1st Edition

Becoming a Plebeian Leader Moral Careers, Life-Stories and Statecraft in Guayaquil, Ecuador (1960-2022)

304 Pages 13 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

304 Pages 13 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

In Becoming a Plebeian Leader , José Antonio Villarreal Velásquez examines situations where ordinary women and men become plebeian leaders in urban-popular neighborhoods. Combining oral history, archival research, and ethnography, the book examines plebeian leaders’ moral careers through and within the meaningful and fluctuating connections among urban-popular neighborhoods in the city, and... Read more

Introduction.  Part 1: Embodying Plebeian Leadership. Interpersonal Ritual Acts, Ceremonial Behaviors, Guayaquil’s Land Seizures Processes, and the Developmental State in Guasmo and Bastión Popular (1960-1985)  Chapter 1: Remembering Plebeian Leadership as a Moral Career in Guasmo  Chapter 2: Embodying Plebeian Leadership: Betty’s First Steps in Nuevos Horizontes  Chapter 3: Remembering Plebeian Leadership as a Moral Career in Bastión Popular  Chapter 4: Embodying Plebeian Leadership: Juan’s First Steps in Bastion Popular  Part 2: Being a Plebeian Leader. Theatrical Performances, Crafting Sacred Goods, Guayaquil’s Urban Development, and The Neoliberal State in Guasmo and Bastión Popular (1986-2005)  Chapter 5: Crafting Public or Sacred Goods as a way of Building the Neighborhood, the City, and the State from Scratch in Nuevos Horizontes (I)  Chapter 6: Crafting Public or Sacred Goods as a way of Building the Neighborhood, the City, and the State from Scratch in Nuevos Horizontes (II)  Chapter 7: Crafting Public or Sacred Goods as a way of Building the Neighborhood, the City, and the State from Scratch in Bastión Popular  Part 3: Defending Plebeian Leadership. Defensive Behaviors, the Citizen Revolution, and The Post-Neoliberal State in Guasmo and Bastión Popular (2006 – Onwards)  Chapter 8: Forging a Defensive Behavior and the Twilight of Plebeian Leadership in Nuevos Horizontes  Chapter 9: Forging a Defensive Behavior and the Twilight of Plebeian Leadership in Bastión Popular.  Conclusions   

Biography

José Antonio Villarreal Velásquez is an Associate Professor at FLACSO, Ecuador in the Departments of Sociology and Gender Studies. His research interests are related to the fields of urban history, political ethnography, collective action, and socio-political practices, among others.