La política petrolera en el gobierno de la revolución ciudadana: El caso del Campo Sacha

Reviewed by Michael Gold-Biss, Political Science Faculty, North Hennepin Community College on 12/18/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

The study aims to cover oil policy in Ecuador from 1972 to the early 2020s. In this regard, it offers a chronologically comprehensive overview of oil policies ranging from exploration to extraction and commercialization, if in a limited manner. This is partly due to the approach taken, which is mostly descriptive, and partly due to the methodological limitations that come from not going very far beyond a brief description of policy and cause and effect, without accounting for broader political, economic, and social contexts, both nationally and internationally. Since the presentation is more akin to a research paper (size of font and not especially professional formatting there is a clash between the information and how it is conveyed that is complemented by a lack of an index and glossary. It is written in Spanish and thus has inherent access limitations for some.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

For those knowledgeable of Ecuador's troubled natural resources, but especially oil policy, the book will offer few surprises, though it does incorporate many references useful to a detailed study of a nation afflicted by what some have called the Natural Resource Curse. It would not be fair to say that it is biased as such, but there is a tendency to be critical of oil exploration at the expense of environmental degradation. A minor caveat would be that as early as 1972 the awareness of environmental issues was not as widespread as it was in the late 2010s when the work was undertaken. As the material is drawn from original sources, including interviews, a certain degree of trust is placed in the author's effort to provide a degree of inclusiveness in terms of the sources used and the information provided, as well as how it is presented. Nevertheless, it would also not be appropriate to claim that the book comes from a reasonably centered approach with a balanced evaluation, especially in light of the strongly supportive environmental issues conclusion.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The book is somewhat narrow in focus as it is a case stud of a case study. That this it considers Ecuador and within Ecuador the oil industry, especially exploration (and within exploration a great deal of focus on contracts). This, however, maybe a rich resource for someone interested in considering a broader study of Ecuador as it has some idiosyncratic environmental and oil policies and is also one among other Latin American oil exploring and producing states. It is very important, however, to keep in mind that the scope is limited and the time period covered is also somewhat unique as it included a reform-oriented government willing to take some drastic and dramatic measures in terms of public policy that were not followed by other governments n Ecuador and also in the region. So as a case study it has value, but as a broad study, it is limited. The book as such cannot be updated unless a totally new section is added that follows up on the results of what has been explored during the two decades covered in the narrative.

Clarity rating: 4

The book is clear in part because it is written at almost a graduate level. It certainly looks like a research paper that has been expanded into a book. While there is nothing wrong with that, the format has not been adjusted and therefore it is really shorter than it seems and elaborates less than it promises. The use of larger fonts, along with non-professional monograph graphics, at a time when self-publication is relatively easy, makes some cosmetic value from the content. Not to be too harsh, the material could have been a research paper and less of a monograph. This is emphasized here because the language used is relatively free of jargon, which is an asset but also demonstrates a limited use of theoretical literature to ground the study in a wider literature of similar cases.

Consistency rating: 4

The book is indeed consistent. The format and content are both uniform and belong very much together. It is clear that this is one piece of work. The issue of form has been raised above. So has the issue of content and that is of course, somewhat more troubling. It is perhaps not up to the standards of a University press publication but would meet mass market standards in the region. If that is acceptable, and one considers the merits of the information it adds to the knowledge of Ecuador and the oil industry in Ecuador then it would be a fair asset as a monograph with some limitations of form, and certainly would have had to undergo some revisions before publication at a conventional university press.

Modularity rating: 3

The text can be assigned in modules, but it is so slim that the modules really can be assigned together. It is also the case that with few exceptions the modules do not necessarily make much sense outside of the general context as they are tightly woven together into a case-study whole. In some instances, this text would actually be one of many readings assigned for a seminar, for example on oil policies in particular countries. Structurally, the way the content is developed lacks sufficient theoretical development to truly segment the text.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The text is presented well in terms of a chronological and sequential order that makes sense as it traces the evolution of oil policy in Ecuador over two decades. This is an asset, but as discussed above, it is also a rather short volume. There are a few asides on particularly important laws that are well placed. In general, it is a well-planned and developed case study. There is also clear evidence that the knowledge of the case is thorough and in-depth and well developed and presented.

Interface rating: 3

Because the text appears to be presented almost in a direct word processor format, including charts, it reads like a research paper and that distracts from its nature as a text. It is not only a matter of forcing a quick movement between pages and search for references, it is also a question of "seeming" unprofessional at a time when almost any word processing software has fonts and templates that mimic the book format. It is an unfortunate element of the presentation that seriously detracts from the smooth reading of the material (especially charts).

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

Most of the material is grammatically correct, with some minor issues that arise from the word processing format used in the form of word-splitting and accents (as it is written in Spanish that uses them). These are very, very minor issues.

Cultural Relevance rating: 1

In no way is this text culturally offensive or insensitive. It is a case study of a country outside of the United States: Ecuador. It treats Ecuador (including the indigenous reality) with care, and is something that most US readers would not be able to judge unless they had lived (not visited Ecuador) or Latin America. This a good question, but not one that can be answered with much certainty for the general audience of this book in the US. Even if an Indigenous Peoples audience would be able to access it in a translated manner the context would be absolutely foreign to them. The reviewer is Colombian and allows oneself to make this statement based on having grown up and lived in a neighboring country with great knowledge of Ecuador itself. Even so, it is a cautious assessment.