Dispossession, Depletion, and the Reproduction of Colonial Relations Through Transnational Mining in the Peruvian Andes

“Abandoned in every sense”: Dispossession, Depletion, and the Reproduction of Colonial Relations through Transnational Mining in the Peruvian Andes by Min Kue Philip Son A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Geography and Planning University of Toronto © Copyright by Min Kue Philip Son 2019 “Abandoned in every sense”: Dispossession, Depletion, and the Reproduction of Colonial Relations through Transnational Mining in the Peruvian Andes Min Kue Philip Son Master of Arts Department of Geography and Planning University of Toronto 2019 Abstract In 2016, the ten indigenous campesino communities of the district of Chamaca, Peru temporarily seized a copper mine owned and operated by a transnational mining company, HudBay Minerals. To understand such mining conflicts in Chamaca, this thesis examines how colonial logics and power relations underpin contemporary development policies of the Peruvian state. In particular, I analyze how the historical entanglements of race, indigenous land tenure and labor, and mining inform contemporary extractivist policies. Drawing on three months of ethnographic research, I argue that the HudBay mining enclosure, justified by such policies, reproduces the colonial power structure in three ways: through 1) dispossessions that deplete indigenous social reproduction; 2) the entrenchment of the colonial gender system; 3) state and corporate legal abandonment that recreates hacienda-indigenous relations. “Abandonadas en todo sentido”: Desposesión, Agotamiento, y la Reproducción de las Relaciones Coloniales por la Minería Transnacional en los Andes del Perú Min Kue Philip Son Magister Departamento de Geografía y Urbanismo Universidad de Toronto 2019 Resumen En 2016, las diez comunidades campesinas originarias del distrito de Chamaca, Perú tomaron las instalaciones de la minera transnacional—HudBay Minerals—por cuatro días. Para entender los conflictos mineros en Chamaca, esta tesis examina cómo las lógicas y relaciones de poder coloniales respaldan la política de desarrollo contemporánea del Estado peruano. En particular, analizo cómo las conexiones históricas entre las estructuras raciales, la tenencia de la tierra y la labor de las poblaciones indígenas, y la minería informan la política extractivista del presente. Luego de tres meses de investigación etnográfica, sostengo que el cercamiento minero de HudBay, establecido por tal política, reproduce la estructura colonial en tres maneras: por 1) las desposesiones que agotan la reproducción social de los pueblos originarios; 2) el afianzamiento del sistema de género colonial; 3) el abandonamiento legal por parte del Estado y la empresa, que recrea las relaciones y economía de hacienda. Acknowledgements / Agradecimientos “Finding beauty in a broken world is creating beauty in the world we find. We do it alone. We do it together. We create our best work in community.” – Terry Tempest Williams “The journey takes four thousand eight hundred and thirty miles, more than the length of this country. The monarchs that fly south will not make it back north. Each departure, then, is final. Only their children return; only the future revisits the past.” – Ocean Vuong This thesis was made possible because of the support and kindness of so many people across time and space. Estoy sumamente agradecido por todes las personas del Perú que me han apoyado con esta investigación. Agradezco ante todo los/as compañeros/as de Chamaca y Velille que confiaron en mi para compartir sus historias. Hernán, gracias por acompañarme en este proyecto y por tu paciencia y amistad. Timoteo, gracias por ayudarme tanto y por ser tan acogedor durante mi estancia en Chamaca. Esta investigación no habría sido posible sin la ayuda de les colegas de Derechos Humanos Sin Fronteras, especialmente Jaime y José Antonio. Ustedes me apoyaron tanto—estoy realmente agradecido, mucho más de lo que puedo expresar. I would also like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Sharlene Mollett, for her guidance and for constantly pushing me throughout the program. Sharlene, because you cared enough to be critical, I grew so much more than I had imagined—both intellectually and personally. I am also grateful for Dr. Sue Bunce and Dr. Christian Abizaid for taking the time to be on my thesis committee and for their insightful suggestions and observations. This thesis is also a product of my family’s sacrifice—physical, emotional, financial—over generations. In a country ravaged by colonial and imperial violence, my great-grandmother, grandmother, and great aunt gave their all to their children, often forgoing their own needs, so that their descendants might flourish in a world structured by the colonial difference. My mother and father have similarly sacrificed so much—and without their selfless support and unwavering interest in my education since my childhood, I would not have been able to pursue a master’s degree in a country where I was not born. I recognize your sacrifices too, Min Woo, and your childhood on the move because of me. 엄마,아빠,할머니, 고모, 자주 표현은 못하지만 저에게 주신 많은 사랑, 그리고 저를 위해 하신 많은 희생, 항상 고맙게 생각합니다. And to my chosen family: thank you, Connie, for your compassion and your helpful feedback on many draft chapters of this thesis; Laura, for being a steadfast companion on this journey and your constant reassurance; Roxana and Fernando, for your friendship and mentorship, and your help preparing me for fieldwork; Jason, for always believing in me. And to many others who have been with me through this process, thank you for holding me through the ups and downs. You know who you are. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Historical context of indigenous land struggles in Peru ................................................................. 3 1.2 History of resource extraction in Peru ............................................................................................ 5 1.3 About the district of Chamaca ........................................................................................................ 7 1.4 Theoretical framework .............................................................................................................. 10 1.4.1 Political ecology ................................................................................................................................ 10 1.4.2 Political ecology of the subsoil ......................................................................................................... 12 1.4.3 Feminist and decolonial geographies ............................................................................................... 14 1.4 Research objective, methodology, and methods ....................................................................... 16 1.5 Thesis outline ............................................................................................................................ 22 Chapter 2: Co-constitution of Race, Indigenous Land Tenure and Labour Rules, and Mining ... 25 2.1 Race, territory, indigenous people, and mining in the colonial era .............................................. 25 2.1.1 Racial ideologies, land dispossession, and labour exploitation ............................................................ 25 2.1.2 Mining in the colonial era ..................................................................................................................... 30 2.2 Post-independence articulation of race, indigenous people, and mining ...................................... 32 2.3 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 38 Chapter 3: Indigenous Development, Neoliberal Multiculturalism, and Extractivism .................. 39 3.1 Neoliberalism in Latin America ............................................................................................... 39 3.1.1 The rise of neoliberalism .................................................................................................................. 39 3.1.2 Neoliberal multiculturalism ............................................................................................................. 40 3.1.3 Extractivism .......................................................................................................................................... 41 3.2. Neoliberal development in Peru .................................................................................................. 43 3.2.1 The rise of neoliberalism and extractivism ........................................................................................... 43 3.2.2 Contradictions of neoliberal multiculturalism ...................................................................................... 46 3.3 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 51 Chapter 4: Conviviendo with Transnational Mining: Daily Lives, Dispossession, and Depletion of Social Reproduction .............................................................................................................................. 52 4.1 Livelihoods and social reproduction frameworks ......................................................................... 53 4.2 Political ecologies of livelihoods .................................................................................................

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