Voces Rebeldes: recuperacion de la memoria oral y construccion de identidades juveniles en el Ecuador de los ‘80

Abstract

This article recovers the oral memory of former members of Alfaro Vive ¡Carajo! (AVC), an Ecuadorian insurgent group from the 1980s. It analyzes how their testimonies construct subversive youth identities and challenge the state narrative that labeled them "terrorists." Using oral history, the research reveals their motivations, clandestine organization, militant ethics, and the impact of state repression. The accounts show a rebel identity forged with symbols like Eloy Alfaro and transnational influences. Oral memory thus functions as a political act that vindicates their struggles for social justice. Connecting these findings with theories of collective memory, the discussion highlights how orality constitutes a performative political act. The conclusion states that recovering these rebellious voices enriches Ecuadorian historiography by making subaltern memories visible and illuminates the identity formation processes of a generation that, through remembrance, continues to contest the meaning of its past.