The dissertation presents a discussion on the consequences of the state’s developmental endeavor in Ecuador during the last half-century. The diachronic comparative approach of two oil booms, 1) 1972-1980, and 2) 2003-2014, shows continuities and ruptures in the state’s capacity to intervene in the national development process. State’s struggle with multinational oil companies for the appropriation of a larger portion of oil rent became the milestone of the first Ecuadorian oil boom. Since then, oil rent has been central to capitalist modernization. Environmental thinking and social environmental awareness were deeply entrenched in the sociopolitical arena during the second Ecuadorian oil boom and decisively contributed to expose the flaws of the prevalent natural resources-based development model.