After an end-of-summer visit to Ecuador, UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights Olivier De Schutter called on authorities to continue efforts to curb drug-related crime in the country and to increase investment in the education, healthcare, and social protection sectors.
In his report, De Schutter cited poverty as the root cause of the continual increase of crime, violence, and insecurity in Ecuador. This explainer will explore the history of slavery in Ecuador, the current state of poverty in the country, and how poverty implicates slavery.
What is the history of slavery in Ecuador?
Slave ships first arrived in Ecuador in 1526. Between 1526 and 1822, enslaved Ecuadorians worked on plantations and in gold minds. By 1822, slavery was abolished when the country gained independence. However, the legacy of slavery continues to impact the descendants of enslaved Ecuadorians, particularly Afro-Ecuadorians.
What does the current state of poverty in Ecuador look like?
According to De Schutters UN report, in June 2023, the countrys Gini index stood at 0.467, indicating an inequal distribution of income among individuals and households within the Ecuadorian economy. Urban areas experienced a slightly lower Gini index, at 0.440, while rural areas experienced a higher index at 0.479. Income poverty rates during the same time period were higher in rural areas, at 46.4%, while urban areas experienced 18% income poverty. The national rate for income poverty was 27%.
Among Afro-Ecuadorians, De Schutter highlighted multidimensional poverty rates. Multidimensional poverty measures the ratio of households in a given country that experience monetary poverty, educational poverty, and depravation of basic infrastructure services. While the multidimensional poverty rate across Ecuador was 38.1% in 2022, Afro-Ecuadorians experienced a multidimensional poverty rate of 54.3%. Similarly, Afro-Ecuadorians experienced the second-highest percentage of income poverty, at 33.7%.
De Schutter also called attention to women as experiencing disproportionate rates of poverty in Ecuador. Income poverty rates in 2022 had a gender gap of 1.6%, which suggests inequality in the labor market, inequal wages, more women working unpaid jobs, and more time spent on childcare. Also indicated by higher poverty rates among women are a lack of access to education and lack of employment opportunities for women. Within the women population, Afro-Ecuadorian and indigenous women experience higher rates of poverty.
How does poverty in Ecuador implicate slavery?
The current poverty rates implicate a lack of economic opportunity and social protection initiatives from the Ecuadorian government. According to De Schutters report, Ecuador spends 9.6% of its GDP on social protection, resulting in health insurance, disability pension, and overall benefit disparities for those in the workforce.
Similarly, Ecuadorians who are not covered by social insurance rely on social assistance, which fails to protect the lowest income group and does not effectively protect individuals from poverty. This results in the exploitation of workers who already live below the poverty line, leaving them with little choice but to continue working without benefits or adequate pay.
Enforcement of labor law also contributes to poverty rates in Ecuador. The UN report cites that Ecuadors Ministry of Labor and Employment reported that there are a mere 140 labor inspectors to enforce labor law in a country with a population of 18 million. Likewise, there are 100 social security inspectors to enforce social security protections in the country. This disparity results in existing labor law not being enforced and further worker exploitation.
An example of the consequences of a lack of labor law enforcement is seen at the Furukawa farms in the abaca plantations in Ecuador. Owned by the Japanese company Furukawa Plantaciones C.A., the plantations were alleged to have slavery-like conditions. According to the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, most workers at the plantations are Afro-Ecuadorian. They lack employment contracts and social security and are housed in territories that are owned by the company that lack water, electricity, public lighting, and sanitary and toilet facilities.
Bonded labor, in which people give themselves into slavery as security against a loan or inherited debt, is prevalent in Ecuador. It is found in different sectors, such as the sugar cane, avocado, fruit, maize and beans industry. According to the UN report, it is alleged that in these industries, Afro-Ecuadorian households perform work for wages significantly below minimum wage as a form of debt bondage. This starts for individuals as early as 12 years of age.
How does Ecuador alleviate its current state of poverty and slavery?
De Schutter recommends that the Ecuadorian government take several steps to alleviate the existing plight of poverty and slavery in the country. An increase of the minimum wage is recommended to combat in-work poverty. He also recommends an increased monitoring and enforcement of labor law to ensure protection and equality for workers.
