Indigenous Resistances, Territorial Dynamics, and Socio-Spatial Transformations in the Upper Ecuadorian Amazon, 1970-2015 (Phase 2)

This research addresses the profound socio-spatial transformations occurring in the Ecuadorian Upper Amazon, driven by the extractive economy and state development policies that impose capital accumulation models onto indigenous territories. The study problematizes the tensions between the rationality of territory as an economic resource (global capital) and the indigenous rationality of territory as a space for life and cultural reproduction (local reason). It examines how the State's institutional inability to resolve these socio-territorial conflicts exacerbates confrontation. Historically, from the colonial era to the present, capitalist interests (oil, mining) have degraded ecosystems and deepened poverty and inequality in the region, evidenced by high rates of unsatisfied basic needs (NBI) and extensive road and mining infrastructure. The methodology employed is predominantly ethnographic, utilizing dialectical analysis across macro, meso, and micro scales to study accumulation, territorial configuration, and local resistances. Techniques include interviews, participant observation, and social mapping to highlight the disputes over space among capital, the State, and the communities.<br/><br/><b>Goal</b>: <br/>To analyze how the dynamics of capital expansion, reproduction, and accumulation transform the social production of space in the Ecuadorian Upper Amazon and drive the territorial resistance dynamics of the indigenous Napo Runa people.<br/><br/><b>Research lines</b>: <br/>State, citizenship, public policies and interculturality