Unfinished extinction and the velocities of capitalist sacrifices in the woodlands of central Chile

Gálvez, Marcelo González; Gallegos, Fernanda; Turén, Valentina

doi:10.1080/25729861.2021.1939491

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 26 publications

(13 reference statements)

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“…Already in early January the hectares burnt by fires had overcome the average of a normal fire season in Chile (57,000 ha), spreading at record speed. An emblematic event was the burning of Santa Olga, a logging town of 1200 houses and 5000 inhabitants that was completely scorched to the ground in seven hours (González Gálvez et al, 2021). This event was particularly dramatic, as the authorities knew days in advance that the town was likely to burn and had no hope of being saved.…”

Section: Politicization Of Disasters and The 2017 Forest Firesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The 2017 fires in Chile captured the public imagination and caused controversy in at least four areas: first, concerning the anthropic causes of fires (González et al, 2020) and those responsible for starting them – electricity transmission companies, arson, controlled burns gone wrong, forestry firms expecting to claim insurances (González Galvez et al, 2021); second, concerning the human drama and the magnitude of the damage, with 14 dead and hundreds of houses, entire towns and thousands of hectares of forest burned; third, on the capacity of Michelle Bachelet's government (2014–2018) to control the fires and the political disputes between the opposition and the government over disaster management; and fourth, concerning the international planes that were sent to Chile to help fight the fires – e.g. Supertanker, Ilyushin, Air Tractor.…”

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confidence: 99%

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‘Supertanker is a Hero, the Government a Villain’: Politicization of Chile’s 2017 Forest Fires in the Media

Undurraga

2022

Cultural Sociology

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This article analyses the politicization of natural disasters in the media and the narratives of crisis that contribute to these dynamics. In particular, it studies media coverage of the 2017 mega-fires in Chile and the way in which this coverage was framed by pre-existing political disputes over the performance of Michelle Bachelet’s government (2014–2018). It examines the print press coverage of the mega-fires, and the framing contests used to interpret the fire crisis. It pays special attention to the controversies that erupted over the foreign planes that were sent to help fight the fires: the American Supertanker and the Russian Ilyushin. We argue that press coverage of the mega-fires transformed a natural-social phenomenon into an emotionally charged political drama in which the Supertanker airplane was signified as the hero, and the Chilean government the villain. The Supertanker played a condensation symbol role. It was cast in the media as an external hero promising to control the fires that had overwhelmed local capabilities, and to overcome a government that was portrayed as inefficient and late to respond. The media functioned as an echo chamber for the cultural battle between the government and opposition. This article contributes to a cultural sociology of disasters, paying special attention to the role played by the symbolic representation of nature and socio-technical artefacts in political disputes.

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Section: Politicization Of Disasters and The 2017 Forest Firesmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Supertanker is a Hero, the Government a Villain’: Politicization of Chile’s 2017 Forest Fires in the Media

Undurraga

2022

Cultural Sociology

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“…Aid was swiftly channeled into Santa Olga. Santaolguinos soon realized that their vulnerable condition gave them political leverage (González Gálvez et al , forthcoming). Neighbor organizations acquired unprecedented relevance.…”

Section: Interruption #4 – Vulnerability: Ambivalencementioning

confidence: 99%

Interruptions: imagining an analytical otherwise for disaster studies in Latin America

Tironi

Campos-Knothe

Acuña

et al. 2021

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PurposeBased on the research, the authors identify how four key concepts in disaster studies—agency, local scale, memory and vulnerability—are interrupted, and how these interruptions offer new perspectives for doing disaster research from and for the South.Design/methodology/approachMeta-analysis of case studies and revision of past and current collaborations of authors with communities across Chile.FindingsThe findings suggest that agency, local scale, memory and vulnerability, as fundamental concepts for disaster risk reduction (DRR) theory and practice, need to allow for ambivalences, ironies, granularization and further materializations. The authors identify these characteristics as the conditions that emerge when doing disaster research from within the disaster itself, perhaps the critical condition of what is usually known as the South.Originality/valueThe authors contribute to a reflexive assessment of fundamental concepts for critical disaster studies. The authors offer research-based and empirically rich redefinitions of these concepts. The authors also offer a novel understanding of the political and epistemological conditions of the “South” as both a geography and a project.

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Modeling the Ignition Risk: Analysis before and after Megafire on Maule Region, Chile

et al. 2022

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Wildland fires are a phenomenon of broad interest due to their relationship with climate change. The impacts of climate change are related to a greater frequency and intensity of wildland fires. In this context, megafires have become a phenomenon of particular concern. In this study, we develop a model of ignition risk. We use factors such as human activity, geographic, topographic, and land cover variables to develop a bagged decision tree model. The study area corresponds to the Maule region in Chile, a large zone with a Mediterranean climate. This area was affected by a megafire in 2017. After generating the model, we compared three interface zones, analyzing the scar and the occurrences of ignition during and after the megafire. For the construction of georeferenced data, we used the geographic information system QGIS. The results show a model with high fit goodness that can be replicated in other areas. Fewer ignitions are observed after the megafire, a high recovery of urban infrastructure, and a slow recovery of forest plantations. It is feasible to interpret that the lower number of ignitions observed in the 2019–2020 season is a consequence of the megafire scar. It is crucial to remember that the risk of ignition will increase as forest crops recover. Wildland fire management requires integrating this information into decision-making processes if we consider that the impacts of climate change persist in the area.

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Unfinished extinction and the velocities of capitalist sacrifices in the woodlands of central Chile

Cited by 4 publications

References 26 publications

‘Supertanker is a Hero, the Government a Villain’: Politicization of Chile’s 2017 Forest Fires in the Media

‘Supertanker is a Hero, the Government a Villain’: Politicization of Chile’s 2017 Forest Fires in the Media

Interruptions: imagining an analytical otherwise for disaster studies in Latin America

Modeling the Ignition Risk: Analysis before and after Megafire on Maule Region, Chile

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