and participant observation, revealed that although regulations require the creation and funding of the Cantonal Councils to be the responsibility of the Decentralized Autonomous Governments, the discretionary distribution of the 10% allocation from non-tax revenues limits the effectiveness of these Councils. It is concluded that there is a need to strengthen institutions to guarantee adequate budget allocations, preventing political and economic dynamics from generating inequities in their distribution. Active citizen participation is recommended to ensure that public resources are allocated more fairly and efficiently toward protecting the rights of the most vulnerable sectors.