Abstract

MURILLO, Diana Carolina  and  SACHER, William. New territorialities against the mega-mining: the case of the Junin’s Comunity Reserve. Letras Verdes [online]. 2017, n.22, pp.46-70. ISSN 1390-6631.  https://doi.org/10.17141/letrasverdes.22.2017.2727.

In this article we study a social conflict case related to a large-scale mining project in Ecuador (in the so-called Intag area), from a mixed critical geography and political ecology perspective. We intend to address to what extent this two-decades-long conflict ledto significant changes in the territorialities in the area. We interpret the creation of the Junin’s Comunity Reserve as a re-territorialization process, led by surrounding communities, threatenedby the territoriality that try to impose transnational “megamining” capitals. The study evidences the relevance of the concept of“de-re-territorialization”coined by Haesbaert. We think that it also shows that, in thecontext of an accelerated conversion of Latin American territories to the logic of transnational capital, the sequential dynamics“des-“ and then “re-“territorialization by a national or transnational actor is not systematic. It indicates instead, that this conversion is a contradictory process in which antagonistic territorialities are embodied.

Keywords : Ecuador; mega mining; social conflicts; territoriality.

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