Consuming the Hacienda in the Ever-Changing Landscape of Andean Ecuador
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© 2014 Jennifer Ann Hardin UNSETTLED ELITES: REPRODUCING THE HACENDADO IN NEOLIBERAL ECUADOR BY JENNIFER ANN HARDIN DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2014 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Andrew Orta, Chair Emeritus Professor Norman E. Whitten Professor Matti Bunzl Associate Professor Arlene Torres Abstract Based on approximately 16 months of field research in Andean Ecuador, this dissertation is an ethnography of the reproduction of hacendado elite distinction in an environment of neoliberal volatility and unease. Evoking the Spanish colonial past, Criollo independence and nation-building, hacendado elites embody the close association in Ecuador of the possession of landed property with racialized forms of social prestige that have defined the standards for national cultural norms of distinction and political economic power. They are also often portrayed as forces of exploitation and stagnation, suggesting that their positions of privilege are particularly vulnerable during the periods of dramatic change characteristic of neoliberalism. My research concludes that hacendado elites are reproducing their status within new social conditions and deploying novel tactics in the process that are responsive to Ecuador’s deepening integration in the global economy. The dissertation begins by addressing the historical waxing and waning of hacendado elite privilege over time and in relation to broader changes in the country. I argue that forms of colonial ethnoracial social organization inherited from Europe were adapted to the material and ideational needs of an emerging modernity in the New World. Traditional hacendado elite assumptions about the superiority, civility and modernity of “white” Spanish colonists and their descendants undergird continuing efforts to justify monopolization of resources, social separation from other populations and the country’s chronic “underdevelopment.” The remainder of the dissertation focuses on the lived experiences of hacendado elites and the strategies employed to reproduce their privilege in the contemporary moment. Hacendado elites use symbolic and material markers of distinction linked to colonialism to signal group membership and inclusion to others. These include ancestry, genealogy and landed ii property, all of which accentuate the “whiteness” of hacendado elites by connecting them to a western European cultural heritage, ensuring minimal biological or social mixture with other groups and facilitating ongoing separation from the Ecuadorian masses. Their styles of life and consumption patterns highlight a history of Western education, cosmopolitanism and immersion in global modernity. The dissertation also considers hacendado elite strategies for resisting downward mobility on the social ladder and challenges to their privileged position as the possessors of legitimate culture. To fortify social boundaries, neoliberal and nationalist elite discourses about the transformative power of education and educational credentials for social mobility are tempered by the reassertion of forms of comportment, customs and styles of life that define hacendado elite distinction and underscore longstanding elite ideals about “social whiteness” and essential qualities that signal the possession of cultural capital associated with “good breeding.” I conclude that echoes of the colonial in the present do not necessarily represent legacies that defy the multitude of transformational forces characteristic of the modern period. Instead, they reflect creative reconstructions and reinventions explicitly responsive to postcolonial dictates of global modernity. This process is evident in hacienda cultural heritage and ecotourism ventures that aim to modernize and revitalize landed wealth by embracing neoliberal business models while rearticulating historical social class divisions in Ecuador. iii Acknowledgments This dissertation reflects a very long path of individual inquiry and exploration that would not have been possible without the encouragement, participation and support of many people and organizations. First and foremost, my quirky family – Nikki Hardin, Michael Hardin, Kristin Hardin-Stafford and Sean Hardin – bestowed upon me the strength, fortitude, imagination, curiosity and endless humor that made this journey possible. Whatever questions they may have had about my choice to return to graduate school on a path that sometimes seemed to have no end, they offered unconditional support and inspiration, buoyed me through the turbulence of daily life and unexpected loss and urged me on to the finish line no matter the obstacles. They simply would not let me give up. No words on paper will ever be able to convey my gratitude for the many blessings of family. My mother, Nikki, not only provided a living example of the value of following your dreams, she carefully read and edited every word of this dissertation thereby marrying her own passion for writing with my love of cultural anthropology. My sister, Kristin, is the smartest, strongest and funniest person I know. She is my rock and never let me forget for one second the humanity and capacity for love that exists in all of us. My brother, Sean, kept me laughing with his sharp wit and reminded me to not take myself too seriously. His half-joking questions about whether I would graduate before my young nieces and nephews always motivated me to “get back to work.” My late father, Michael, provided the foundation for it all and taught us about perseverance and intellectual curiosity. I may not have fulfilled his wish that I would become a nurse, but I hope that he will perhaps settle for a “doctor.” I am immeasurably grateful for my partner in life and love, Aaron Peters. My deepest thanks go to Aaron for supporting me through all of the stress and anxiety of writing a iv dissertation while working full-time in a high stress and conflict-ridden job. Thank you for lifting me up through all of the tears, angst and fears of failure. Thank you for your matter-of- fact attitude conveying in no uncertain terms that success was the only conceivable outcome. You never doubted me or us. While the loss we shared is silently woven into these pages, so too is the deep love and commitment that sustained us. My dissertation committee – Andrew Orta, Norman E. Whitten, Matti Bunzl and Arlene Torres – challenged me to think critically about my project and encouraged me to follow a path less traveled in Ecuador. Their feedback and suggestions about additional routes of inquiry and points of consideration profoundly affected my development as a scholar. I am extremely grateful for the serendipity that led me to Andrew Orta’s office doorstep. He has not only been an amazing advisor and mentor, but also a constant friend. His intellectual rigor and uncanny ability to unpack and succinctly articulate the most complex social phenomena are inspirational. Andy’s scholarly and professional counsel also provided a safe space for me to contemplate and enact a new project within a potentially atypical field site and to somewhat awkwardly search for the language to describe the intersections between cultural practice, capitalism and social hierarchy. Any success I achieve in this dissertation and in my career are in no small measure the result of his mentorship and encouragement. Thank you, Andy. Norman Whitten exposed me to the many nuances and complexities of Ecuadorian social relations and the power of symbolic action. My work with hacendado elite families in Andean Ecuador represents an attempt to take up Norman and Sibby (Dorothea) Whitten’s challenge to interrogate the ways in which symbolic systems and political economy are interwoven to both produce and resist hegemony. Matti Bunzl continues to astound me with his theoretical prowess and generosity. Matti’s provocative graduate seminars opened up my thinking about the ways in which elite v social roles, identities, practices and markers in local settings intersect with global forces of neoliberal modernity. Arlene Torres’ ethnohistorical analyses of race in the Caribbean, Latin America and the United States provided an important framework to think through contemporary cultural practices over the longue durée. Moreover, her research on social institutions and social relations in particular cultural domains inspired my thoughts on how class and culture articulate in everyday practice and infuse social hierarchy. Her warmth and compassion helped me navigate the sometimes perilous waters of academic politics. One of my few graduate school regrets is that that I was not able to participate in her lively graduate seminars. Colleagues and friends in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Illinois created an intellectual space that fostered my growth as a scholar and a person. My colleagues taught me the importance of fearlessly interrogating my own privilege and how it contributes to pervasive nested hierarchies within and outside of academia. I was also lucky to have an amazing support network of friends who made the whole endeavor a lot more fun and exciting, as well as intellectually stimulating. I’d especially like to thank William, Tina, Emanuel and Kayla Marina Hope, Jason Ritchie, Julie Williams and Andrew Asher for making Urbana- Champaign feel like home. Ellen Moodie has been a true friend and I am very grateful that I had the opportunity