Latin American states and the extractivist imperative: continuity and change

Abstract

Henry Veltmeyer and James Petras The New Extractivism: A Post-Neoliberal Development Model or Imperialism of the Twenty-First Century? Zed Books, London and New York, 2014; 320 pp: 9781780329925, 19.99 [pounds sterling] In capital's global quest for profits, control over natural resources has historically played a key role, vividly demonstrated by the 1973 oil shock; and more recently peaks in commodity prices have triggered a global race for resource extraction. Since its colonisation by the European powers, Latin America has served as a provider of mineral and agricultural commodities, and exploitation of its natural resources has consequently been crucial for its economic performance and development. Hence, in the context of the recent commodity price boom, it is no surprise that the region has again emerged as a key supplier of minerals, energy and agricultural staples. Most countries have embraced this role, regardless of the ideological differences that currently exist in the Latin American political landscape. Henry Veltmeyer and James Petras set themselves the task of discovering the main dynamics of the new extractivist model, as well as its contradictions and limitations (p. 5). The book presents six empirical cases from the region, and offers two conceptual chapters that provide a more holistic view of the processes and dynamics involved. For the authors, the development of the new extractivist model of growth is the result of a system in crisis that has spurred a further period of imperialist exploitation (p. 22). Chapters 3 to 7 develop six empirical cases of extractivist activities. These provide extensive information on the different forms the extractivist sector has taken in this group of countries. State, transnational capital and resistance movements interact in each of these scenarios, creating an overall tendency for the expansion and intensification of extractive activities. The emphasis on these three actors is different in each chapter, thus providing varied accounts of this phenomenon. However, we can identify one main issue that is present throughout the volume, and which shapes much of the current debates on extractivism: the 'return of the state' as an active participant in the design and management of the national economy. In Latin America particularly, this is associated with the arrival into power of left-wing governments, elected on a platform that promised to disarm the neoliberal policies implemented in the 1990s (Arsel 2012; Nem Singh & Bourgouin 2013). This 'pink tide' has spurred the expectation that such an ideological change would also include a transformation in the relationship between the state and transnational capitals--in the redistribution of rents, and in the role of nature within overall economic development (Arsel 2012). Before going into the relation between the state and extractive capital, it is necessary to comment on the underpinning typology of state that the authors present. First, we have the distinction between specific imperialist states--the USA and Canada--and the Latin American state in general. The latter acts as an object of the predatory policies of the former. The exact role of imperialist powers in orchestrating extractive activities in Latin America is not clearly elaborated through most of the book, with the exception of Kyla Sankey's chapter on Colombia's mining sector. There, the author explains in detail and with analytical coherence the mechanisms articulated by the Canadian state for the promotion and consolidation of mining activity, and particularly the participation of Canadian mining companies in the Andean countryside. Lust's chapter on the Peruvian mining sector also attempts to unpack the imperialist dynamics behind the expansion of this activity, and especially the role of international organisations as agents working in consonance with imperial powers, even if it is less clear than in the case of Colombia. …