Violencia estructural, narcotráfico y estado fallido en Esmeraldas

Abstract

Abstract:This work aims to examine the situation of structural violence in the province of Esmeraldas, Ecuador, during the period between 2020 and 2024, in a context marked by the advance of drug trafficking and, above all, the progressive deterioration of the State's institutional capacities. This is based on the premise that this deterioration constitutes a reality characteristic of a failed state. Thus, the general purpose is to analyze how the prolonged absence of the State, along with the loss of control over the territory, has fostered the growth of illegal economies, profoundly affecting the security and fundamental rights of local communities, with particular emphasis on Afro-descendant populations. Therefore, the central hypothesis maintains that the lack of state action and the structural conditions of exclusion have allowed for the reproduction of dynamics of persistent violence, social marginalization, and the weakening of the State's legitimate monopoly on the use of force. The research is based on a descriptive qualitative approach, employing the review and analysis of academic documents, institutional reports, specialized press articles, and critical literature. The methodological design is based on the study of structural conditions from the perspective of Marxist structuralism and Latin American critical criminology. Consequently, the object of observation is defined as the significant episodes of violence that occurred in Esmeraldas, as well as the patterns of intervention, or lack thereof, by the Ecuadorian State in response to this conflict.