Ecuador's energy policy mix: Development versus conservation and nationalism with Chinese loans

Greening the Petrochemical State: Between Energy Sovereignty and Sumak Kawsay in Coastal Ecuador

“…This article has instead focused on the ways in which the potentially conflicting state discourses of energy sovereignty and sumak kawsay are being received, understood, and re‐deployed around the state's largest development project to date. While others have explored the “dysfunctional energy governance” created by a constitution replete with conflicting commitments to popular sovereignty, national strategic areas, and ecological balance (Escribano ), I have tried instead to show the ways in which these newly circulating discourses are shaping the processes by which both the RDP and its opponents are articulating and defending their projects to local communities at a time of substantial transition to a new energy matrix. Inspired by Arturo Escobar's recent call to think with greater ethnographic specificity about the effects of “post‐neoliberal” policy shifts on social actors accustomed to neoliberal development imperatives, I have traced the vernacularization of these policy shifts on the part of both company representatives and community members (Escobar ).…”

“…In the spirit of combating this humiliating submission to foreign oil interests, President Correa renegotiated oil contracts so that the Ecuadorian state now receives considerably more revenue than was the case under previous production‐sharing agreements; the government also enraged Occidental Oil by seizing its oil fields after learning of an “illegal” contract negotiation with a Canadian energy company. With the increased revenue, Correa initiated enormous infrastructure projects, including roads, electricity lines, and eight hydroelectric dams—all done in the name of reclaiming national sovereignty (Escribano ). As described in the National Secretariat of Planning and Development's National Plan for Good Living: Building a Plurinational and Intercultural State (2009), the “citizen's revolution” is “a revolution in defence of Latin American dignity, sovereignty, and integration.” Further, it principally involves “[upholding] a clear, dignified, and sovereign position in Ecuador's relations with international actors and multilateral organizations, in order to advance toward genuine integration within Latin America and the Caribbean” (National Plan for Good Living 2009:7).…”

Collaborative energy visioning under conditions of illiberal democracy: results and recommendations from Ecuador

“…Taking advantage of revenue from oil exports, the new approach intended to return to a state-controlled natural resource management system and the country adopted the objective of making its energy matrix cleaner and more environmentally sustainable [32]. Control of the energy sector passed from a mainly private-owned governed system to a state-owned centralised system [17]. The period 2008 until 2014 has generally been characterised by economic prosperity as a result of high oil prices and the increase of production from mature oil fields in the Amazon.…”

“…The Ecuadorian context provides a test-bed for the socio-political process of transition management in similar countries where some of the following Ecuadorian characteristics may be present: economic vulnerability due to dependency on oil exports and its fluctuating price [14], oil production approaching a peak, fossil fuel prices being highly subsidised [15], significant potential for the use of hydropower and/or other renewable energy sources [16,17], high dependence on knowledge and technology transfer processes [18], compromised institutions for social and environmental governance [19] and a highly centralised energy system [17].…”

Fantastical materializations: Interoceanic infrastructures in the Ecuadorian Amazon

“…Over the course of his time in office, however, Correa's legitimacy has become increasingly dependent on the maintenance of high levels of public investment, which have continued to be heavily dependent on oil revenues. Since 2009, the government has opened a series of bidding rounds for the concession of new oil blocks, many of which are located in socially and environmentally sensitive areas, while signing contracts with foreign multinationals for the joint exploitation of Ecuador's mature reserves (Escribano 2013).…”