Territorial planning, a valuation from the prospects of endogenous rural development in the case of the Malacatos parish, of the canton Loja.

Abstract

Introduction.  Endogenous development emerges as an alternative to traditional development approaches, to incorporate above all a participatory and territorial vision, which goes beyond purely agrarian perspectives and introduces social, environmental, political, economic, institutional connotations, etc.  It promotes the search for "progress" based on the assessments and interests of the key actors in the territory and making use of the material and immaterial resources of each locality.  Objective.  To determine the use of endogenous resources for rural development, which were considered in the territorial planning of the Malacatos parish in the period 2014 - 2019. Methodology. The research design was qualitative, with a descriptive-analytical scope, developed under a case study in the rural Malacatos parish.  Semi-structured interviews were applied to the presidents of the local government of the parish, both from the study period and from the current administration; and, to key territorial actors; Likewise, a documentary review of their study period planning instrument was carried out, based on a standardized assessment matrix.  Results.  The main results show that the parish has the cultivation of sugar cane and tourist activity, as determining endogenous resources and potentialities, however, the territorial planning of the period 2014 - 2019 did not manage to fully focus its interventions on the use of these key elements.  Aspects such as the legal competencies of the local government, the low level of associativity of the population, the dispersion of the participatory process and the intervention priorities due to the lack of definition of a comprehensive development model, were some of the variables that contributed in this regard. Conclusion.  The territorial planning 2014 - 2019 of Malacatos has some important characteristics to be a generator of endogenous development, however, it has not been able to fully take advantage of the territory's own / identity resources for this purpose.