Dispossession and protection in the neoliberal era: the politics of rural development in indigenous communities in Chaco, Argentina

Abstract

Neoliberal reforms and technological innovations associated with the agribusiness model have led to profound transformations in the Argentine agricultural sector. These transformations, far from being limited to a central region, are expanding rapidly into areas previously considered marginal, causing major changes in the dynamics of those territories. In order to begin to understand the socio-political, economic and cultural implications of these complex transformations, it is necessary to examine not just how the state has contributed directly or indirectly to processes of accumulation by dispossession and how subaltern groups have resisted said dispossession but also how different forms of rural existence have been shaped by the interactions of the different actors in these contexts. Drawing on the experiences of a Qom community in Pampa del Indio, Chaco Province, Argentina, this article seeks to examine how conflicts and compromises between the state and subaltern sectors mold the way in which new ruralities emerge from the context of accumulation by dispossession.