Abstract
The last decade has witnessed the proliferation of socio-environmental conflicts across Chile, characterized by the resistance of local communities against extractive and industrial projects. Increasingly, these conflicts have revealed the multiple injustices experienced by communities living in sacrifice zones. A sacrifice zone can be defined as a segregated place where the quality of life of its communities is compromised in the name of progress and capital accumulation. By focusing on socio-environmental struggles taking place in Quintero-Puchuncaví Bay, Coronel Bay, and Hualpén-Talcahuano Bay, three highly polluted and industrialized areas in Chile, this article explores the views and practices developed by grassroots activists in their quest for resisting and moving beyond the capitalist and extractivist model of development. By conducting a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 32 socio-environmental activists, this qualitative study provides a detailed account of how they understand a sacrifice zone and resist in these areas. Furthermore, it describes alternatives to capitalist and extractivist development envisioned and enacted by grassroots movements, expanding on the notions of territorial sovereignty and “buen vivir”.
Highlights
In the last decade, a growing number of socio-environmental conflicts have spread across Chile, opening up the debate about the deep inequalities observed both in the access and control of thenatural commons [1] and in the distribution of the damages triggered by ecological degradation
We focus on the empirical findings have been divided into three main sub-sections: (1) sacrifice zones and the critiqu tractivist development, (2) collective strategies of resistance, and (3) territorial sove and “buen vivir” as alternatives to extractivist development
To understand understand the the views views and and practices practices developed developed by by grassroots grassroots movements movements to to tackle tackle the current model of development and the proliferation of sacrifice zones, the empirical the current model of development and the proliferation of sacrifice zones, the empirical findings findings have have been been divided divided into into three three main main sections: sections: (1)
Summary
A growing number of socio-environmental conflicts have spread across Chile, opening up the debate about the deep inequalities observed both in the access and control of thenatural commons [1] and in the distribution of the damages triggered by ecological degradation. American countries, where local communities have systematically resisted the proliferation of extractive industries, investments in the energy sectors, infrastructure and real estate, and the privatization of their territories and land. Chile and their views and strategies to move beyond extractivisms and toxic industrial complexes. How do these local movements understand a Recently, the outbreak of environmental conflicts throughout. These arethe theregion questions vored social movement approaches to understand these conflicts Such that we traditional address in this article. We present the theoretical background and methodology used in this research followed by an Fram case of the Resource Mobilization Theory [15] and the Political Opportunities overview of the three areas studied.
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