De Schutter also recommends that the government increase its social investment. This looks like an improved quality of education, improved targeting of social assistance, a more progressive and efficient tax system, and rationalizing fossil fuel subsidies.
The wealth of Ecuador, De Schutter concluded, is not in its subsoil; it is in its people and the priceless wellbeing they derive from their environment.
More:
Explainer: The State of Poverty and Slavery in Ecuador - JURIST
- Why Work? // Index [Last Updated On: March 26th, 2016] [Originally Added On: March 26th, 2016]
- Wage slavery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: March 26th, 2016] [Originally Added On: March 26th, 2016]
- Wage-Slavery and Republican Liberty | Jacobin [Last Updated On: June 12th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 12th, 2016]
- wage slavery - Why Work [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2016]
- Beyond Wage Slavery: Opening Ken Coates Archive ... [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2016]
- Wage slavery - Hermes Press [Last Updated On: June 19th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 19th, 2016]
- Wage-Slavery and Republican Liberty | Jacobin [Last Updated On: June 19th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 19th, 2016]
- wage slave - Why Work [Last Updated On: June 19th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 19th, 2016]
- What is Wage Slavery? (with pictures) - wiseGEEK [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2016] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2016]
- ecology.iww.org | Abolish wage slavery AND live in harmony ... [Last Updated On: October 6th, 2016] [Originally Added On: October 6th, 2016]
- Wage labour - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: October 8th, 2016] [Originally Added On: October 8th, 2016]
- Pudzer isn't looking at the big picture - Las Vegas Sun [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- An interesting life through the eyes of a slave driver - Irish Independent [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Why Do We Take Pride in Working for a Paycheck? - JSTOR Daily [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Living off the grid: Neo-peasants in Daylesford, Victoria take on ... - NEWS.com.au [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Scheme for fishing crews is 'legitimising slavery' - Irish Times [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Attending College Doesn't Close Wage Gap and Other Myths Exposed in New Report - The Root [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- The Rule of Law and The Working Class - Anarkismo.net [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Wolf budget proposal calls for $12 minimum wage - Scranton Times-Tribune [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Post Slavery Feminist Thought and the Pan-African Struggle (1892-1927): From Anna J. Cooper to Addie W. Hunton - Center for Research on Globalization [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Where did capitalism come from? - Socialist Worker Online [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Believing is seeing - Arkansas Times [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- The Two Types of Campus Leftists - National Review [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Uncomfortable truths: The role of slavery and the slave trade in ... - Daily Kos [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- Gene Smith: Hard labor, funny money and Tennessee Ernie Ford - Fayetteville Observer [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- President Carter: 'We must cling to principles that never change' - Austin American-Statesman [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Point/Counterpoint: On Liberal Capitalism - The Free Weekly [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- To make Trump's America ungovernable, African American struggles are key - Green Left Weekly [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Congress of Progressive Filipino Canadians against fascism: Continuing the culture of resistance - Straight.com [Last Updated On: February 19th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 19th, 2017]
- 31 Life Lessons After 30 Years - The Good Men Project (blog) [Last Updated On: February 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 22nd, 2017]
- What Chaos? The Trump Steam Roller has it Under Control - AmmoLand Shooting Sports News [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Mayor Betsy Hodges says tip credits are bad for women - City Pages [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Washington State Rep Endorsed Slavery When Confronted by Voter - The Pacific Tribune [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Tesla warns that 'thousands' of Model 3 reservations holders will go outside of Connecticut to buy without direct sales - Electrek [Last Updated On: February 25th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 25th, 2017]
- National Prison Strike Exposes Need for Labor Rights Behind Bars - Toward Freedom [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- New: Berkeley's New Ideology: A critique of the Strategic Plan - Berkeley Daily Planet [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Gilbert letter: Bill Manahan - Idaho Statesman [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Forced to work? 60000 undocumented immigrants may sue detention center - Christian Science Monitor [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Dressing for a Funeral - Sojourners [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2017]
- The Confederacy was a con job on whites. And still is. - News & Observer [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2017]
