Gendered austerity and embodied debt in Ecuador: channels through which women absorb and resist the shocks of public budget cuts

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the dynamics and implications of gendered austerity in Ecuador in the context of the fiscal consolidation framework recommended in the country's International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme, through three channels. First, that of the public health sector and the experiences of women public health workers. Second, that of unpaid care work and significant augmentations in home-based health care of family members as well as education support. And third, increases in consumer debt incurred by women through extractive short-term lenders. To illustrate the lived experiences of women, interviews were conducted with a leader of a nurses' union in the capital city of Quito and results collected from external published focus group surveys with women engaged in unpaid and paid care work as well as in community savings organizations. Two key theoretical frameworks are employed within feminist political economy. First, the social provisioning approach, where economic activity encompasses unpaid and paid work, human well-being is the yardstick of economic success, and power inequities, agency and economic outcomes are shaped by gender. Second, the literature on gender, care work and macroeconomics which articulates a reorientation of fiscal policy from expenditure control to investment in publicly funded social services in order to achieve gender equality, protect women's human rights as well as create fiscal space.

Cet article examine la dynamique et les implications de l'austérité genrée en Équateur dans le contexte du cadre d'assainissement budgétaire recommandé dans le programme de prêts du Fonds monétaire international (FMI) pour le pays, ce par trois voies. Tout d'abord, celle du secteur de la santé publique et des expériences des travailleuses de ce secteur. Deuxièmement, celle du travail de soins non rémunéré et de l'intensification considérable des soins de santé à domicile dispensés aux membres de la famille, ainsi que du soutien en matière d'éducation. Et troisièmement, l'endettement des consommateurs de sexe féminin causé par les prêteurs abusifs à court terme. Pour illustrer les expériences vécues des femmes, des entretiens ont été menés avec le leader d'un syndicat d'infirmiers dans la capitale, Quito, et les résultats ont été recueillis à partir d'enquêtes externes publiées menées auprès de groupes de réflexion avec des femmes prenant part à du travail rémunéré et non rémunéré, ainsi que des organisations d'épargne communautaires. Deux cadres théoriques clés sont utilisés dans le cadre de l'économie politique féministe. En premier lieu, l'approche des services de protection sociale, dans laquelle l'activité économique englobe le travail rémunéré et non rémunéré, le bien-être humain est le critère de succès économique, et les iniquités de pouvoir, le libre-arbitre et les résultats économiques sont influencés par le genre. Deuxièmement, la littérature sur le genre, le travail de soins et les aspects macroéconomiques, qui évoque une réorientation des politiques fiscales, du contrôle des dépenses vers des investissements dans des services sociaux financés par les organismes publics, afin de parvenir à l'égalité des genres, de protéger les droits de la femme et de créer un espace fiscal.

Este artículo examina la dinámica y las implicaciones que supone la austeridad condicionada por el género en Ecuador en el contexto de la consolidación fiscal recomendada por el programa de préstamos del Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI) para el país. Dicha dinámica se revela a través de tres fuentes. Primero, la del sector de la salud pública y las vivencias de las trabajadoras de este sector. Segundo, la del trabajo de cuidados no remunerado y el aumento significativo de la atención de salud brindada en el domicilio a integrantes de la familia, aunados al apoyo proporcionado en materia de educación. En tercer lugar, la del aumento de la deuda de consumo contraída por mujeres a través de prestamistas usureros a corto plazo. Para ilustrar las vivencias experimentadas por las mujeres, se realizaron varias entrevistas con la dirigente de un sindicato de enfermeras con sede en Quito; asimismo, se recopilaron los resultados de encuestas, publicadas externamente, realizadas entre grupos focales integrados por mujeres dedicadas al trabajo de cuidados no remunerado y remunerado; y se hicieron investigaciones en organizaciones de ahorro comunitario. Para su análisis se emplearon dos marcos teóricos clave provenientes del ámbito de la economía política feminista. En primer lugar, el enfoque del aprovisionamiento social, en el que la actividad económica abarca el trabajo no remunerado y el remunerado; el bienestar humano es la medida del éxito económico y las desigualdades de poder, la agencia y los resultados económicos están determinados por el género. En segundo lugar, la literatura sobre género, trabajo de cuidados y macroeconomía, que articula una reorientación de la política fiscal desde el control del gasto dirigido a la inversión en servicios sociales financiados con fondos públicos, con el fin de lograr la igualdad de género, proteger los derechos humanos de las mujeres y crear un espacio fiscal.

KEYWORDS:

• Gendered austerity
• macroeconomics
• fiscal policy
• fiscal consolidation
• debt
• International Monetary Fund
• public health
• health workers
• unpaid care work
• consumer debt
• debt sustainability assessment
• social provisioning
• COVID

Acknowledgements

To women in Ecuador and across the global South who are on the front lines of the pandemic and endure violations to their economic and social rights as a result of economic austerity ideology and policy. Yet, they continue to resist and create a feminist future of justice, dignity, and agency. A special thanks to Patricia Calderón, economist, nurse, union leader, and worker representative, whose strength and ethics of care inspires us in the fight for a just and feminist economic system.

Notes

1 Intersectionality, as articulated by Crenshaw (2017), is a lens through which you can see where power comes and collides, where it interlocks and intersects. An intersectional understanding, therefore, considers multiple, interlocking, and intersecting dimensions of marginality, oppression, otherness, and inequality, such as, for example, race, ethnicity, caste, gender including gender identity, class, disability, age, sexual orientation, and occupation.

2 ILO (2012) defines precarious work as ‘work performed in the formal and informal economy, characterized by variable levels and degrees of objective (legal status) and subjective (feeling) characteristics of uncertainty and insecurity’. It is usually defined by uncertainty as to the duration of employment, multiple possible employers, or a disguised or ambiguous employment relationship, a lack of access to social protection and benefits usually associated with employment, low pay, a shifting of risks and responsibilities from employer to workers, and substantial legal and practical obstacles to joining a trade union and bargaining collectively.

3 Dollarisation creates vulnerabilities in the Ecuadorian economy due to the inability of the government to use exchange rates as a tool to make its exports more competitive in the global market. Therefore, the country has no choice but to rely on policies that allow for internal devaluation, which implies reducing government spending, particularly through the public wage bill that employs public-sector workers, as well as reducing wages and prices, deregulating labour laws, and liberalising the financial and trade sectors in order to enforce external adjustment in the economy.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Bhumika Muchhala

Bhumika Muchhala is an advocate, researcher, and scholar-activist on the international financial architecture and global economic justice, feminist economics, and decolonial theory and praxis. She co-ordinates economic justice advocacy and research initiatives at the Third World Network and is working on a PhD in decolonial political economy at The New School. Postal address: 507 E 4th St, Brooklyn, NY 11218 USA. Email: [email protected]

Andrea Guillem

Andrea Guillem is a progressive feminist advocate and activist who is engaged in research, campaigns, and advocacy on austerity, tax justice, and women's rights. She is a policy co-ordinator at the Ecuadorian Center of Economics and Social Rights (CDES ECUADOR) where she directs gender projects for economic autonomy. Email: [email protected]