La vida digna del adulto mayor como derecho fundamental según la jurisprudencia constitucional ecuatoriana

Abstract

Abstract: This research examined the right to a dignified life for older adults as a fundamental right within Ecuadorian constitutional jurisprudence. The study sought to determine how the Constitutional Court has given effect to "enhanced protection" in cases where advanced age coincides with barriers to accessing healthcare, social security, potable water, subsistence income, housing, property rights, or judicial protection. The methodology employed legal, hermeneutic, and analytical approaches, alongside the reconstruction of jurisprudential lines as proposed by López Medina. The corpus of the study comprised the following rulings: 127-15-SEP-CC, 27-19-IS/20, 889-20-JP/21, 232-15-JP/21, 2348-19-EP/21, 2936-18-EP/21, 832-20-JP/21, 3144-17-EP/24, 376-17-EP/24, and 341-22-EP/26. The analysis revealed four constitutional scenarios: institutional barriers regarding healthcare and coverage; the impairment of essential economic benefits and the duty of enhanced judicial protection; the availability and continuity of potable water; and the protection of older adults' property and housing. The results demonstrate that the right to a dignified life functions as a relational clause requiring substantive responses. Enhanced protection prevents public and private entities from shifting burdens onto older adults through administrative procedures, regulations, fees, or coordination failures that would compromise their health, autonomy, subsistence, or housing.