Historia de las carreteras del Ecuador, 1930-1960: Infraestructura y políticas de transportes

Abstract

This article studies road infrastructure and the effects of transportation policies adopted in Ecuador between 1930 and 1960. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Ecuadorian economy was characterized by mono-exports and a significant lack of integration of the internal market. The compilation and systematization of thirty years of information allows us to argue that Ecuador did not overcome its problems as a mono-exporting country in the period under study. However, the problem of integration was addressed with the construction of highways. The pattern of low demand for transportation infrastructure that characterized Ecuador since the beginning of the republican period was reversed. There was a positive relationship between road construction and economic development, although the relationship was not free of paradoxes. Additionally, the implementation of different types of transport policies over time influenced the state and institutional development. The implementation of road plans eventually stimulated the emergence of new elites related to the road construction and automobile trade.