- Slavery 'lieutenant' jailed for 'heinous offences' - Bradford Telegraph and Argus [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- VIDEO: Street cleaners fight for London Living Wage from Continental Landscapes - Your Local Guardian [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- VIDEO: Street cleaners fight for London Living Wage from ... - Wandsworth Guardian [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Restaurant-backed campaign enters minimum wage debate - Southwest Journal [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Erica Armstrong Dunbar Talks Never Caught, the True Story of George Washington's Runaway Slave - Paste Magazine [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Role of servers' tips fires up Minneapolis debate over $15-an-hour ... - Minneapolis Star Tribune [Last Updated On: March 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 5th, 2017]
- Wake Up Call: Harvard Confronts Slavery Ties After Law Students Protest - Bloomberg Big Law Business [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2017]
- Fountain pen prices 'write' out there - Sault Star [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2017]
- How the Confederacy conned Southern whites. And why some still fall for it today. - The Sun Herald [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2017]
- Wage labour - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2017]
- the fire this time. . . . - Frost Illustrated [Last Updated On: March 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 7th, 2017]
- The Confederacy was a con job on whites. And still is. - McClatchy Washington Bureau [Last Updated On: March 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 7th, 2017]
- Wash Post: At Least 60000 Immigrants Were Forced to Work for $1 or Less Per Day - Newsmax [Last Updated On: March 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 7th, 2017]
- Ben Carson Says Slaves In America Were Just Low Wage Immigrants - The Ring of Fire Network [Last Updated On: March 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 7th, 2017]
- Italian Nationalists Vent Fury Following Migrant Camp Fire - Breitbart News [Last Updated On: March 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 8th, 2017]
- ICE Private Prison Facing Lawsuit For Ignoring Anti-Slavery Law - Care2.com [Last Updated On: March 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 9th, 2017]
- Reese vs. Nicole vs. Bette vs. Joan? It's Not Too Early to Get Psyched for Best Actress at the Emmys - Decider [Last Updated On: March 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 9th, 2017]
- Thinking about women Sri Lanka Guardian - Sri Lanka Guardian [Last Updated On: March 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 9th, 2017]
- Child labor in Seattle: Mexican girl kept in near slavery - seattlepi.com [Last Updated On: March 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 9th, 2017]
- 10 Ways American Crime Season 3 Exposes Modern Slavery - Rotten Tomatoes [Last Updated On: March 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 10th, 2017]
- Daily Reads: Trump Fills Government with Lobbyists; It's Been a Hot Winter, Blame Climate Change - BillMoyers.com [Last Updated On: March 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 10th, 2017]
- How a Mini-Retirement Brought Meaning to My Life - Entrepreneur [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- Readers sound off on slavery, the CIA and Mike Francesa - New York Daily News [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- Gumtree pulls 'slave labour' domestic worker advert - Times LIVE [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- Capitalist Globalization of Labor is Modern Colonialism - Truth-Out [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- Raped, beaten, exploited: the 21st-century slavery propping up Sicilian farming - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 12th, 2017]
- Globalization Is Just a Contemporary Word for Financial Colonialism - Truth-Out [Last Updated On: March 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 12th, 2017]
- The pursuit of happiness - The Stringer [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2017]
- Community Voice: Straddling a line so fine it's nonexistent - The Bakersfield Californian [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2017]
- Ted Kennedy Jr. Proposes a State Bill That Would MANDATE Organ Harvesting - MRCTV (blog) [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2017]
- Who would replace immigrant workers? | Tim Rowland ... - Herald-Mail Media [Last Updated On: March 19th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 19th, 2017]
- We must all stand up to the world's richest nation and oppose its use ... - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 19th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 19th, 2017]
- The curious origins of the 'Irish slaves' myth - KERA News [Last Updated On: March 19th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 19th, 2017]
- The curious origins of the 'Irish slaves' myth | Public Radio ... - PRI [Last Updated On: March 19th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 19th, 2017]
- Cohen: Trump budget hurts African-Americans - The Commercial Appeal [Last Updated On: March 19th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 19th, 2017]
- Theresa May WILL back gig economy workers' rights changes, sources say - Business Grapevine [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2017]
- PPP rallies supporters in sugar belt to struggle against closure of estates - Demerara Waves [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2017]
- Theresa May to back radical overhaul of workers' rights - The Week UK [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2017]
- PM backs plans to overhaul workers' rights to reflect gig ecomomy ... - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2017]
- Important HR changes from 1st April - HR News (press release) (registration) (blog) [Last Updated On: March 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 23rd, 2017]