Memoria oral de María Leonor Chalá Espinoza: experiencias y resistencias sociales en el proceso migratorio de los afro-choteños a la ciudad de Quito

Abstract

This research immerses itself in the migratory process of the Afro-descendant population of the Chota Valley towards the city of Quito between 1950 and 1970, highlighting a critical period in the history of Ecuador marked by agrarian reform and the expansion of industrialization. Seventy years ago, agrarian reform impacted land redistribution, generating tensions between local landowners and farmers, especially Afro-descendants from the Chota Valley. The migration of this decade reveals the integration of the peasantry into capitalism and the transformation of the peasant economy in response to industrialization. The research addresses the limited attention to the problem of industrialization in the Afro-Chotean territory and the resulting migration to urban centers. The importance of the family economy as a subsistence strategy in the face of the unequal conditions of the dominant economic model is highlighted. Specific objectives include the exploration of the memory of María Leonor Chalá Espinoza through the analysis of photographic representations in family albums, the examination of external factors such as globalization, urbanization and migration in Afro-descendant communities, and the identification of organizational structures and cultural preservation in Quito and Chota.