Vega, S. (Ed.). (2024). Historia crítica de la República del Ecuador: El proceso de constitución del Estado nacional. Editorial Universitaria, Universidad Central del Ecuador

Abstract

The article reviews the book "Critical History of the Republic of Ecuador. The process of constituting the national State," edited by Silvia Vega, which analyzes the transformations of the Ecuadorian State from the colonial era to the present. The book, based on research initiated in the eighties, uses a critical Marxist approach with Gramscian influence to examine the State as an organ of class domination and a "condenser of class struggle." The authors of the book strive to politicize social, economic, and political disputes in Ecuadorian history; however, they fail to capture the specificity and autonomy of political and state phenomena by continuing to see the State as determined by external economic factors. The State has been a key actor in the constitution of the capitalist economy in Ecuador, beyond being merely a class instrument or a reflection of the economic structure.