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Space and Architecture of Extractivism in The Ecua
Space and Architecture of Extractivism in The Ecua
Space and Architecture of Extractivism in The Ecua
To cite this article: Alejandra Espinosa Andrade (2017): Space and architecture of extractivism in
the Ecuadorian Amazon region, Cultural Studies, DOI: 10.1080/09502386.2017.1303430
ABSTRACT
This article explores spatial and cultural transformations that are taking place in
the Ecuadorian Amazon region under an extractivist development model.
Taking as a case study the Millennium Communities project Playas de
Cuyabeno, it analyses from a critical perspective the origins and
configurations of a space and architecture of extractivism in the Amazon
forest. Discursively, the Ecuadorian legal framework and authorities claim to
be distant from neoliberal tendencies and to promote the conservation of
nature and the achieving of Buen Vivir (‘Good Living’). In practice, however,
they are triggering and imposing an ideal of urbanity and a future city that
serves political purposes and happily coexists with oil extraction. Even if
Playas de Cuyabeno also reflects the elusive spirit of cultural practice and its
capacity to escape homogeneity by creating new forms of inhabiting the
designed spaces, it most insistently marks the complicity between the
authorities’ rhetoric of modernity/progress and their intention to discipline
the space and the subjects living in it.
KEYWORDS Extractivism; space; architecture; Buen Vivir; Amazon region; Millennium Communities
Introduction
To conceive of a space as a produced space (Lefebvre 1974) implies to critically
analyse the production of categories in which this space is read and decoded
in specific periods of time. Accordingly, in order to understand how spatial
transformations affect human interactions, it becomes necessary to assume
and reveal the dialectical relationship between people and their spatial sur-
roundings. The interstices, textures, gaps and voids of a defined space are
constituted by and constitute bodies that internally replicate the external con-
ditions of a political and social struggle (Vidler 1992). In that sense, every
society (and also, as Lefebvre argues, each mode of production) produces
its own space and material forms according to its interests and internal
natural resources handled well are a blessing and not a curse (Correa 2013),
and by linking extraction with the possibility of a positive and radical
change of life in the Amazon region. For example, during the inaugural
speech in one of the MC’s, Correa and other authorities identified the commu-
nity as an example of the wonders that oil and mining can create when
managed with white hands (without corruption), while also emphasizing
that ‘now [the oil] is for everybody and not only for the groups in power’ (El
Telégrafo 2014).
The second development model sustaining the construction of the MC’s is
that of Buen Vivir and the ‘Rights of Nature’. From the beginning of its
mandate, the president’s political party Alianza Pais openly expressed its
opposition to the narrow idea of development coming from neoliberal con-
texts (based only in economic growth) and, after discussions with social
and indigenous movements, the Rights of Nature and the concept of Buen
Vivir were included in the Constitution of 2008. The notion of Buen Vivir
was taken from the indigenous Kichwa concept of Sumak Kawsay, which
alludes to a nonlinear notion of growth that is not based on the binary oppo-
sition of underdevelopment and development. Rather, Sumak Kawsay or Buen
Vivir is based on relationships of reciprocity and strong ties of mutual trust,
not only between humans but also between humans and nature (Calapucha
2012). Sumak Kawsay also alludes to knowledge about life that allows the
person and the community to take care of the environment which is in
perfect condition, well maintained, protected and free from pollution. Along-
side Sumak Kawsay, the Rights of Nature are also part of the Constitution of
2008, recognizing among others, that ‘Nature, or Pacha Mama, where life is
reproduced and occurs, has the right to integral respect for its existence
and for the maintenance and regeneration of its life cycles, structure, func-
tions and evolutionary processes’ (Ecuador. Constitution 2008 art.71).
With the introduction of this model of Sumak Kawsay and the Rights of
Nature, it seemed as though the relation between the government, the citi-
zens and nature would take another route, opening up a wide range of pos-
sibilities to rethink, plan and reinhabit the Amazonian space. Moreover, the
president emphasized the importance of preserving the cultural richness of
the ancestral groups in the MC’s, arguing that misery and poverty are not
part of the ‘folklore’ or ‘identity’ of the indigenous peoples. For him, thinking
that indigenous people could not live comfortably or receive a good edu-
cation represented ‘racist stereotypes disguised as a defense of ancestral
peoples’ (Correa 2013).
