Quito, Ecuador by Diego Carrion and Jaime Vasconez with the Collaboration of Nury Bermudez

The case of Quito, Ecuador by Diego Carrion and Jaime Vasconez with the collaboration of Nury Bermudez Contact Diego Carrión, Jaime Vásconez and Nury Bermúdez Centro de Investigaciones de Ciudad Source: CIA factbook Fernando Meneses #265 y Av. la Gasca, Quito Ecuador, 1708-8311 Tel. +5932 225198 / 227091 Fax. +5932 500322 E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] I. INTRODUCTION: THE CITY political, social, religious and military power centres A. THE URBAN CONTEXT (Gómez 1992). Arriving in the early 16th century, the Spaniards found 1. Overview of Ecuador1 a powerful and very well structured agrarian society, 1.1 Geographical Setting with two main political centres: Quito and Cuzco. The newcomers imposed a different socio-economic and Ecuador is one of the smallest countries in South political scheme based on the founding of cities as America, with a total land area of approximately 250,000 nodal centres for political, military, religious and admin- square kilometres and a population of about 12 million. istrative purposes, the concentration of indigenous Located in the central Andean region, it encompasses population masses in Spanish labour organisations2, three main geographical regions: the lowlands in the and the application of European systems of agriculture, west (known as la Costa), the Andean highlands (la mining and manufacturing production processes that Sierra), and the Amazon in the eastern part of the coun- allowed the monopolistic concentration of wealth in the try. Quito, in the central Andean region, is the capital city. hands of Spaniards, local creoles and the Church (Gómez 1992, 11-12). 1.2 Historical Background During the colonial period, mining, textile manufactur- Ecuador's history dates back to 10,000 BC with ing, and agriculture for domestic consumption were the evidence of indigenous settlements mainly on the Pacific basic economic activities performed by a large indige- coast and in the Andes. Before the arrival of the Incas, nous labour force. The Spanish exploited native abili- these settlements experienced a significant population ties and skills, existing infrastructure and social organi- growth and concentration, developed new crops, sations, spatial structures and towns. Throughout this engaged in exchange with communities of different period, the Andean highlands were the country's main regions, and had developed complex organisational, area of settlement. technological and cultural patterns. The Incas invaded In 1830, Ecuador gained independence from Spain this territory in the late 15th century AD, imposing an and became an independent republic. With the inde- organisation based on three main elements: a system of pendence movements in the late 18th and early 19th scattered agricultural settlements (llactacuna), a sophis- century, came social, economic and political changes. ticated system of communication and spatial organisa- Independence meant, among other things, the freeing tion of the territory (capacñan), and a system of strong of commercial barriers imposed by Spain. This situation Urban Slums Reports: The case of Quito, Ecuador was accompanied by a world capitalist expansion, a future urban middle class. which underlay the development of tropical products for The economy, which since the late 19th century had export. The coastal lowlands provided the best condi- been based upon cacao exports, declined suddenly in tions for such production, but these were unpopulated3, 1922 as a result of crop diseases and international which meant that the population of the Sierra would market constraints. Hundreds of peasants were driven have to move to provide labour in the plantations along from the plantations, small-scale producers faced diffi- the coast. This move was encouraged by the persist- culties in selling their products and the Andean economy ence of semi-feudal conditions in the Sierra, resulting in also suffered collateral effects. Massive migrations low productivity, and as such moving to the coastal plan- occurred from 1922 to 1945, mainly from the Sierra to tations was the only alternative for the peasantry the Costa and from rural areas to Guayaquil and other (Cueva 1973, 5). coastal urban centres. Simultaneously with the appearance of wage-labour, The long awaited economic expansion began at the small scale trading became a very important and prof- end of the 1940s and was based on bananas, as they itable source of capital for people indirectly engaged in replaced cacao in the plantations.4 During this period of agriculture. Seemingly overnight, numerous settlements economic expansion the quarrels among the ruling appeared on the coast, populated by traders and classes subsided, and democratic governments consumers. The