ABSTRACT
Leon Febres Cordero’s machista talents have been interpreted by Ecuadorian social scientists as illustrative of an authoritarian political culture from the coast, characterized by temperamental, explosion-prone leaders. Anthropologists are justifiably concerned about the dangerous political implications of the concept of culture, because in different contexts the term can serve to boost fanatic nationalisms and ethnic, religious, and racial hate. In the Ecuadorian case, historically dominant public understandings of culture among the politically hegemonic mestizo population have been phrased in terms of regional stereotypes that are meant to fit populations into distinctive categories of race, class, and gender, broadly following geographic lines. The easy classifications make stereotypes particularly suitable for circulation throughout society, from networks of gossip to open broadcasting in the public sphere. The best example is provided by the publications of Pancho Jaime. Jaime, a.k.a. PJ, was the most popular, outspoken, and controversial political journalist in Ecuador during the 1980s.
