Land ownership as a mechanism for the reproduction of inequality in Ecuador from 1895 to the 1920s

This chapter examines the expansion of the system of domination concertaje to understand the reproduction of inequality in the first decades of the twentieth century in Ecuador. Based on the works of three prominent Latin American authors (José Carlos Mariátegui (1973), Andrés Guerrero (1977) and Valeria Coronel (2011)), it describes how land ownership and race distinctions were two key features in this process. This time period is particularly interesting since the Liberal Revolution of 1895 had occurred and led to great expectations that such an event would free subaltern populations from the hacendados’ domination. However, the socio-economic conditions of indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian communities were exacerbated during these years, and currently, the social and economic integration of these communities is still under debate. The chapter sheds light on the mechanisms that explain how inequality continued in Ecuador during this period and up to present times.