HISTORY,

THE CULTURE,

ECUADOR POLITICS
 THE

ECUADOR
LITICS (NOW IN 2ND EDITION) READER
HISTORY, CULTURE, POLITICS

Edited by Carlos de la Torre and Steve Striffier

derson DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS DurhamandLondon 2008

ela Maria Smorkaloff

RE, POLITICS
 Contents

Acknovvledgrnents ~
Introduction

© 2008 Duke University Press

AlI rights reserved 1 Conquest and Colonial Rull
Printed in the United States of Arnerica on acid-free paper oc
Tamara Bray. Ecuador's Pre-Coh
Typeset in Monotype Dante by Achorn International
Frank Salomon. Ancestors, Grave
Library of Congress CataIoging-in-Publication Data appear
Cañari "Inca-isrn" 27
on the last printed page of this book.
Susan V. Webster. Building aLife
Architect and Entrepreneur

Sherwin K. Bryant. Finding Freed

Karen Vieira Powers. A Battle of\l

Colonial North Andes 68

Sarah C. Chambers. Manuela Sáer

~ BlancaMuratorio. The State, Mis:
Upper Amazon, 1767-1896 ¡

II A New Nation 99

Andrés Guerrero. The Constructic

Discourse and the "Miserable
Century IO]
Friedrich Hassaurek. Four Yearsa
Juan Montalvo. Selection from]u
A. Kim Clark. Railway and Natío]
Ronn Pineo. Guayaquil and Coas
Rob Rachowiecki. Mountaineerin
Perspective 148

III The Riseofthe Popular

Albert B. Franklin. Portrait of a P~

JoséMaría Velasco Ibarra. You Ari

 Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction

Conquest and Colonial Rule 9

aper~
Tamara Bray. Ecuador's Pre-Columbian Past 15

Frank Salomon. Ancesrors, Grave Robbers, and the Possible Antecedents of

ppear
Cañari "Inca-ism" 27

Susan V. Webster. Building a Life in Colonial Quito: José Jaime Ortiz,

Architect and Entrepreneur 40

Sherwin K. Bryant. Finding Freedom: Slavery in Colonial Ecuador 52

Karen Vieira Powers. A Batde ofWills: Inventing Chíefly Legitimacy in the

Colonial North Andes 68

Sarah C. Chambers. Manuela Sáenz: Americana or Quiteña? 79

• Blanca Muratorio. The State, Missionaries, and Native Consciousness in the

Upper Amazon, 1767-1896 86

11 A New Nation 99

Andrés Guerrero. The Construction of a Ventriloquist's Image: Liberal

Discourse and the "Miserable Indian Race" in the Late Nineteenth

Century I03

Friedrich Hassaurek. Four Years among the Ecuadorians II7

Juan Montalvo. Selection fromJuan Montalvo (1832-1889) 121

A. Kim Clark. Railway and Nation in Liberal Ecuador 126

Ronn Píneo. Guayaquil and Coastal Ecuador during the Cacao Era 136

Rob Rachowiecki. Mountaineering on the Equator: A Historical

Perspective 148

III The Rise ofthe Popular 155

AlbertB. Franklin. Portrait of a People 159

José Maria Velasco Ibarra. You Are Not My President 163

 p aq

RaphaelV. Lasso. The Wonderland 167

Noemí Espinosa. Traditional Pooc
Jorge Icaza. Patrón and Peon on an Andean Hacienda 169
Rudi Colloredo-Mansfeld. Globaliz
Pablo Palacio. The Man Who Was Kicked to Death 175
among Otavalo's Merchant A
Henri Michaux. The Indian's Cabin 182
,f X. Andrade. Pancho Jaime 385

