Abstract

MAGAZINE, Roger; MARTINEZ, Samuel  and  RAMIREZ, Jacques. Mexico and Ecuador: two different forms of nation building through football (soccer). Convergencia [online]. 2011, vol.18, n.56, pp.181-213. ISSN 2448-5799.

In this article we employ a comparison between Ecuador and Mexico to explore the relationship between the configuration of rivalries among football teams at national level and the spatial distribution of power among regions and cities. In the Mexican case, the pattern of rivalries is inseparable from a powerful political and economic centralism; while in the Ecuadorian case, the configuration is closely linked to the enduring struggle for economic and political predominance between the cities of Quito and Guayaquil. We propose that attention to football rivalries can reveal how a segment of the population views, criticizes and reformulates the position of its city or region in relation to others and to the nation, thereby contributing a commentary "from below" on the ongoing nation-building process.

Keywords : football supporters; identity; rivalry; religion; centralism; Mexico; Ecuador.

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