Popular Habitat Production in the Context of Ecuador's Neoliberalization: the Experience of Alianza Solidaria Cooperative in Quito

Abstract

The arrival of the neoliberal model in Latin America since the 1990s has led several countries to promote a "modernization process" of their economies, adopting the indications defined by the Washington Consensus. In Ecuador, this process led to a deep economic and political crisis that culminated in the
dollarization of the country. On the urban scale, decentralization processes continued, transferring greater obligations to the municipalities, while the wave of privatizations and state deregulation made it possible for the city to be increasingly dictated by market interests. This context directly impacted on social investments. In the case of social housing policies there was a drastic reduction, private investments focused strictly on the upper classes. The commercialization of housing made it impossible for a large part of the population to have access to this right. As a result, the peripheries grew in a disorderly manner and social inequalities increased. The popular classes had to organize around the struggle for housing, and land occupation was one of the strategies to claim their rights. In defense of private property, the state violently repressed these manifestations. In this process of struggles, several experiences have been devised, among them is the Cooperativa Alianza Solidaria, that sought to promote a quality habitat through the recovery of cultural elements, cooperativism and the popular and solidarity economy, overcoming the vision commercial housing.