Around the globe, millions of people have experienced suffering and death related to COVID-19, an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV2 virus. In Ecuador,the painful impact of the pandemic elicited early responses by the government and by local communities. This critical, positioned and exploratory case study analyses such responses, underscoring the fundamental ethical–political dimension of any academic and professional praxis aimed at the construction of healthier societies worldwide. While critical traditions are familiar with this stance, the inequalities and ideological mechanisms made visible by COVID-19 responses may enable the wider community of researchers and practitioners to join ongoing collective ethical–political efforts. Findings from Ecuador underline the potentially harmful role of neoliberalism and issues of democratic legitimacy, significant problems before and during the pandemic shock, and official discourses, which blame communities for their own suffering and death. Neutrality and depoliticized notions of scientific evidence are notoriously insufficient in these scenarios. We need to engage more deeply with diverse forms of global and local community resistance, in times of COVID-19, and beyond. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

中文翻译：

---

社会和社区实践的伦理政治维度：以厄瓜多尔对 COVID-19 的早期反应为例


在全球范围内，数百万人经历了与 COVID-19（一种由 SARS-CoV2 病毒引起的传染病）相关的痛苦和死亡。在厄瓜多尔，大流行的痛苦影响引起了政府和当地社区的早期反应。这项批判性、定位性和探索性的案例研究分析了这些反应，强调了旨在在全球范围内建设更健康社会的任何学术和专业实践的基本伦理政治维度。虽然批评传统熟悉这种立场，但 COVID-19 应对措施所暴露的不平等和意识形态机制可能使更广泛的研究人员和从业者群体能够加入正在进行的集体伦理政治努力。厄瓜多尔的调查结果强调了新自由主义的潜在有害作用和民主合法性问题、大流行冲击之前和期间的重大问题以及将自己的痛苦和死亡归咎于社区的官方言论。众所周知，在这些情况下，科学证据的中立性和非政治化概念是不够的。在新冠肺炎 (COVID-19) 疫情期间及以后，我们需要更深入地参与各种形式的全球和当地社区抵抗运动。请参阅补充材料部分以查找本文的社区和社会影响声明。