existence of commercial activities changed only three times between 1949 and 1960 around the port of Guayaquil promoted the formation of (Moreano 1976, 214). a powerful social group that controlled trade and As an effect of international market pressures, banana finance, in opposition to the traditional Andean landlords production declined heavily after 1960 and this and the Catholic Church. contributed to the ruin of Ecuador's economy between With the social and economic developments of the then and 1972. During this decade, efforts were made to 19th century came a need for profound structural overcome this crisis by following models applied in other changes, to accommodate a future capitalist expansion. Latin American countries, based, for example on indus- The socio-political vehicle for such changes was the trialisation, import substitution, modernisation of the state Liberal Revolution of 1895-1905, conducted by Eloy apparatus and institutions, capitalist-oriented agrarian Alfaro with the financial and ideological support of the reform and expansion of the internal market. However, Guayaquil bourgeoisie and a massive contingent of efforts to expand the economy failed, industrial develop- coastal peasants (montuvios). Even though the Liberal ment was weak, agriculture, rather than being stimulated Revolution did battle against some of the archaic by reform and investments, stagnated, the modernisation dependencies of the semi-feudal regime, it did not elim- of the state was accompanied by corruption and the inate them. Land remained the basic source of power internal market did not expand because few jobs were for the Andean landlords and the Church. created and wealth was increasingly concentrated in the Urban labourers and coastal peasants began to hands of the upper class. This process was supervised organise themselves. By 1920 they had achieved a mainly by the Armed Forces which controlled the govern- relatively advanced degree of organisation, and the ment between 1963 and 1970 (Ayala Mora 1993). basis for the future, Confederación de Trabajadores del This critical period for the country suddenly came to an Ecuador (Confederation of Equadorian Workers - CTE) end with the beginning of oil exports in 1972. At the was laid. At the same time, social groups benefiting same time, a military coup brought a change of govern- from liberalisation measures emerged as the embryo of ment, the new one following a nationalist ideology. With increasing oil exports,5 the state's economic capacity grew enormously.6 As a result, the government's invest- ment capacity increased, and an emphasis was placed on financing infrastructure (roads, electricity, telecom- munications, and water services) to provide a basis for industrial expansion. The military leadership decided to step down in 1978 in favour of an elected government. A new constitution was prepared and approved through a process of public consultation. Elections took place in 1978 and Jaime Roldós was elected President. Since then Ecuador has been a democratic country and has encountered some stability, with a succession of elected governments.7 The volume of oil exports has stayed relatively constant but prices have declined. This has resulted in a severe economic crisis since 1980. Democratic govern- MAP 1. Ecuador geographical setting ments, during the last 15 years, have concentrated basi- 2 UNDERSTANDING SLUMS: Case Studies for the Global Report on Human Settlements 2003 cally on "administering the economic crisis" and its population in the medium-sized cities. effects: shortage of social services, increasing social Concentration of population and specific activities in unrest, corruption and political struggles. the capital city Quito and in the port city of Guayaquil Since 1990, an active indigenous movement has ensures their primacy. Of the total population of the coun- entered the social and political scene of Ecuador. Its try 21.6 per cent was concentrated in these urban areas activity started with a national indigenous uprising in 1974, 25.6 per cent in 1982, and 27 per cent in 1990. which blocked the main roads, demonstrated with With a relatively good communication network, the two marches, and presented some demands to the govern- cities can share functions and benefits (Guzmán 1994). ment concerning Indian minorities. The movement The concentration of population in the urban areas became a real political force. has increased steadily: in 1950, 17.8 per cent of Other important events to have taken in Ecuador Ecuador's population was living in cities; in 1962, this during the last two decades, stimulating political tension percentage was 27.9, growing to 41.4 per cent in 1974, include the departure of President Bucaram, the "rebel- 49.3 in 1982, and 55.1

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