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Abstract
This article analyzes small-scale smuggling along Ecuador’s northern border as a subsistence economic practice and a form of collective action under conditions of structural exclusion. Based on an ethnographic case study of the collective “Unidos por un mismo objetivo,” formed by border traders in the city of Tulcán after the killing of a woman trader in 2018, the study examines organizational repertoires, strategies of negotiation with the State, and disputes over legality and illegality. The research adopts a qualitative ethnographic approach, including semi-structured interviews, life histories, participant observation, and documentary analysis. Findings show that small-scale smuggling cannot be understood solely from a legal-punitive perspective, but rather as part of processes of popular globalization that reveal the porous nature of the State and the production of norms from the margins.
References
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