Weeks 6-8 - Ecuador

PART I. Introduction to Ecuador (Draws from Countries and Their Cultures, Vol. 2, Gale Publishers)

Identification. In 1830, Ecuador took its name from the Spanish word for the equator, which crosses the entire northern sector. The three mainland regions are referred to as the Coast, the Sierra, and Amazonia, or the Oriente (‘‘east’’). A constitutional democracy, Ecuador is a multicultural, multiethnic nation–state. It has one of the highest representations of indigenous cultures in South America and two distinct Afro–Ecuadorian cultures. The dominant populace is descended primarily from Spanish colonists and settlers and to a lesser extent from German, Italian, Lebanese, and Asian immigrants. Spanish is the national language; thirteen indigenous languages are spoken, of which the principal ones are Quichua in the Sierra and the Oriente and Jivaroan in the Oriente.

The citizens take great pride in being Ecuadorian and refer to themselves as ecuatorianos(-as) and gente (people). Despite continuing discrimination, indigenous and black citizens identify themselves as Ecuadorians as well as native people or black people. 

The elites and those in the upper–middle classes are oriented toward education, personal achievement, and the modern consumerism of Euro–North America. People in these classes regard themselves as muy culto (‘‘very cultured’’), and while they may learn English, French, or German as part of their formal education, most disavow knowledge of any indigenous language. 

People in the upper and upper–middle classes generally identify by skin color as blanco (‘‘white’’), to distinguish themselves from those whom they regard as ‘‘below’’ them. The prevalent concept of mestizaje is an elitist ideology of racial miscegenation, implying ‘‘whitening.’’ Those who self– identify as ‘‘white’’ may use the term ‘‘mestizo’’ for themselves, as in blanco–mestizo, to show how much lighter they are than other ‘‘mestizos.’’

Black people, represented by their leaders as Afro–Ecuadorians, (afroecuatorianos), speak Spanish and range through the middle to lower classes.

A sizable black population lives in sectors of the Quito metropolitan area, and there is a concentration in the oil-rich Amazonian region.

A public square in Quito, the capital of Ecuador

Location and Geography. Ecuador is located in western South America, the second smallest South American nation. Its topography is dramatic. Two mountain ranges split the nation into coastal, Andean, and Amazonian regions. The Galapagos Islands lie 600 miles off the Pacific coast. The nation is flanked on the north by Colombia and on the east and south by Peru. The coastal region ranges from a tropical rain forest in the north to a mixed wet–dry monsoon region for the rest of the region. A third fairly low mountain range runs intermittently along the coastal strip. The Andes region has a number of snow–capped volcanic mountains, dominated by Chimborazo (20,596 feet) and Cotopaxi (19,613 feet). Rich, fertile valleys in the inter–Andean region known as the Corridor of the Volcanoes. The Amazonian topography is highly varied, ranging from mountainous regions that tower well over 6,000 feet (1,829 meters) to Amazonian lowland environments.

Demography. The population of Ecuador is estimated at approximately 17 million (2018 estimate). Guayaquil, the major coastal city with nearly four million people, and the Andean capital, Quito, with its two million people, constitute the powerful polarities of a political–economic coastal–sierran divide. Both metropolitan areas vie for control of the nation’s wealth and power. Indigenous people may comprise as much as 25 percent to 35 percent of the republic, and black people about 7 percent. The Quichua– speaking people constitute the largest indigenous population of about two million, followed by the Jivaroans who number between 50,000 and 70,000. An important indigenous group to begin familiarizing yourself with is the Cofán, who assume center stage in Michael Cepek’s assigned book, Life in Oil. Watch this 18-minute video about the Cofán to begin introducing yourselves to their culture and conflicts with the oil industry.

