ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how young professionals, defined as new technocratic elite, have a direct relationship with environmental governance in Ecuador because their influence has started changing perceptions toward biosecurity governance. The main question of the chapter is what accounts for President Rafael Correa's new perspective towards genetically modified organisms (GMOs). We find that it is due to the emergence of scientific actors recognized as experts on biosafety in Ecuador. This inquiry is based on 17 in-depth semi-structured interviews and another 11 pilot interviews. The fieldwork was done in December 2013 in the city of Quito and the interviewees were chosen from various sectors: government, academia and independent. Despite the apparent political continuity of the Revolucion Ciudadana, the current Ecuadorian government is not the same it was when elected in 2006. While young professionals enjoy more important positions in government, current laws tend to be designed to be more and more dependent on the president.
