Greening the Petrochemical State: Between Energy Sovereignty and Sumak Kawsay in Coastal Ecuador

Abstract

In late 2007, Hugo Chavez joined Rafael Correa on the western coast of Ecuador to officially initiate construction of what is projected to be one of the largest petrochemical complexes in South America: The Refinery of the Pacific (RDP). While for supporters it promises to grant Ecuador energy sovereignty, for detractors it is a violation of the core environmental principles of the 2008 constitution. Drawing on six months of fieldwork with representatives of the RDP and local activists in the province of Manabí, this article explores the conflicting ways in which state-sponsored discourses of "energy sovereignty" and "sumak kawsay" are being re-deployed around the country's largest developme..