Reclutamiento Infantil por redes delictivas en Ecuador: un análisis sociológico y criminológico de la marginalidad urbana, violencia estructural y capital simbólico como factores de vulnerabilidad

Abstract

Abstract: The following article analyzes the recruitment of children and adolescents by criminal networks in Ecuador, using a sociological and criminological approach that identifies multidimensional poverty, urban marginalization, and symbolic capital as critical factors of vulnerability. It concludes that the absence of a relational state generates sovereignty vacuums filled by criminal groups, which operate as parallel institutions providing identity and status to children and adolescents excluded from the formal system. The document highlights territorial disparities, such as endogenous recruitment in Manabí and mass recruitment in Guayas, as well as a gender dimension where girls face sexual violence and subordination. The fundamental contribution of this work is the visualization of structural vulnerability not only as economic deprivation, but also as a deficit of social recognition that organized crime capitalizes on. Finally, it proposes a comprehensive approach that replaces criminal symbolic capital with legitimate life trajectories.