Carleton University Gold in the Chocó, Colombia A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a degree of Doctorate of Philosophy Anthropology with a Specialization in Political Economy By Daniel Tubb Ottawa, Ontario September, 2014 © 2014 Daniel Tubb Abstract This dissertation undertakes an ethnography of gold in the Chocó department of northwest Colombia. It answers this question: What is gold about if it is not just about gold? The dissertation does not offer one answer, but rather shows various ways to understand gold in the Chocó. It examines artisanal, small-scale, and large-scale gold mining to show gold is part of a fixed subsistence livelihood economy, a hustle—or rebusque—economy, and economic fictions on the frontier through money laundering and speculation via small-scale, and, tentatively, large-scale gold mining. Gold is the thread that connects the dissertation’s discussion of artisanal mining and the subsistence livelihood practices of rural Afro-descendant people; mine talk and mine practice; the epistemological difficulty and ambiguities of knowing in context of conflict; the hustle of paisas, or white outsiders from other regions of Colombia; migration and displacement to and from the Chocó; frontiers, the state, and collective territory; small-scale gold mining and the hustle; gold and its role in money laundering; multinational mining corporations on collective territories; Afro-descendant organizations and the process of prior consultation; speculation and money laundering; and the political and environmental effects of small-scale and artisanal mining for Afro-descendant communities. The dissertation explores gold from its material extraction in mining to its connections with different economies. Eighteen months of ethnographic fieldwork, gold mining apprenticeship, and investigative analysis constitute the dissertation’s methods. i Acknowledgments While acknowledging and thanking everyone who helped me in writing this dissertation in a fitting way is impossible, I want to recognize and thank the following people. Where I did fieldwork, I thank those who I have called Antonio, Carlos, Don Alfonso, Esteban, Felipe, Geraldo, Javiar, José, Juan, Luisa, Marco, Martina, Mauricio, Meta, Pedro, Sofía, Ximena, Gabriel, and the dozens of other people who let me learn how to mine. In the Chocó, I thank Américo, Albeiro, Carlos, Elisabet, Francisco, Glenís, Gustavo, Juan-Carlos, Father Jorge, Pedro, Father Remo, Father Sterlin, and Stuart. In Colombia, I thank Dr. Claudia Mosquera at the Universidad Nacional, Dr. Eduardo Restrepo at the Universidad Javariana, Dianne, Cristian, Catalina, Neider, and Sofía. I thank Ximena Gonzales, Johana Rocha, Andrea Torres, and Elisabet Pèriz at the Centre de Estudios para la Justicia Social - Tierra Digna. At Carleton, I thank my supervisor Dr. Peter Gose, my committee Dr. Cristina Rojas and Dr. Blair Rutherford, and faculty Dr. Jen Pylypa and Dr. Louise de la Gorgendiere. I thank my PhD colleagues: Marieka Sax, Leanne Davis, Cheryl Matthews, Matthew Hawkins, and Cynthia Cotton. I thank my wife Jael Duarte, my parents Louise Livingstone and Steve Tubb, and my brother Edward Tubb for their love, support, conversation, and revisions. Erin Seatter’s copyediting improved the prose. All mistakes remain my own. ii Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 Race in the Chocó ..................................................................................................................... 5 Resource Extraction and Conflict ........................................................................................... 16 Region and the Underground Economy ................................................................................. 21 Gold in the Chocó ................................................................................................................... 26 The Hilltop View: The Dissertation Outline ........................................................................... 29 Chapter 2: Theory and Method ........................................................................................ 39 Displacement, Flooding, and War .......................................................................................... 44 Economic Fictions .................................................................................................................. 50 Method and Writing ............................................................................................................... 64 Chapter 3: Artisanal Gold Mining and the Fixed .............................................................. 77 Mine Talk ............................................................................................................................... 79 Wealth and the Earth .............................................................................................................. 83 Accidents and the Devil .......................................................................................................... 86 Reasons to Mine ..................................................................................................................... 92 Subsistence Production and the Fixed .................................................................................... 97 Gold, Savings, and Consumption .......................................................................................... 111 Chapter Summary .................................................................................................................. 117 Chapter 4: “The Hustle” ............................................................................................... 125 Talk and Music ..................................................................................................................... 129 Rumors and Conflict ............................................................................................................. 132 Rebusque: The Hustle, Buying, Selling, and Credit ................................................................ 137 Work and Displacement to the Chocó .................................................................................. 144 Reparations and Conflict ...................................................................................................... 150 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................................. 154 Chapter 5: Frontiers and the State .................................................................................. 158 The Upper Atrato and Upper Andágueda as a Frontier ........................................................ 177 Race, Displacement, and Settlement ..................................................................................... 181 The Political Economy of Rural Conflict at the Limits of State Power ................................. 188 Gold Mining and Displacement ............................................................................................ 194 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................................. 199 Chapter 6: Large-Scale Mining on Collective Territory ................................................. 202 Afro-descendant Collective Territory in the Upper Atrato and Upper Andágueda .............. 210 Large-Scale Mining and Fears of Displacement ................................................................... 213 Narrative of Canadian Junior Mining Companies in Colombia ............................................. 215 Multinational Mining Corporations ...................................................................................... 219 A Workshop on Prior Consultation ...................................................................................... 221 A Community Council Meeting and Small-Scale Mining ..................................................... 231 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................................. 241 iii Chapter 7: Small-Scale Gold Mining ............................................................................. 244 Work Stories about Mining ................................................................................................... 253 Small-Scale Mining ............................................................................................................... 267 The Lower Cauca Region ...................................................................................................... 277 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................................. 282 Chapter 8: Small-Scale Gold Mining and Money Laundering ........................................ 287 The Underground Economy and Cocaine ............................................................................ 294 Money Laundering and Cocaine ........................................................................................... 296 Types of Money Laundering in Colombia ............................................................................ 298 The Underground Economy and Gold ................................................................................. 305 Money Laundering and Gold ................................................................................................