What has become clear from this discussion of the Ecuadorian political dis-
course and the two models of development, however, is their inherent incom-
patibility. The main problem with new extractivism is that it is part of an
ideology of development nurtured by ideas of Modernity, which, even
when trying to free itself from neoliberal legacies, is still obsessed with the
CULTURAL STUDIES 5
good bed, not like us, dropped somewhere with some disease. (Italics by the
author)
Thus, the idea of the modernist city was based on the control and separation
of zones, on similarity and on standardization.
In the Millennium Community Playas de Cuyabeno this modernist legacy is
present in different forms. The space of the MC’s, in terms of its architecture, is
reduced to a fixed and neutral background acting as a ‘mere container or
stage for the human drama’ in the terms Edward Soja used when talking
about Western social thought concerning space during the nineteenth
century (Soja 2006, p. xvi). As is clear from the name MCs, the project
evinces anxiety about the future, implying the idea of dragging the Amazo-
nian Region into the twenty-first century or the new millennium (which, para-
doxically, was already not new anymore at the time of construction) and
suggesting a desired future in which the Amazonian region is projected as
an urbanized territory. The first step towards this urbanized aspiration was
to destroy almost all the buildings that were previously part of the Kichwa
community such as some residential houses and a communal house for meet-
ings and social activities. In personal communication one of the managers of
Petroamazonas (who prefers to stay anonymous) argues that from the begin-
ning, the ringmaster was time and the priority was to build the new houses as
rapidly as possible. Consequently, factors such as the sustainability or the aes-
thetics of the buildings were not considered. Modular and standardized
design was used to reduce the cost and time of construction, as is character-
istic of other infrastructure projects implemented by the government (Correa
2012; Manager Petroamazonas, personal communication, 28 Feb 2015).
The result of this complicity between a political necessity and a race against
time was a new community – a new city – based on a homogenized and regi-
mented distribution of space (Figure 1). All the houses have a green roof and
are located in rows. They are configured in a symmetrical pattern: the distance
between the houses is about 15 meters and the main streets have right
angles, giving the impression of a military camp. More specifically, the
8 A. ESPINOSA ANDRADE
Figure 2. Playas de Cuyabeno House. Photo taken by the author, January, 2015. ©
(Alejandra Espinosa).
CULTURAL STUDIES 9
The use of materials also provides clues as to the logic underlying the MC’s
use and spatial organization. The houses in the MC’s are stilt houses with
white walls, made using iron rods and concrete6 (Figure 2). This is a radical
departure from the traditional houses in the Ecuadorian Amazonian region,
which are made from wood and palm leaves, elements capable of regulating
the temperature in an environment characterized by high temperatures, fre-
quent rain and humidity (Figure 3).
Apart from the use of different materials, the rational use of the space
shown in the MCs is distant from the perceptions and concepts used by the
Kichwas to understand the forest. Traditionally, the Kichwas have perceived
the forest as a resource of life and spiritual energy, and many Kichwa concepts
Figure 3. (a) and (b). Traditional architecture in the Amazon region. Photos taken by the
author, January, 2015. © (Alejandra Espinosa).
10 A. ESPINOSA ANDRADE
proclaim a connection between the space and spirits (Noteno, E., personal
communication, 17 Jan 2015). They use, for example, the dynamic concept
of llakta to designate the created space, which involves an environmental
and spiritual dimension. According to this concept, the territory is shaped
by the space–soil, the space–water, the space–forest and the spiritual space
(Calapucha 2012). In other words, llakta comprises a system of social, cultural,
spiritual, political and historical relationships that are part of an integrality
composed of space–time–water–soil–wind and based in a physical, biodiverse
territory (Calapucha 2012). The concept of sacha, moreover, is used to refer to
the space inhabited by animals, plants and local spirits. At the same time,
sacha harbours a spirit called Amazanka, which is the most important spirit
of the Kichwa world. It is a masculine spirit, owner and protector of the
animals of the forest, and it has the ability to appear in the shape of any
animal (Calapucha 2012). Unfortunately, although these concepts are harmo-
nious with a notion of an integral unity between the settlement and the
environment, they are not considered at all in the MC’s project. Instead, the
past is disavowed in the Millennium project, as everything is made to look
new, renovated and ‘urban’.
