Durable radical democratic institutional innovations have this in common: an exceptional mayor to initiate the innovation, to guide it through its initial, rocky stages, and to ensure that it survives the innovating mayor's departure. Mayoral leadership was particularly important in Ecuador because mayors there have broader scope to initiate and design new institutions. In the most acclaimed Ecuadorian cases (Cotacachi and Otavalo) the innovating mayor is still in office after multiple terms. In contrast, there are several once-acclaimed cases (Guamote and Guaranda) in which a mayor oversaw the design and implementation of promising institutional innovations but then left office and the new government was unwilling or unable to sustain the institution – even though the replacement mayor was from the same party. The close correlation between the presence of the initiating mayor and sustained democratic institutional innovation underscores the importance of particular leaders to any explanation of the conditions for beneficial reform.

To a social scientist seeking generalizable conditions that could point us toward replicable solutions for troubled, conflictual democracies, the apparent need for highly qualified leaders is frustrating.