Resource Conflicts. Emerging Struggles over Strategic Commodities in Latin America
Abstract
Since the 1990s, social conflict surrounding the extractive industries has escalated in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru. Groups mobilize against the environmental and social effects of hydrocarbons and mining extraction, the degree to which the state captures royalties from the private companies involved in production and transport, and how those royalties are distributed. Conflict has been so intense that it has paralyzed the industries, triggered increased state control over these sectors, heightened antagonism between resource-rich regions and the central government, and led to the early removal of sitting presidents. In Bolivia, protests over compensation in the natural gas sector have removed two presidents one in 2003 and a second in 2005 and led to drastically increased national involvement in that sector in 2006. In Ecuador, one major wave of protests in August 2005 cost companies $400 million and led to the cancellation of a major, ongoing contract with the private oil company Occidental.1 As of 2007, 46 percent of all social conflicts in Peru were protests against foreign direct investment, the most common type of social conflict there.2 In the summer of 2009, major protests in the east prevented additional exploration for oil in Peru s Amazon (see below analysis on the Bagua case).3
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA569957
Entities
People
- Mariah Jaskoski
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School