The extractive imperative in Latin America

Abstract

One of the main features of contemporary development politics in Latin America is the prominent role of the state. Another feature is the intensification of natural resource extraction. This extractivist drive is especially pronounced in the countries that are part of the 'turn to the left', which have at the same time played host to alternative development approaches. While Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador have become emblematic of these processes, their impact can be felt across much of the region. These changes have emerged within a particular context in which the electoral successes of the leaders in power have been underwritten by promises to eradicate what has been seen as the two cardinal sins of neoliberal policies: poverty and inequality. Eschewing aggressive redistribution, they have sought to achieve redistributive extractivism accompanied with largely expanded expenditure for social policies. An 'extractive imperative' was thus borne as natural resource extraction came to be seen simultaneously as sources of income and employment generation and financing for increased social policy expenditure. According to this imperative, extraction needs to continue and expand regardless of prevailing circumstances, with the state playing a leading role and capturing a large share of the ensuing revenues.

Agrarian social movements: The absurdly difficult but not impossible agenda of defeating right‐wing populism and exploring a socialist future

“…Fourth, populism oscillates between rhetoric and reality , that is, “populism in word” and “populism in deed.” Many of the neoextractivist left‐wing regimes in the Latin American “pink tide” governments veered towards populism in deed, at least partially. One of the defining features of these regimes has been the adaptation of extractivist neoliberal capitalism with accompanying distributive social reforms, such as cash transfer schemes and food distribution programmes carried out by governments under the leadership of Lula and Dilma in Brazil, Morales in Bolivia, and Correa in Ecuador—at times under creative populist banners such as buen vivir , or indeed, “food sovereignty” (see Arsel, Hogenboom, & Pellegrini, ; Chappell, ; Gudynas, ; Veltmeyer & Petras, ; Vergara‐Camus & Kay, ). Many of these reforms are now under threat from a resurgent right in the region.…”

Grassroots Innovation Using Drones for Indigenous Mapping and Monitoring

“…This exercise was conducted to document the presence of several large faces carved in rocks who represent ancestors and are sacred sites for this indigenous society, but are threatened by oil exploration activities 11 . 7 A short film that documents the workshop can be seen at: https://vimeo.com/114816953 8 Results can be seen at https://vimeo.com/109484074 9 More information can be read at: http://www.equatorinitiative.org/2017/05/29/south-central-peoples-developmentassociation/ 10 The final article can be read here (in Spanish): http://arkaksacha.org/reportajes/blog/2016/09/28/La-mujer-que-dibujamapas-para-defender-la-selva.html 11 A short film on the issue can be watched at http://ifnotusthenwho.me/films/sacred-site-oil-exploration/ Appendix A.4. Emberá-Wounan Territory: Emberá-Wounaan, Panama (August 2015)…”

“…Results of a drone-derived 3D model of the Sholinab village can be seen online 8 . The Wapichana were awarded the UNDP Equator Prize in 2015 for their environmental monitoring efforts 9 , which were particularly innovative because of their utilization of self-made drones. The workshop was led by Jaime Paneque-Gálvez (CIGA-UNAM).…”

“…Different forms of land grabbing are exacerbating this concentration, often at the expense of indigenous peoples, who may be forcibly evicted from their territories following land deals [6][7][8]. The extractive imperative in the region [9] tends to clash with indigenous territorial rights as concessions often intrude on their territories [10], and the social and environmental liabilities of these industries are largely ignored to the detriment of indigenous peoples who may then organize Land 2017, 6, 86 3 of 25 potential utilization of this novel technology to encourage grassroots innovations in the realms of territorial defense and environmental justice, which we posit are key under the present circumstances in the entire region. It is likewise significant for environmentalists and society as a whole given the importance of indigenous territories as biocultural diversity reservoirs [50] and their fundamental role in conservation and climate change mitigation [51][52][53][54].…”

Conserving Tropical Forests: Can Sustainable Livelihoods Outperform Artisanal or Informal Mining?

“…In order to assess whether an individual actor in the study site could pursue economic interests with less negative impacts on the surrounding forest landscape, we compare actual and potential incomes from existing alternative value chains associated with forest-friendly economic activities, with the aim of debunking the myth that forest destructive livelihoods are always more lucrative [20]. Current literature has primarily focused on payments for ecosystem services (PES) for reforestation or prevention of deforestation.…”