JoséMaría Velasco Ibarra. "Heroic Pueblo ofGuayaquil" 185

Javier Vásconez. Big Angel, My Le

María Fernanda Espinosa. Nature

Barry Lyons, with Angel Aranda an

IV Global Currents 189

Iván Oñate. The Writings ofIván

Galo Plaza Lasso. Two Experiments in Education for Democracy 193

'l{' Adrián Bonilla. The Origins of the Ecuadorian Left 200

Suggestions for Further Reading

¡,.j, Carmen Martínez Novo. The Progressive CathoIic Church and the

Acknowledgment ofCopyrights

Indigenous Movement in Ecuador 203

Index 427

Salomon Isacovici andjuan Manuel Rodríguez. Man of Ashes 209

Pablo Cuvi. Men of the Rails and of the Sea 218

[ean Muteba Rahier. Creolization and African Diaspora Cultures:

The Case ofthe Afro-Esmeraldian Décimas 226

HernánIbarra. Julio Jaramillo and Music as Identity 237

SteveStriffier. The United Fruit Cornpany's Legacy in Ecuador 239

Tom Miller. The Panama Hat Trail 250

Diane C. Bates. Deforestation in Ecuador 257

>f. Carlos de la Torre. Civilization and Barbarism 267

i Felipe Burbano de Lara. Deinstitutionalized Democracy 271

V Domination and Struggle 277

.,¡ Carlos de la Torre. Nina Pacari, an Interview 279

SarahA. Radcliffe. Wornen's Movements in Twentieth-Century

Ecuador 284

Pablo Ospina. The Galápagos: Environmental Pressures and Social

Opportunities 297

Norman E. WhittenJr. Emerald Freedom: "With Pride in the Face of

the Sun" 302

Suzana Sawyer. Suing ChevronTexaco 321

Dorothea Scott Whitten. Arts of Amazonian and Andean Women 329

VI Cultures and Identities Redefined 337

[ean Muteba Rahier. National Identity and the First Black Miss Ecuador
(1995--96) 341

