La presencia de minorías étnicas en el cantón Cuenca: el caso de los afrodescendientes y su organización social

Abstract

This research studies the influence of racial hierarchies on interethnic relations, regarding Afro-descendent population in the canton of Cuenca. The objective is to analyze the presence of Afro-descendent population in Cuenca’s canton, as well as their forms of organization to claim their rights. This is based on the hypothesis that in Cuenca’s society framework that resulted from a colonial social construction, Afro-descendent communities still have limited access to exercise their human rights. As a consequence of that, Afro-descendent communities have sought to use socio-cultural organization as a political strategy to strengthen their identity, develop awareness and propose public policies to reverse the situation. This research includes a theoretical analysis of the social structure created to support the social imaginary above mentioned, as well as secondary sources and an ethnographic study that support what is stated in the hypothesis. The research concludes by stating that, despite the shift from colonialism to capitalism and the public policies promoted by the State such as the Decree 060 signed in 2009, social imaginaries that exclude Afro-descendent population still remain, this is reflected in their limitation to exercise their social rights; to overcome that, Afro-descendent communities have used social organization as a powerful tool to stop discrimination.