The socio-political dynamics of transnational mining in Argentina: The cases of Puerto San Julián and Esquel in Patagonia

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze and compare the socio-political dynamics of two different mining projects in Patagonia, Argentina. In Puerto San Julián, AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) and the provincial mining development company of Santa Cruz (known as Fomicruz in Spanish) have been operating Cerro Vanguardia, the first large-scale gold mining project in the province of Santa Cruz, since 1998. In contrast, a transnational mining operation was successfully blocked in Esquel, in Chubut province by Argentina's first socio-environmental movement in 2002. The main question of this paper is to determine which socio-political conditions resulted in the politicization of transnational mining development in one location but not the other. To address this question, I argue that it is important to understanding how transnational mining development reshapes the socio-political conditions at the sub-national level. This article is based on more than fifty semi-structured interviews in these localities with key players, including local political authorities, representatives of AGA, mining workers, inhabitants of the town, and militants of the social movement, between February and March 2011, and in April 2012.