Braá D. Jokisch and David Kyle. Ecuadorian Intemational Migration 350

Mary]. Weismantel. Cities ofWomen 359

 Noemi Espinosa. Traditional Foods ofEcuador 371

Rudi Colloredo-Mansfeld. Globalization frorn Below and The Political Tum

among Otavalo's Merchant Artisans 377

,f X. Andrade. Pancho Jaime 385

uayaquil" 185 Javier Vásconez. Big Angel, My Love 388

María Fernanda Espinosa. Nature and Humanity through Poetry 396

Barry Lyons, with AngelAranda and Dina Guevara. "Simple People" 403

Iván Oñate. The Writings ofIván Oñate 415

tion for Democraey 193

Lefi: 200
Suggestions for Further Reading 419

olie Church and the

Acknowledgment of Copyrights 423

Index 427

Man of Ashes 209

218

Diaspora Cultures:
226

239

57

267

emocracy 271

279

wentieth-Century

Pressures and Social

ith Pride in the Face of

d Andean Women 329

First Black Miss Ecuador

temational Migration 350

 stuck more narrowly to the revol

road to the promised land.
By the 1960s, however, the M:
The Origins of the Ecuadorian Left differentiation. Relative harmony
of leftist groups proliferated and
Adrián Bonilla and timing of revolution, Such u
growth and success of the left on a
Translated and summarized by Carlos de la Torre as the Cuban Revolution (1959), 1
and the Chinese, and the prolifer
Latin America were all felt (and pI:
the 1960s and 1970S. Was Ecuador
ripe for revolution, or was Ecuadc
Ecuador i.s not Cuba or Nicaragua, or even Chile. The Lefi never carried out a social­ revolution: peasants, workers, inte
i.st revolution. But lefti.sts haveplayedan important role in mobilizingpopularsectors, the process?
c1w.llenging elitepower, and otherwi.se s1w.ping Ecuadot's political scene. Thefollowing, Ultimately, three ideological (
by one of Ecuador's foremost scholars, provides a brief, coherent, description of a very Communists, who tended to follo­
complicated hi.story. As thi.s contribution makesclear, what stands out about the hi.story waiting for the right revolutionary
of the Lift in Ecuador-and here it s1w.res a lot with much of Latin America-i.s how by the Chinese break from Moscc
vibrantandfragmented "ir" hasbeen. Evenin a country thesize of Ecuador, lefti.st unity and the Radical Socialists. The la
hasofien been elusive. tion, and rejected Moscow's insii
only be achieved by passing throu]
to wait for capitalism, or even rey
Socialist ideas were introduced to Ecuador by immigrants, sailors, and wel1­
be made, and made now.
to-do intellectuals who had studied in Europe or who were oriented toward
Even within these tendencies
the Old Continent. By 1926, this political and intellectual expression coalesced
der to create a broad youth move
in the form of the Socialist Party. Early members were radicalized liberals;
created the Unión Revolucionaria
others were anarchists with influence among artisans in Guayaquil; and still
ary Union of the Ecuadorian YOl
others were influenced by the Bolshevik Revolution. In 1931, the latter group
youth organization was not easil
split from the Socialist Party to form the Communist Party, an organization
URJE became a critical space whe
that would maintain the politicalline of the Third International [Comiterm]
questioned the tactics and strateg
and the Soviet Union.
involved with Latin American revr
Berween the 1930S and 1960s, however, the split between Socialists and
movements--despite mandates fn
Communists was relatively minoro They worked in different spaces and had
ripe for revolution. They also viola
few open confrontations. Communists focused their efforts on those social
outside the purview of the party s
classes who, according to Marxist theory, were central to the revolutionary
The event perhaps most reve:
project: workers, peasants, and artisans. They founded the Central Federation
Party was the attempt to create ¡
of Ecuadorian Workers (CTE) in 1944 and the Ecuadorian Federation of Indians
from Quito, led by the Commun:
(FE1) in 1945. By contrast, the Socialist Party fought the good fight on all fronts.
movement itself had Iittle lasting iJ
They presented candidates, struggled to control local governments, and got
tionists were apprehended almost
involved in conspiracies and revolts. Socialists, in this sense, were more op­
to a serious housecleaning within 1
portunistic and less rigid in terms of strategy and tactics. Communists, in turn,
micllevel cadre involved in the revo
a
irian Left
~arlos de la Torre
le. The Left never carried out a social­
tant role in mobilizing popular sectors,
euador's political scene. The following,
a Inief, coherent, description of a very
:lear, whatstands out aboutthe history
withmm:h of LatinAmerica-is how
:ountry thesizeof Ecuador, leftistunity
Ir by irnmigrants, sailors, and well­
rope or who were oriented toward
ad íntellecrual expression coalesced
nembers were radicalized liberals;
ong artisans in Guayaquil; and still
levolution. In 1931, the latter group
Communist Party, an organization
he Third International (Comiterm]
, the split between Socialists and
orked in different spaces and had
d their efforts on those social
were central to the revolutionary
founded the Central Federation
e Ecuadorian Federation of Indians
fought the good fight on all fronts,
ontrol local governments, and got
. ts, in this sense, were more op­
and tactics. Communists, in turn,
The Originsof the Ecuadorian Left 201
stuck more narrowly to the revolutionary path, assured that they knew the
road to the promised land.
By the 1960S, however, the Marxist left underwent an acute process of
differentiation. Relative harmony gave way to factionalism as the number
of leftist groups proliferated and intense debates emerged over the narure
and timing of revolution. Such tensions were caused, paradoxical1y, by the
growth and success of the left on an international scale. External factors such
as the Cuban Revolution (1959), the growing struggle berween the Soviets
and the Chinese, and the proliferation of guerrilla movements throughout
Latin America were all felt (and played out) within the Ecuadorian left during
the 1960S and 1970S. Was Ecuador capitalist or feudal in nature? Was the time
ripe for revolution, or was Ecuador not yet ready? Who would carry out the
revolution: peasants, workers, intellectuals? Was violence a necessary part of
the process?
Ultimately, three ideological currents emerged during this period: the
Communists, who tended to follow orders frorn Moscow (and were eternal1y
waiting for the right revolutionary moment); the Maoists, who were inspired
by the Chinese break from Moscow (and the possibility of rural revolution);
and the Radical Socialists. The latter groups supported the Cuban Revolu­
tion, and rejected Moscow's insistence that socialist transformation could
only be achieved by passing through a series of stages. They were not willing
to wait for capitalism, or even revolution, but believed that revolution must
be made, and made now.
Even within these tendencies there existed considerable division. In or­
der to create a broad youth movement, for example, the Communist Party
created the Unión Revolucionaria de Juventudes Ecuatorianas (Revolution­
ary Union of the Ecuadorian Youth), or URJE. Once created, however, this
youth organization was not easily control1ed by party leaders. In fact, the
URJE became a critical space where Communist militants and other leftists
questioned the tactics and strategy of the party. Members of URJE became
involved with Latin American revolutionaries who were organizing guerrilla
movements-despite mandates from the party that insisted the time was not
ripe for revolution. They also violated party discipline by organizing activities
outside the purview of the party such as military training.
The event perhaps most revealing of divisions within the Communist
Party was the attempt to create a guerrilla front in Toachi, 200 kilometers
from Quito, led by the Communist leader Jorge Rivadeneira. The guerrilla
movement itself had little lasting impact on Ecuadorian history; the insurrec­
tionists were apprehended almost immediately. But the failed revolt did lead
to a serious housecleaning within the party. The party expelled or sanctioned
midleve1 cadre involved in the revolt, and ended its association with the URJE.
202 Adrián Bonilla