Regarding the importance of keeping traditional designs, paradoxically,
during the inaugural speech president Rafael Correa pointed out that it was
the government’s intention to be more demanding in relation to the design
of future new projects, and that it is possible to do modern houses while
also maintaining aspects of Cofán and Waorani (indigenous groups) tra-
ditional architecture. ‘In this case’ he added, ‘we will assume a little bit of a
dominant role. It is not worth constructing houses made of cement every-
where with the same design if we have a beautiful tradition of housing
from the Waorani, Confanes, Shuar, Achuar … ’ (Correa 2013, p. 20, translation
by the author). Yet, according to Felipe Borman, the president of the Junta Par-
roquial (the administrative level of government in charge of the area where
the community is located), during the process of construction of the new
houses the government did not consider the culture and identity of the
people. For him, what the government tried was to urbanize the people to
make them lead a modern lifestyle (Borman, F., personal communication,
19 Jan 2015) (Figure 4).
However, it is important to mention that the type of housing was discussed
with the Kichwa residents prior to the construction, and they agreed to not
use traditional designs and materials. This is understandable knowing the
context and history of the region. Kichwa indigenous traditional houses
have changed shape over time, and traditional concepts about Nature are
rarely put in practice in Amazonian cities, mainly because of the growing
introduction of a discourse that repudiates ancestral and local practices,
appointing any trace of indigenous tradition as ‘undeveloped’. As a result,
many of the indigenous communities have created a necessity and a self-
CULTURAL STUDIES 11
imaginary about how their future must be, assuming the idea of living in an
urbanized area as synonym of a good and better life.
This probably explains why, when the architecture of the houses was ‘dis-
cussed’ among the Kichwa, they preferred to use materials similar to cement
instead of wood and palm leaves, arguing that they deserved houses made of
the same materials as those in the city (perceived as a developed space). As a
testimony presented in the newspaper shows: ‘[During the inauguration of
the MC] Bolívar Tapou from the [indigenous] community Tarabiayo asked
the president to construct the same kind of houses in his community
because they also want to be part of the progress’ (El Telégrafo 2013, italics
added). Similarly, Barcelino Noteno, the president of the Kichwa community,
explains:
We took our position, we claimed our right as indigenous people with ancestral
territories. We said that not only developed provinces are in need. We are also
Ecuadorians, which have been living here forever, we want decent housing,
decent education, decent infrastructure, as any human being. [We told the gov-
ernment that] we also wanted good hospitals, a school, as in any other city. And
also skilled teachers so we can have a quality education. I don’t think that they
[the government] will keep us, for being indigenous people, all our life margin-
alized. (Noteno, B., personal communication, 19 Jan 2015. Translated by the
author)
Figure 5. Millennium School. Photo taken by the author, January 2015. © (Alejandra
Espinosa).
any changes to the facades for at least two years. Alongside with this rule to
keep the facades clean and homogenized, the biggest buildings (the Millen-
nium School and the Coliseum) are decorated with the Ecuadorian ‘country
logo’ (Figure 5). In 2010 this logo, which ‘is based in the sun, in life, in the
soil, in mega diversity, in pre-Columbian designs, flowers, fauna [ … ]’
(Ehlers in La Hora 2010), was created by the Ministry of Tourism to promote
the country abroad and it quickly became a State brand. Together with the
slogan ‘Ecuador loves life’, it intends to reflect that Ecuador is a diverse, plur-
icultural country, as is also stated in the Constitution, where it is noted that the
country treats with respect the diversity of groups within its territory and the
institutional, social and cultural differences between them. In the MC, the
country logo thus appears as a brand of the State and of national identity,
showing visitors that the communities were built by the government as
part of its commitment to pluriculturalism that, however, finds no real
expression in the way the MC is constructed and managed.
