El estado ecuatoriano a mediados del s. XXel censo, la población y la familia

Abstract

The 1950 census of Ecuador, sponsored by the Interamerican system, introduced a new mode in the administration of populations; it was seen as the source of information needed to predict the behaviour of indigenous groups and for planning state interventions. The process, nevertheless, revealed two interesting effects: on the one hand, the gradual reduction of social relations in political and academic discourse and, on the other, the incapacity of predicting indigenous behaviour. Thus, while the census of the period supported the design of new models of state intervention directed at the well-being of indigenous groups, the Ecuadorian state was compelled to undertake ethnographic and local studies and negotiate with the indigenous population the implementation of its programmes of community development.