In August 1964, the Maoist-oriented Marxist Leninist Ecuadorian Comrnu­

nist Party (PCMLE) was formed. For Maoists, Ecuador of the 1960s was a
semifeudal and semicolonial nation that needed an antí-imperialist and anti­
feudal revolution (not unlike China). The time for revolution was now and The Progressive C:
depended largely on the will of party militants.
Another important group during this period was the Revolutionary Left­ the Indigenous Me
ist Movement (MIR). It was a dissident group of the Communist Party that
split over the handling of the Toachi guerrilla affair. The MIR proclaimed the Carmen Martínez Nove
need for socialist revolution based on the guerrilla strategy of Régis Debray,
a French intellectual and revolutionary closely aligned with Che Guevara.
As a result, the MIR organized rural guerrilla movements that failed for the
same reason as many Guevara-inspired revolts: the urban middle-class lead­
ers had little organic connection to the peasants they were trying to turn into Beginning in the 196os, missionari
revolutionaries. helped indigenous peoples in Cou
Socialists were hardly of one mind during this period, but were much more the broader indigenous movement
likely to work within the existing political system than were their Commu­ shows, this effort was notwithout
nist/Maoist counterparts. In the 1960 presidential election, the Socialist Party poweringforindigenous peoples i1i
was divided berween a faction that supported ex-President Plaza, a group that access resources, and capacity to !
supported the ticket of Antonio Parra and Benjamín Carrión, and a sector state.
who rejected all pacts with the bourgeoisie. The radical section of the Social­
ist Party, later renamed the Ecuadorian Revolutionary Socialist Party (PSRE),
From the sixteenth until the bq
under the inf1uence of the most important Ecuadorian Marxist ideologist,
a small town in the province •
Manuel Agustín Aguirre, developed the thesis that Ecuador was a backward
dor-was a large hacienda pI'l
and dependent capitalist country that needed a socialist revolution. Its theses
Due to the high altitude of mo:
differed from the insurrectionist line proposed by other radical organizations,
pastures used for sheep-raísíng
but it shared the call for an immediate socialist transformation.
tory that the order owned clos
The most important issue for the Marxist left during the 1960s was revolu­
with a law that nationalized CJ
tion-when, how, under what circumstances, and who [would lead ir]. Be­
of the Social Assistance, a publ
yond that, there was little agreement. In this, Ecuador was on par with many
pitals, orphanages, and other
of its Latin American neighbors.
labor conditions were often hai
cienda subjected its workers to
contracts based on a eustom tlu
family's labor for the usufruct (
salary that most of the time w:
with the first agrarian reform
was distributed among the pea:
hacienda period were reprodu
inequalities and tensions. The Si
search for a more egalitarian pe
The Salesians sought to ce