It is important to underline the way the shadow of this modernist legacy
hangs over the MC’s, shaping the extractive space: The rigid spatial segre-
gation of the MC from its environment makes it easier (and cheaper) for the
planner, or in this case the government, to construct social housing, but
beyond that, it facilitates the creation of a future city where Amazonian com-
munities can live happily together with the oil camps and extractive activities.
What seems to be behind this architectural transformation of the space is a
clash between, on the one hand, the intention to construct a new Amazonia
and to promote national development (which gestures towards the plural but
also needs to bring all Ecuadorians together) and, on the other, the history of
the residents and the space, which is ignored. The narrative supporting the
14 A. ESPINOSA ANDRADE
their houses. Now they have electricity, pumping water, which the government
started to charge, you know, like everybody else. (Borman, F., personal com-
munication, 19 Jan 2015)
residents interviewed said they feel bored and prefer to stay in the fincas
(Noteno, B., personal communication, 19 Jan 2015; Yumbo, R., personal com-
munication,16 Jan 2015). To fill the time, it is common for families to organize
parties that can last for more than 12 hours; an activity that is far removed
from the oil company’s mantra of time is money.
The latter example of anti-disciplinary practice also opens up the discussion
of the reverse situation, as the changes enforced in the use of time reveal that
disciplining is taking place, effectively, and that the residents are being
affected in a way that is favourable to the pursuit of oil exploitation. The
expansion of leisure time is not only an effect of the restrictions imposed
inside the community in order to keep the residents organized, but also an
effect of the economic changes caused by the presence of the oil company
in the area. Many residents work, directly or indirectly, for the oil company
and most of the families receive monetary ‘bonuses’ every time it needs to
conduct the seismic explorations to find oil. This has created an economic
dependency on the oil company, causing them to prefer to stay in good
terms with it. Economically speaking, when the head of the family works for
the oil company, the family income surpasses the amount needed to fill
basic needs. Consequently, many inhabitants have plenty of free time.
Almost every house in the community has the television on for the whole
day, showing North American movies, morning shows and governmental
announcements. The residents express that more and more, the younger gen-
eration prefers to stay in Playas de Cuyabeno to use the computer or watch
television instead of going to the fincas. They no longer want to fish or
farm like their parents, and are also not interested in speaking the Kichwa
language (Noteno, B., personal communication, 19 Jan 2015). The high con-
sumption of alcohol is also a growing problem.
As has been shown, the modernist planning of the houses, the rejection of
the past and the local dynamics have led to the emergence of, on the one
hand, uncanny dead and empty spaces and, on the other, disciplining prac-
tices. Faced with this new urban reality, the responses of the inhabitants
waver between resistance, boredom and dependency on the oil company
(and, with it, the State), a situation that raises doubts and opens questions
about the meaning of Buen Vivir, in the eyes of the State, and the role of
the inhabitants in the future Amazonia.
20 A. ESPINOSA ANDRADE
Conclusions
As was mentioned at the beginning of this article, to conceive of a space as a
produced space (Lefebvre 1974) implies to critically analyse the production of
categories in which this space is read and decoded in specific periods of time.
Having described the architecture and aesthetics of the Millennium Commu-
nity Playas de Cuyabeno, and the dynamic interaction between spatial plan-
ning and the residents’ ways of living there, what I have called a space and
architecture of extractivism can be summarized as follows.
The space and architecture of extractivism are based on a mode of pro-
duction and model of development known as new extractivism. As was men-
tioned at the beginning of the analysis, in this model, unlike traditional
extractivism, the exploitation of resources is accompanied by a stronger
presence of the State. Among other characteristics, this stronger presence
of the State comes along with a new conception of the exploitation of
resources, which is now perceived as necessary to combat poverty and
promote development, keeping intact the ‘myth of progress’ (Gudynas
2009, p. 221). Constructions such as the MC’s are created with revenues
from the exploitation of natural resources and are justified to public
opinion as a step towards the social and economic progress of the Ecuador-
ian nation. The constructions are embedded in a discourse that heralds the
extraction of natural resources as the main source of wealth and moderniz-
ation. As the case of the MCs shows, the State is even willing to resort to
violence (through military intervention) to achieve its purposes. Thus, one
of the main characteristics of the space and architecture of extractivism is
that the spatial changes are violently imposed rather than in dialogue
with the communities concerned.