National Identity. In all walks of life, people identify as ecuatorianos(-as). National identity emerged historically in several sectors. The elites and the upper–class, along with ideologues in the military and the press, use the concept of ‘‘blanco–mestizo’’ to both identify with the masses (through the concept mestizo), and to affirm their distance from the masses (through the concept blanco). The elites have a concept of gente de bien, or gente bien (‘‘good people’’; ‘‘people of good or proper background’’). They are complemented by a new elite that sometimes is known as gente de bienes (‘‘rich people’’). The concept of sociedad (‘‘society’’) refers to the old elite, both internally and among the new rich.

Among the elite and the newer wealthy, identity as Ecuadorian is paralleled by identity as good, righteous, Catholic, civilized, white people, who share a European and United States orientation. Colonial wealth is important, as is the maintenance of high status with great power and substantial wealth. Among the middle classes, the elite focus on whiteness is conjoined with the elitist ambivalent stigma of mestizaje. Middle–class commercial people tend to identify with their families, their jobs, and a general sense of the republic without worrying about their ethnicity. 

Where the elites and middle classes are dominated by capitalist thought and activity, the indigenous people, who are at the forefront of movements of self-affirmation, favor socialist reforms. Black people are caught between the dominant elite, the prejudices of the middle classes, and a tenuous and tentative rapproachment with indigenous people. 

Food in Daily Life. The most basic, ubiquitous prepared food is soup, with many variations according to region and ingredients. Coastal fish and coconut milk chowders, sierran potato–based soups, and Amazonian pepper–pot dishes are joined by chicken consommé, cream of avocado, and cow’s foot and tripe soup. The mildly fermented chicha made from manioc by indigenous people of Amazonia could be regarded as a soup in its daily, nonceremonial consumption. Other common nonfermented food drinks are made with barley and oatmeal.

 

The middle and upper classes follow a European model of diet and dining: the primary meal, dinner, features several courses, is served at 2:00 P.M., and may last for two hours. First comes the soup, and then the segundo (‘‘second’’) or seco (‘‘dry’’) courses. It is a time to gather with family at home, or to meet friends or business acquaintances at a restaurant. Workers who travel far from home may take along lunch in a vertically compartmentalized lunch bucket, or buy inexpensive hot food from kiosks or street vendors. These foods include potato and meat soups or stews, choclos (corn on the cob), small sausages fried with onions and potatoes, and eggs. Other national favorites from the street to restaurants include empanadas, small meat, vegetable, or corn pies; shrimp, bivalves, fish, pork, or beef specialties; and ‘‘typical’’ dishes such as locro, a potato and cheese soup, and llapingachos, potato– cheese fritters. In urban Quito and Guayaquil one may choose food from Arby’s, Domino’s Pizza, Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald’s, or TGI Friday’s.

Basic Economy. The lush Andean valleys and coastal farms produce vegetables and fruits in great variety and abundance, and there is active inter-regional marketing. Staple starches are rice, bananas, plantains, and taro, grown on the coast; potatoes, corn, barley, quinoa, and wheat from the Sierra; and, in Amazonia, plantains, bananas, and particularly the root crops manioc and taro. Coffee, sugar, cacao, and coconuts from the coast are widely distributed. Chickens are raised everywhere for meat and for eggs, which are a major source of protein. Other meats are provided by hogs, cattle, and sheep; fish and some game are important in the Oriente. A wide variety of sausages, processed meats, and canned tuna and sardines is available in markets.

Land Tenure and Property. Black people of the northwest coast and indigenous people in the Amazonian region have long been excluded from any land tenureship of the property on which they have dwelled, since the mid–16th century in the former, and from time immemorial in the latter. The lands of indigenous and black people in these lowland regions are declared tierras baldıas (‘‘uninhabited lands’’) even though they are teeming with Afro-Ecuadorian or indigenous people. During the time of sierran land reforms, they were opened for colonization by poor Andean people. The resulting clashes and conflicts continue.

