The role of agroindustrial space in the social determination of health: A perspective from the ecuadorian south coast

Abstract

The banana agroindustry occupies areas in the alluvial plains of the Ecuadorian coast, which have been consolidated in the central and southern parts of the country. Ecuador entered the global banana market at the beginning of the 20th century with the arrival of United Fruit. The research focuses on the southern coast; the analysis and reflection is based on the categories of space and territory, from critical geography, and on the social determination of health, from critical epidemiology. The method of approach is dialectical and geohistory is used as a methodological theoretical tool that allows articulating space, time and society. This article is part of my doctoral research, presented to the Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar in November 2021. The research concludes that the unhealthy metabolisms of the banana agroindustry socially determine the ways of living, getting sick and dying of individuals and social subjects settled in these spaces.