Another characteristic of the space and architecture of extractivism in
Ecuador is that it is the product of a discursive tension between the new extra-
ctivist model of development and the discourse of Sumak Kawsay and the
Rights of Nature. While the government emphasizes the idea of respecting
social and cultural differences, it simultaneously homogenizes Ecuadorian
society by constructing uniform infrastructures and buildings. Thus, the MCs
are far from being a representation of Ecuadorian pluriculturalism or of a har-
monious relation with Amazonian flora and fauna. Instead, they reproduce a
modernist narrative that perpetuates ideals of modernity, progress and
national development. This modernist narrative is accompanied by a colonial
narrative which is reflected in the use of violence (at the beginning of the
extractivist project leading to the construction of the MCs), the establishment
of rules to control and urbanize the community, the community’s economic
dependence on the oil company and the political discourse that reproduces
the rhetoric of salvation, civilizing mission and progress in service of its own
understanding of Sumak Kawsay/Buen Vivir.
CULTURAL STUDIES 21
Notes
1. Name given in the region to people that have lived there for decades but come
from other provinces of Ecuador.
2. The Kichwa Sarayaku-case presented to the Inter-American Court of Human
Rights exemplifies the antagonistic relation between some of the communities
and the government and oil companies (see Inter-American Court of Human
Rights, 2012).
3. See, for example, the Chevron case and reports published by organizations such
as Observatorio de derechos colectivos del Ecuador CDES (http://www.
observatorio.cdes.org.ec/), Oil Watch (http://www.oilwatch.org/), the Fundación
Regional de Asesoría en Derechos Humanos – INREDH (www.inredh.org), Acción
Ecológica (www.accionecologica.org), and the United Nations Human Rights
Council, among others. Significantly, the Ecuadorian State has also targeted
some indigenous groups and environmental organizations opposed to its
mining, oil and water policies by accusing them of terrorism. See, for example,
the cases of Carlos Pérez Guartambel and Javier Ramírez, who were accused
by the Ecuadorian government of being terrorists in 2010 and 2014, respectively,
when participating in activities against water policies and mining exploitation
(Articles El Comercio, 10 June 2014 and El Mercurio, 22 January 2013).
4. For more information about the Yasuni ITT initiative see: Ministry of Environment
(2010).
5. For more information about the critics against the closure of this initiative see
the information collected by the group Yasunidos, a group of the civil society
created to protect the Yasuní forest and the governmental initiative. http://
sitio.yasunidos.org/es/yasunidos/crononologia-de-hechos.html
6. Each house comprises 96.04 sqm and has three rooms: a kitchen, a living room
and a bathroom. The latter is situated in the empty space below the main floor.
The houses, including basic furniture and household appliances, were given for
free to the inhabitants of the communities (Araujo 2013).
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Funding
This work is part of the author’s Ph.D. research supported by the Secretariat of Higher
Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of Ecuador.
Notes on contributor
Alejandra Espinosa Andrade studied social psychology in the Diego Portales University
(Chile) and obtained a Master Degree in Political Science in the Latin American Faculty
of Social Sciences (FLACSO Ecuador). She has worked as a researcher and lecturer of
topics related with human rights, participative methodologies, social movements,
project management and territorial planning in national and international organiz-
ations (UNICEF, UNHCR, FLACSO Ecuador). Currently she is working in her Ph.D. at
the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis (ASCA). In her research she analyses,
CULTURAL STUDIES 23
from a critical and multidisciplinary perspective, governmental urban projects and its
relation with Ecuadorian cultural identity. Her Ph.D. Research is financed by the Sec-
retariat of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of Ecuador.
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