Commercial Activities. Petroleum, bananas, shrimp and other seafood, timber and wood products, fruits, and flowers constitute Ecuador’s primary legal exports. Its major industry is petroleum processing, which takes place in Balao, just outside of the city of Esmeraldas. Most of the oil comes from the Amazonian region, where companies such as Texaco have caused one of the worst oil disasters in the world. [Note: This is the disaster depicted in Cepek's book about the Cofán]. Indigenous organizations have tried to sue Texaco in the United States, but the white– mestizo judges and lawyers of Ecuador support Texaco as a major source of national and institutional wealth.

Social Classes. Ecuador is a highly stratified society with strong symbolic as well as socioeconomic and political ordering. The social structure constitutes a class pyramid. The all–white oligarchies represent the pinnacle of political power, economic control, and social esteem. There is a significant middle class of professional, commercial, and service workers who generally self-identify ethnically as blancos. Their representations of other people depend on many political and socioeconomic situations and contexts. Power and control are associated with being blanco, and upward mobility often involves a process known as blanqueamiento (whitening). Well over half the nation is composed of those stigmatized as black or ‘‘Indian’’ people and those with ancestry falling into such categories; they are excluded from access to wealth, power, or social esteem.

 

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOSs)

Ecuadorians have created some very important nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Fundación Natura is well known internationally for its efforts at ecological preservation. Since the 1970s, indigenous people have developed, with substantial help from European sources, many organizations, most notably the Confederation of Indigenous People of Ecuador (CONAIE), Ecuador’s Indigenous Awakening (ECUARUNANI), the Shuar Federation, and the Confederation of Indigenous People of Amazonian Ecuador (CONFENIAE). The Association of Ecuadorian Blacks (ASONE) is growing in strength. In recent years there has been an explosion of NGOs serving the interests of numerous groups, mainly grassroots ethnic–, gender–, and labor–based. Active NGOs number over two hundred and are largely sponsored by foreign capital. While many NGOs are real forces in the transformation of institutional dysfunctions, it is often claimed that they contribute to corruption within institutions.

Secular Celebrations: Soccer!

Soccer ( futbol) is the national passion for the majority of men in every walk of life. As one encounters poverty and ethnic marginality, one finds women playing with men. Futbol reflects regional and economic differences. When the national team plays in international matches, a united Ecuadorian presence emerges throughout the country. When not united, Ecuadorians become divided in terms of the racial features of its national team. Some argue that powerful sports figures seek to ‘‘lighten’’ the phenotype of the teams. Attempts at such blanqueamiento are vigorously protested by the most prominent black organization, ASONE. The celebrity soccer players can achieve quasi-sainthood, particularly when they die under unforeseen and tragic circumstances. Heroes of other individual sports (e.g. track and field) are also idolized and may become quite prosperous.

PART II - Extractivism and Its Discontents

To take in Cepek's Life in Oil, you will benefit from a solid understanding of "extractivism"--the process of extracting natural resources from the Earth to sell on the world market--as well as the controversies surrounding it.

Across Latin America, governments on left have joined those on right to promote policies that accelerate extractivism in its various forms. Such policies typically have the following characteristics: (a) They weaken regulatory, democratic, or environmental protection mechanisms; (b) They criminalize protest; and (c) They expand extraction into unconventional terrain (for example, Brazil's offshore oil fields).

On the left, there are some countries who pursue mining and extraction with a semblance of more “redistributive” approach. The key examples here are Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, and Venezuela. As you will read, these cases exemplify the so-called “new” or “progressive” extractivism, claimed to be about sovereignty, anti-poverty, and public investment. Other countries pursue extraction in a more neoliberal line, focused on extraction for export, integration into the world market, and an embrace of foreign investment and privatization. (Peru exemplifies this approach.)

Tthe reality of extractivism today is that it generates little employment (mostly for men), and it depends on ever-expanding frontiers (colonial mentalities, destructive attitude toward nature). As such, extractivism tends to view rural/indigenous communities as obstacles to national “need.”

For a critical take on extractivism in Latin America, watch this short clip now.