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This article traces the institutionalization process of the popular and solidarity economy (EPS) in Ecuador. Through a historical perspective, we present the four institutional paths that led to political recognition of EPS initiatives as well as their entry into public policies. We show that EPS institutionalization is the result of relations of mutual influence among different categories of actors: organizations, intermediary structures and public authorities. The analysis also highlights the mode of political embeddedness of each institutional path, and the tensions and challenges that organizations are facing in the current institutional framework.