NEGOTIATED RATIONALITIES, POLITICISED IDENTITIES: INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONS, WATER CONFLICTS AND MINING IN CHIU–CHIU, CHILE Francisco Molina Camacho Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (Arts) Research Department of Geography King’s College London 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS GLOSSARY .............................................................................................................. 6 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................. 11 1.1 ENVIRONMENTAL CONFLICTS IN LATIN AMERICA: A POLITICAL ECOLOGY VIEW ............................................................................................................................... 11 1.2 COMPETING RATIONALITIES WITHIN ENVIRONMENTAL CONFLICTS ............. 13 1.3 CONTRIBUTIONS TO KNOWLEDGE AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS .................. 15 1.4 THESIS STRUCTURE .............................................................................................. 17 CHAPTER 2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ....................................................... 19 2.1 POLITICAL ECOLOGY: GENERAL APPROACHES ................................................ 19 2.2 SOCIAL INTERACTIONS WITH NATURE: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY VIEW ............ 22 2.3 DIALECTIC BETWEEN GLOBAL AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT ........................... 26 2.4 POST-STRUCTURALISM AND NEOLIBERAL PERSPECTIVES IN LATIN AMERICA ........................................................................................................................ 29 2.5 DEFINITIONS OF NATURE: TERRITORIALITIES AND COMPETING RATIONALITIES ............................................................................................................. 32 2.6 INTERGENERATIONAL ANALYSIS WITHIN AN INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY ..... 35 2.7 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................ 38 CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................. 40 3.1 WHY WATER CONFLICTS IN THE CHILEAN ALTIPLANO? .................................. 40 3.2 CASE STUDY APPROACH ...................................................................................... 41 3.2.1 Single case study ............................................................................................... 42 3.3. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ..................................................................................... 44 3.3.1 Definitions and characteristics ............................................................................ 44 3.3.2 Ethical considerations ........................................................................................ 45 3.4 DATA COLLECTION ................................................................................................ 47 3.4.1 Ethnography ....................................................................................................... 47 3.5 FRAMEWORK OF ANALYSIS .................................................................................. 52 3.6 FIELDWORK REFLECTIONS .................................................................................. 54 3.7 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................ 56 CHAPTER 4. INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AND CHILEAN WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT ...................................................................................................... 57 4.1. POLITICAL ECONOMY OF CHILE ......................................................................... 57 4.2 POST-COLONIAL WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN CHILE .................... 63 4.3. INDIGENOUS GROUPS IN CHILE ......................................................................... 67 4.4. CODELCO’S PROFILE AND CHUQUICAMATA PROJECT ................................... 73 4.5. PROFILE OF THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY OF CHIU-CHIU ........................... 77 4.6. SUMMARY ............................................................................................................... 81 2 CHAPTER 5. INTERGENERATIONAL DYNAMICS AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT .................................................................................................... 82 5.1 DEVELOPMENT PLANS AND RATIONALITIES ......................................................... 82 5.1.1 The old days were better: ‘Land preparation’ ..................................................... 85 5.1.2 Against the odds: ‘Searching for new benefits’ .................................................. 89 5.1.3 The crucial position of the younger generation .................................................. 94 5.2 ECONOMIC PRIORITIES AND LABOUR EXPECTATIONS ........................... 98 5.2.1 Beyond economic growth: the role of agriculture ............................................. 100 5.2.2 Mixing and matching: Agriculture, tourism and mining ..................................... 103 5.2.3 Urban education: opportunities beyond the village .......................................... 106 5.3 THE ROLE OF CULTURE: HERITAGE AND TRANSMISSION .................... 109 5.3.1 The roots of the ancianos’ heritage .................................................................. 110 5.3.2 The lost generation ........................................................................................... 114 5.3.3 Reviving tradition through art ........................................................................... 117 5.4 SUMMARY .............................................................................................................. 120 CHAPTER 6. INTERGENERATIONAL DYNAMICS AND ‘EXTERNAL’ POLITICAL NEGOTIATIONS .............................................................................. 122 6.1 TYPES OF NEGOTIATION AND ARTICULATION OF DEMANDS ....................... 122 6.1.1 Community leaders should represent the Assembly’s will ............................... 125 6.1.2 The important role of the leaders ..................................................................... 128 6.1.3 More ideas, less participation ........................................................................... 131 6.2 COMMUNITY COHERENCE AND COLLECTIVE FRAGMENTATION .................. 134 6.2.1 Water rights and the role of CONADI ............................................................... 135 6.2.2 Us and them: The role of the Aymara in the community .................................. 138 6.2.3 Urban and rural dynamics: Shadows of Calama and San Pedro de Atacama . 143 6.3 ‘EXTERNAL’ ADVANTAGES OF INTERNAL COMMUNITY SCHISMS ................ 147 6.3.1 Trapping ancianos: Codelco’s interaction with water ....................................... 149 6.3.2 Weakening middle-aged adults: Sustainability of projects depends on leaders .................................................................................................................................. 151 6.3.3 Attracting the young: addressing effects instead of causes ............................. 154 6.4 SUMMARY .............................................................................................................. 156 CHAPTER 7. INTERGENERATIONAL DYNAMICS AND COMMUNITY OUTCOMES 158 7.1 PERCEIVED COSTS AND BENEFITS OF OUTCOMES LINKED TO UNEQUAL POWER RELATIONS ................................................................................................... 158 7.1.1 Ancianos: Chronicle of a death foretold ........................................................... 160 7.1.2 Middle-aged adults: It’s now or never ............................................................... 164 7.1.3 The younger generation: Increasing benefits and possibilities ......................... 167 7.2 UNEQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF EXTERNAL OUTCOMES: GENDER RELATIONS ...................................................................................................................................... 170 7.2.1 Older Women: Transmission of culture and identity ......................................... 171 7.2.2 Middle-aged adult women: Heads of households, work and exclusion ............ 174 3 7.2.3 Young women: economic opportunities in a sexist community ........................ 177 7.3 RESISTANCE TO COMMUNITY INEQUALITIES .................................................. 179 7.3.1 Water as the right to choose ............................................................................ 180 7.3.2 The right to return: resistance of middle-aged adults ....................................... 182 7.3 The right to rebuild: resistance of the younger generation .................................. 185 7.4 SUMMARY .............................................................................................................. 187 CHAPTER 8. CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................. 188 8.1 THESIS FINDINGS ................................................................................................. 188 8.1.1 Development ideas and rationalities ................................................................ 188 8.1.2 External negotiations ........................................................................................ 192 8.1.3 Resistance strategies ....................................................................................... 196 8.2 FUTURE RESEARCH ............................................................................................ 199 APPENDIX ..........................................................................................................