Liberalism in the Jungle

The untold story of how liberal reform, Indigenous resistance, and the rubber trade transformed Ecuador's Amazon.Ecuador's 1895 Liberal Revolution was a turning point for the nation. Along with crippling the power of the Catholic Church, the new Liberal government expanded the ranks of political participation, spearheaded projects to soften endemic regionalism, integrated the national economy into global markets through an export-oriented economic strategy, and launched a program of "Indian Redemption" aimed at "civilizing" what elites deemed as the "backward" Indigenous masses. The cacao economy was essential to the Liberal state reform, as it facilitated infrastructure modernizatoin and the ability to provide unprecedented public goods and services.East of the Andes, the Liberal state launched the first attempt to incorporate the Amazonian frontier (the "Oriente") and expand state power into the region. But, as Matthew Ford shows, a very different global commodity was transforming the Oriente. Unlike most economic booms, the global demand for rubber debilitated state efforts in the region. Liberalism in the Jungle traces how local, national, and global forces shaped the contours of Liberal efforts in the Amazon. By the end, readers will understand how the region transformed from an isolated outpost to the heart of the national economy and home to one of the world's most powerful social movements.