Interculturalidad, del discurso a la práctica. Estudio de caso sobre las relaciones interétnicas en el mercado El Arenal, en la ciudad de Cuenca

Abstract

In prior decades, Ecuador has been recognized as a country that is not solely homogeneous. The 1998 and 2008 Ecuadorian Constitutions recognized and defined the country as a multiethnic, multicultural and intercultural Republic. However, multiculturalism in Ecuador has hardly been put into practice as evident by a lack of respect and equality between different individuals and social groups. There still exists certain societal conditioning factors that allow power differentials to prevail in relationships between the different ethnicities. It is within this context that this master’s thesis project looks at ways to better understand how the aspects of migration, ethnicity and social class determine why some social groups have more power than others. This research project worked with three different groups of women venders in the market “El Arenal” in the City of Cuenca. In this way, I recognized the migratory, ethnic and social class specificities of each group. In understanding how each group inhabited different spaces within the context of the market, I then discerned how these specific differences became very important when the vendors engaged in negotiations and disputes between themselves or with other groups. By recognizing that power in daily relationships is based on migratory, ethnic and social class of each group or individual, it is evident that there is still much work to be done to construct Ecuador as an intercultural country. It is not enough to only recognize the heterogeneity of this country; it is necessary to promote actual changes that allow relationships of equality.