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Social and Solidarity Economy in Pursuit of 'Buen Vivir'

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Social and Solidarity Economy in Pursuit of 'Buen Vivir' Social and Solidarity Economy in pursuit of ‘Buen Vivir’ in the Andean Highlands of Ecuador Jorge Enrique Altamirano-Flores BSc Agricultural Sciences MSc Agricultural Development Economics A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) School of Natural and Environmental Sciences February 2019 Abstract In Ecuador during the last decade a political paradigm known as ‘Buen Vivir’ (BV) has become the cornerstone of a new notion of human wellbeing on which the government has based its policies. Although its genesis comes from an ancient indigenous way of living, ‘Sumak Kawsay’ (SK), the BV concept is continuously evolving and has become a contested subject. In order to implement the BV principles, the Ecuadorian government introduced an alternative economic system known as Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE). The SSE term has been used to describe all kinds of economic activities in which social and environmental objectives are more important than profit. The aim of this study is to investigate to what extent the introduction of the SSE and BV principles can explain the transformations occurred in Ecuador in the last decade, and how these transformations have influenced the lives of the people at the rural community scale. For this, an extensive review of the existing literature and empirical work, in the Andean highlands region, took place. The study draws upon primary data collected in the form of a survey, face-to-face interviews and focus groups with indigenous and non-indigenous populations from villages located in the Tungurahua and Chimborazo provinces, the latter having the highest indigenous population of people in Ecuador. This investigation utilized a mixed method design; thematic analysis was used for the qualitative data and a descriptive analysis for the quantitative data. This study suggests a strong association between the implementation of social policies based on the principles of BV, and a substantial reduction of levels of poverty and inequality in the country. The study also exposes the ambiguous relationship and overlap between BV and SK, which becomes more apparent when the government promotes a liberal agenda that focuses on individual rights. Meanwhile, SK emphasises ancestral thinking, which is eminently collective. i Dedicated to my dearest daughter Paula, my inspiration and strength. ii Acknowledgements The production of this thesis has generated an immense debt of gratitude to many people. First, I must thank my supervisors Liz Oughton and Menelaos Gkartzios who provided me with support and encouragement during this four-year journey. I also would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Ecuadorian government and to the Secretaria de Educación Superior Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación (SENESCYT) for providing the support and funding for this investigation. My sincere appreciation goes to Karen Scott and Guy Garrod for offering me invaluable advice for the development of some of the key concepts of this research and expert guidance for the methodology utilized. Many thanks to everyone from the Centre for Rural Economy at Newcastle University, outstanding and kind people who helped me with my work many times unwittingly. The development of this research would not have been possible without the generosity and hospitality of the people from the Tungurahua and Chimborazo provinces. I am very grateful to everyone who took the time to be interviewed and to complete the survey. My gratitude also goes to those who facilitated the process by organizing meetings and inviting me to events where I was able to collect the data needed for this study. I am deeply grateful to Freddy Cabrera, his help in Chimborazo was invaluable, and to the Coorporación de Asociaciones Comunitarias de Tungurahua (CACTU) for their vital support in many phases of this study. I also wish to thank all my colleagues at the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences who became my companions in this enterprise and made my experience in Newcastle so memorable. I have a great fondness for Gultekin Hasanaliyeva, her kindness and emotional support during difficult times will never be forgotten. My love and gratitude go to my family, especially my parents Angel and Silvia who have sacrificed a lot for me. I owe my success to them. Finally, I must present my appreciation and thankfulness to Craig Tallentire, who has put time into proofreading this document. Naturally, all the deficiencies in this work are entirely mine. iii iv Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements ...............................................................................................................iii List of Figures ....................................................................................................................... ix List of Tables......................................................................................................................... xi List of Acronyms ................................................................................................................. xii Chapter 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Study aim, objectives and research questions .................................................................. 2 1.3 Contextual information .................................................................................................... 2 1.3.1 Ethnic distribution ..................................................................................................... 3 1.3.2 The Andean highlands............................................................................................... 5 1.4 Historical background ...................................................................................................... 6 1.4.1 Inequality and ethnicity ............................................................................................. 7 1.4.2 The indigenous movement ...................................................................................... 10 1.4.3 Commodity booms .................................................................................................. 16 1.4.4 Perpetual economic crises ....................................................................................... 20 1.4.5 The end of the economic crisis................................................................................ 22 1.4.6 Social and economic transformations ..................................................................... 23 1.5 Plan of the thesis ............................................................................................................ 27 Chapter 2. Literature Review ............................................................................................... 28 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 28 2.2 Current knowledge on Buen Vivir ................................................................................. 28 2.2.1 Sumak Kawsay: Another way to comprehend the world ........................................ 31 2.2.2 Buen Vivir and Sumak Kawsay .............................................................................. 33 2.2.3 Buen Vivir as a notion of wellbeing and as an alternative to development ............ 35 v 2.2.4 Wellbeing and Buen Vivir ...................................................................................... 35 2.2.5 Development and Buen Vivir ................................................................................. 40 2.2.6 The history of development and the emerge of Buen Vivir .................................... 41 2.2.7 Buen Vivir alternative development or alternative to development? ..................... 43 2.3 Current knowledge on Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) ...................................... 47 2.3.1 Origin and evolution of the SSE ............................................................................. 48 2.3.2 The social economy ................................................................................................ 51 2.3.3 The solidarity economy ........................................................................................... 52 2.3.4 The social and solidarity economy ......................................................................... 53 2.4 Social and Solidarity Economy in pursuit of Buen Vivir .............................................. 56 2.4.1 Development, sustainable development and SSE ................................................... 58 2.4.2 The Ecuadorian ‘Great Transformation’ ................................................................. 59 2.4.3 Economic reforms, policy and institutional changes .............................................. 60 2.5 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 65 Chapter 3. Research Methodology ...................................................................................... 66 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 66 3.1.1. Mixed method design ............................................................................................
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